Conrad Burns

Conrad Ray Burns (born January 25, 1935) is the junior United States Senator from Montana. He is only the second Republican to represent Montana in the Senate since the 1913 passage of the Seventeenth Amendment and is the longest-serving Republican senator in Montana history.

Senator Burns' folksy style is a sharp contrast to his outspokeness on issues concerning technology, broadcasting, and the Internet. Burns sits on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee and is the chairman of its Subcommittee on the Interior. He is also chair of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee's Communications subcommittee.

Early life and career

Burns was born on a farm near Gallatin, Missouri to Russell and Mary Frances (Knight) Burns. Graduating from Gallatin High School in 1952, Burns enrolled in the College of Agriculture at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Two years later Burns left without graduating and enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served in Japan and Korea as a small arms instructor.

After his military service Burns began working for TWA and Ozark Airlines. In 1962, he travelled the state as a field representative for Polled Hereford World magazine in Billings, Montana. He married Phyllis Jean Kuhlmann in 1967 and they would later have two children, Keely and Garrett.

In 1968, he turned down a transfer to Iowa and became a cattle auctioneer for the Billings Livestock Commission. He became the first manager of the Northern International Livestock Expo. He also began reporting on agricultural market news, starting a radio show and later working as a farm reporter for KULR-TV.

In 1975, Burns founded the Northern Agricultural Network with four radio stations. The Northern Ag Network had grown to serve 31 radio stations and six television stations in 1986, when he sold it to enter politics. Angry at a local politician, he ran for and won a seat on the Yellowstone County Commission, where he served for two years.

Senate

1988 election and first term

Though a political novice, from his previous jobs Burns had a great deal of name recognition, and the Republican Party recruited him to run against incumbent Democrat John Melcher. Burns portrayed Melcher as "a liberal who is soft on drugs, soft on defense and very high on social programs". At the time a strong supporter of term limits, Burns said Melcher had been in Washington too long. Melcher was also hurt by public opposition to policies in Yellowstone National Park regarding naturally occurring fires and by President Ronald Reagan's pocket veto of Melcher's bill which would have made 1.4 million acres (5,700 km²) of Montana forest off-limits to logging and mineral development. Burns defeated Melcher in a close race, 51-48%.

Following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, Burns invited a group of racially mixed lobbyists to a "slave auction". Following criticism, Burns responded that in such events "you have an auction and you sell the kids and they perform a day's work for whoever buys them" and said they were "rather common in Montana".Ruth Marcus, "A Senator's Stunning Reference to 'Slaves': Burns's Remark Followed Rights Bill Passage", Washington Post, November 13, 1991.

1994 election and second term

Former Senator Melcher was among the candidates in the Democratic primary, but that race was won by Jack Mudd, former dean of the University of Montana law school.

During a visit to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Burns told one of the editors an anecdote about an elderly Montana rancher who asked him about life in Washington, DC. The rancher asked "Conrad, how can you live back there with all those niggers?" and Burns replied that it was "a hell of a challenge." After his remarks were criticized, Burns issued an apology saying "Such views are inappropriate and belong in the past and that was the context in which the story was told...they are views which I do not condone and do not share." But when asked why he did not condemn the story at the time he heard it, Burns replied "I don't know, I never give it much thought." Tom Kenworthy, "Sen. Burns Repeats Racial Slur, Causing Furor in Montana", Washington Post, October 22, 1994.

Despite the controversy, Burns was re-elected in a landslide, 62-38%, over Mudd, whose campaign observers described as "underfunded and puzzling".Michael Barone, The Almanac of American Politics 1996, National Journal Group.

2000 election and third term

Burns faced a surprisingly difficult reelection campaign in 2000. In February 1999, he announced that he would break his 1988 promise to only hold office for two terms, claiming "Circumstances have changed, and I have rethought my position."George Will, "...Terms Unlimited", Washington Post, June 24, 1999 Later that same month, while giving a speech about US dependence on foreign oil to the Montana Equipment Dealers Association, he referred to Arabs as "ragheads". Burns soon apologized, saying he "became too emotionally involved" during the speech.Al Kamen, "Burns's A List: African Americans, Arabs", New York Times, March 12, 1999.

