Michael D. Crapo (R-Idaho)

The Economy

Crapo is a classic fiscal conservative, favoring the elimination of the estate and capital gains taxes and less federal spending in almost every area of the economy. With Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), he sponsored the Stop Over-Spending bill of 2006, meant to rein in government waste; the bill made it out of committee but never came to a vote in the Senate.

Crapo opposed both the 2009 $787 stimulus and fall 2008 financial bailout proposals. "I really think that this bill shows that big government is back in a huge way, and that's a concern," he told the Idaho Statesman of the stimulus, arguing that the government should be focusing more on reforming tax policy than on spending.

Earlier in the process of drafting a stimulus measure, along with other Western legislators, Crapo proposed $1.52 billion in subsidies for the logging industry, which has a heavy presence in Idaho, as a way to stimulate the economy.

The Environment

Representing a Western agricultural state, Crapo must navigate the politics of land management, seeking to please preservationists, farmers and hunters alike (he is a member of the Potato Caucus, and co-chair of the Sportsmen's Caucus, which is more powerful than one might think).

He is adamant about the protection of individual property rights, skeptical that the science behind climate change merits urgent action, and has received between zero and 18 percent on the League of Conservation Voters' scorecard since he became a senator. But Crapo has also pushed reforms that appeal to both sides in the environmental debate, including a package of tax breaks and other incentives to help protect endangered species; the package became law with the passage of the farm bill in 2008.

And through his seat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, Crapo has pushed doggedly to preserve 517,000 acres of the Owyhee Canyonlands in Idaho as wilderness, requiring arduous negotiations with ranchers and preservationists, and even opposing the wishes of his then-Sen.Craig. The measure finally made it into the omnibus public lands bill passed by Congress and signed by President Obama in March 2009.

Health Care

Quality health care is a personal issue for Crapo, who was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1999 and fought a relapse in 2005. His legislative attempts to change the U.S. health-care system, however, have not been particularly successful. Crapo proposed a bill in 2005 that would have allowed seniors to put their savings for health-care costs in a tax-exempt "lockbox" that could not be used for other priorities, which didn't make it out of committee;, a 2007 proposal to establish a national office of men's health was unsuccessful.

During the 2009 health care reform debate, McCain said he would oppose the public option.

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