Burns faced a rancher from Whitefish, Montana named Brian Schweitzer. While Burns attempted to link Schweitzer with presidential candidate Al Gore, whom Schweitzer never met, Schweitzer "effectively portrayed himself as nonpolitical".Michael Barone, The Almanac of American Politics 2004, National Journal Group. Schweitzer primarily challenged Burns on the issue of prescription drugs, organizing busloads of senior citizens to take trips to Canada and Mexico for cheaper medicine.William Booth, "Mont. Rancher Mounts Brawny Challenge; Crusty GOP Incumbent Finds Race Tightening Against an Equally Rough-Hewn Opponent", Washington Post, October 31, 2000 Burns charged that Schweitzer favored "Canadian-style government controls" and claimed that senior citizens seniors went to doctors to have "somebody to visit with. There's nothing wrong with them." Burns also faced trouble regarding deaths due to asbestos in Libby, Montana. While initially supporting a bill to limit compensation in such cases, following attacks due to his stance, he withdrew support for the bill and added $11.5 million for the town to an appropriations bill.Al Kamen, "Town Getting $ 11 Million in Salve From Burns", Washington Post, May 12, 2000. Burns spent twice as much money as Schweitzer on the election and only defeated him by a slim margin, 51-47%, while the state voted 58-33 for President George Bush. Schweitzer went on to become Governor of Montana in 2004.

One of Burns more notable political blunders was blaming Canada for laxed immigration policies. He asserted that one or more of the 9/11 hijackers entered the U.S. from Canada, a statement that was later rebuted and proven untrue by the Canadian Ambassador.^*

In early 2006, Burns' staffers were caught rewriting some of the Senator's wikipedia biography. ^* The staffers removed a racial slur he used in 1999.

2006 election

Because of his narrow win in 2000, the Democratic takeover over Montana's state government in 2004, polls in 2006 putting his support in the state at around 40%, and high disapproval ratings from the Abramoff scandal^*, Burns has been singled out as one of the most vulnerable senators facing re-election in 2006.

On June 6, 2006, Burns easilly won the Republican primary. In the November general election, his Democratic opponent is Montana State Senate President and organic farmer Jon Tester, who won his primary by a comfortable margin as well.

Congressional record

Burns is most noted for his ability to obtain appropriations for his home state.In May 2006, a University of Montana spinoff that had federal funding of more than $4 million, through efforts by Burns, became part of a investigation by the NASA Office of Inspector General. The Inland Northwest Space Alliance, a non-profit company, paid $270,000 in 2004 to a software company, Compressus, for "project management," via a no-bid contract. ^*

In April 2006, Burns was selected by Time as one of "America's Five Worst Senators." The magazine dubbed him "The Shock Jock" and called him "serially offensive" for his many controversial statements during his career, such as a 1999 remark calling Arabs "ragheads." The magazine also criticized his "meager" legislative record and his legal problems involving lobbyist Jack Abramoff.Massimo Calabresi and Perry Bacon, Jr., "Conrad Burns: The Shock Jock", Time Magazine, April 24, 2006, page 27. Senator Burns’s ratings from interest groups indicate a conservative Republican voting record. According to Project Vote Smart, Burns rating by major think tanks and PAC’s are as follows ^*:

Abramoff and Tribal contributions controversy

Campaign contributions to Burns

Between 2001 and 2004, while the chair of the Interior Subcommittee on Appropriations, Burns received nearly $150,000 in campaign contributions from lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Abramoff's clients, and other donors connected to Abramoff. ^*

In December 2005, a leader of a tribe which gave $22,000 in campaign contributions to Burns in 2002 stated that they had done so solely at the request of Abramoff and believed the senator was part of "Abramoff's group."^*. In a 2006 Vanity Fair article, Abramoff was quoted as saying, "Every appropriation we wanted from Senator Conrad Burns' committee we got." Burns denies that he was influenced by Abramoff.

Since 2001, Mark Baker, a former Burns aide who was the chief lobbyist for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2003 and 2004, and Burns 2006 campaign chairman, has donated $9,000 to Burns and his Friends of the Big Sky Leadership PAC. Baker is also affiliated with the D.C. lobbying firm Denny Miller Associates Inc.whose individuals have donated at least $27,000 to Burns and his PAC during the same time period. [http://www.opensecrets.org/

According to a 2006 report by PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which was published in Roll Call, Burns received $192,090 in campaign contributions from tribal entities between 2001 and 2005.

Actions by Burns

Tribal school

In 2003, attempts by the two senators from Michigan to get money for a school of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, an Abramoff client and one of the wealthiest tribes in the country, had failed. The Bureau of Indian Affairs said the tribe's school wasn't eligible because it was not part of the bureau's system. The tribe, and Abramoff, its lobbyist, then began working with Burns.

In the summer of 2003, Burns and his counterpart, the chairman of the House Interior Subcommittee, sent a letter to the Interior Department, arguing the Saginaw Chippewa's case. But the department and the bureau remained firm in their refusal. In late October of 2003, just before the final vote on the Interior appropriations bill, Burns inserted a paragraph - an earmark - in the bill's conference report. It lifted previous restrictions and directed that the Saginaw Chippewa Indians be given $3 million for their tribal school. After initially claiming credit for the appropriation Burns subsequently denied knowledge of it, "A lot of things happened that I didn't know about. It shouldn't have happened, but it did."

National Bison Range

In the 1990s, Burns opposed the transfer of management of the National Bison Range (NBR) in Moiese, Montana, to the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), introduced a draft bill opposing tribal jurisdiction, and supported Senator Slade Gorton's S. 1691, which called Tribal Sovereign Immunity into question. At the time, Burns said that tribal sovereign immunity interfered with citizens' Fifth Amendment rights.

In 2001 and 2002, Senator Burns' policies changed, and his DC staff told citizens of western Montana that he would not support any legislation concerning tribal government unless all 500+ tribes agree to it.

In 2003, the CSKT renewed negotitations over the NBR. Fish and Wildlife officials in Denver stated at the time that Burns had the authority to stop the management transfer. On March 14, 2005 the day before a new NBR agreement went into effect with the tribes, CSKT Chairman Fred Matt wrote in a Missoulian guest column, "Sen. Burns has been a positive and aggressive advocate for Indian Country..." and "Burns fully understands and appreciates consultation with Indian country, our sovereignty, and our right to self-determination."

Involvement of staffers and aides

Less than two months after a key earmark by Burns in October 2003, Burns's chief of staff, Will Brooke, went to work for Abramoff at the lobbying firm Greenberg Traurig. ^*

In June 2005, former Burns staffer Shawn Vasell was called as a witness at the Oversight Hearing Before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs on the In Re Tribal Lobbying Matters, Et Al. Vasell "was registered as a lobbyist for the Choctaw and Coushatta tribes in 2001, joined Burns's staff in 2002, then rejoined Abramoff's team as a lobbyist for the tribes in 2003." but refused to testify citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/22/AR2005062200921.html

Mark Baker, a former legislative director for Burns, and currently Burn's 2006 campaign chairman, was paid $60,000 to be the chief lobbyist for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in 2003 and 2004. Working through his Helena firm, Anderson and Baker, Baker also made $120,000 lobbying for CSKT business venture S&K Technologies during those same years, and another $40,000 working for the CSKT through the Giacmetto Group. Leo Giacometto was Burns' chief of staff from 1995 to 1999. ^* ^*

Returning of "tainted" campaign contributions

Burns returned the entirety of Abramoff's personal donations to charity. When possible, Burns has returned contributions to the tribes where they originated.

His attempt to make a $111,000 donation to the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council was rejected; the council said the money was tainted because it originally came from Abramoff and his clients. Julia Doney, president of the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council and a member of the tribal leaders council, said that the tribes are "tired of being used" and didn't want to help Burns with his political troubles. ^*

The Blackfeet Community College also refused to accept money from Burns because it came from Jack Abramoff. James St. Goddard, a Blackfeet council member, told Great Falls Tribune that taking the money "would have made it look like the money is clean. We do not want Mr. Burns to use the tribes any more for his political gain." ^*

References

External links

Conrad Burns senatorial webpage
Conrad Burns campaign webpage
"U.S. Politics Today" non-partisan news about Conrad Burns
"Conrad Burns: The Face Of Republican Corruption," DSCC webpage
"Always Having To Say He's Sorry," op-ed piece about Conrad Burns by columnist Bob Herbert
"A political outsider wages a clever campaign," profile of 2000 campaign opponent
Conrad Burns's voting record at the Washington Post website
"10 things about Conrad Burns," U.S. News & World Report June 16, 2006
"The 13 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" - Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

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