Christopher S. Bond

Former U.S. Senator (January 1987-2011)

(Congress Bio Database)

Why He Matters

Four-term Sen. "Kit Bond" is known for bringing federal money home to Missouri. From his seat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond has been able to direct hundreds of millions of dollars to his state. In the March 2009 omnibus spending bill, he is estimated to have won earmarks worth $85 million and, in partnership with other senators, he'll be delivering $248 million to Missouri and elsewhere.

He has said, "If they think it's pork, it's an awfully healthy diet for the people of Missouri, and I'm proud to participate in it. Just tell 'em, 'In the next batch, I'll bring my own barbecue sauce.'"

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Missouri Governor (1972-1976) and (1980-1984); Attorney (1977-1980); Missouri Auditor (1970-1972)
Birthday: March 6, 1939
Hometown: Mexico, Mo.
Alma Mater: Princeton University, B.A., 1960; University of Virginia, LL.B., 1963
Spouse: Linda
Religion: Presbyterian

Committees: Appropriations Committee, the Select Committee on Intelligence (ranking member), the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
DC Office: 274 Russell Senate Office Building.Washington, DC 20510(202) 224-5721
State Offices: Jefferson City, (573) 634-2488;Kansas City, (816) 471-7141; St. Louis, (314) 725-4484; Cape Girardeau, (573)334-7044; Springfield, (417) 864-8258; Columbia, (573) 442-8151
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Path to Power

Bond was born on March 6, 1939, in St. Louis and grew up in Mexico, Mo., where he still lives. He's a sixth generation Missourian, born to a family with a lucrative brick-making business.

Bond graduated cum laude from Princeton University in 1960 and was first in his law school class at the University of Virginia in 1963. He briefly served as a clerk to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals chief judge (and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient) Elbert Tuttle in Atlanta and practiced law in Washington, D.C., before returning to Missouri. When he got home he ran for a U.S. House seat and lost by a small margin in 1968.

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Bond was appointed the state's assistant attorney general in 1969 and was elected state auditor in 1970. But he had larger ambitions. In 1973-at the age of 33-Bond became the governor of Missouri, the youngest the state has ever had. He lost his reelection bid to Democrat Joseph Teasdale in 1976 but came back to beat him for a nonconsecutive second term in 1980.

Bond's second term as governor ended in 1984. Before long, he was back on the campaign trail, running against Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods for a U.S. Senate seat in 1986. He won, 53 to 47 percent. Voters sent him back to the Senate three more times: in 1992, 1998, and 2004.

In 1992 -- a year when Republicans lost every other major race in Missouri -- Bond won reelection by 52 to 45 percent against St. Louis City councilmember Geri Rothman-Serot. The margin was similar in 1998, when Bond defeated Attorney General (and current Missouri governor) Jay Nixon for a third term. His widest winning margin came in 2004, when Democrats failed to persuade U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt or Gov. Bob Holden or State Auditor Claire McCaskill (now the state's junior senator) to run. Bond outspent Democratic state treasurer Nancy Farmer $7.9 million to $3.5 million, ran a series of ads promoting his role in the state's job growth, and won with 56 percent of the vote.

Bond sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee and is ranking member of its Transportation, Housing and Urban Development subcommittee; the Select Committee on Intelligence; the Committee on Environment and Public Works, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He is also co-chairman of the National Guard Caucus. He has been defeated three times in attempts to become chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.

From his seat on the Appropriations Committee, Bond has become an expert at winning earmarked appropriations for his state. His earmarks have contributed to public housing, lead paint abatement, university research, the Boeing Co., and infrastructure improvements.

He defends earmarks. "Tell Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was terrorizing Iraqi citizens and chopping off the heads of innocents, that the Litening Targeting Pod was congressional pork. It was a Litening Targeting Pod, funded by a Congressional earmark and fitted onto an Air Guard F-16, that introduced Zarqawi to his maker," Bond said in 2007 in response to criticism of his earmark record.

According to the centrist group Taxpayers for Common Sense, Bond placed $248 million worth of earmarks in the $410 billion omnibus spending bill signed into law in March 2009, making him the sixth most successful earmark-winning senator in that round of appropriations.

Bond married the former Linda Pell in 2002. Samuel Bond, his son from a first marriage that ended in divorce, served two terms in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.

In January 2009, Bond announced in a prepared speech before Missouri's general assembly that he would not seek reelection to a fifth term in 2010. "In 1972, I became Missouri's youngest governor," the 69-year-old said. "Good friends: I have no aspiration of becoming Missouri's oldest senator."

The already announced Republican candidate for his seat is Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a seven-term congressman and father of former Gov. Matt Blunt (R); Secretary of State Robin Carnahan (D), the daughter of former Gov. Mel Carnahan (D) and former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.), is running on the Democratic side. Missouri has been a critical swing state. In 2008, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) beat Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) by 49.4 to 49.3 percent, though Democrat Jay Nixon won the governor's office.

The Issues

Bond occasionally works with Democrats, but is generally regarded as an aggressive partisan. He voted with the majority of Republicans 86.2 percent of the time in the 110th Congress. Whatever else he may be remembered for, Bond prides himself on co-sponsoring the Family and Medical Leave Act, vetoed by President George H.W. Bush but signed into law in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.

The Economy

Last October, Bond voted for the $700 billion bailout package, but against President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan in February 2009. "Hold on to your wallets folks because with the passage of this trillion-dollar baby the Democrats will be poised to spend as much as $3 trillion in your tax dollars," Bond said in a statement.

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"Taxpayers will be on the hook for spending that will stimulate the debt, stimulate the growth of government, but will do little to stimulate jobs or the economy." He was an early supporter of the auto bailouts, as Missouri has more than 220,000 auto-related jobs.

Iraq War

Bond was a staunch supporter of President George W. Bush's policies after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. In 2006, Republicans chose Bond to lead media efforts about the War on Terror in advance of the midterm elections. In this role, Bond worked to hone the GOP's message and helped other Republicans fine-tune their talking points. He pushed for more power for the director of national intelligence. When it was reported that the Bush administration had been conducting a domestic wiretapping program, Bond said the reporting damaged U.S. intelligence work. After the Senate voted in 2008 to expand the president's wiretapping powers, and granted immunity to phone companies that helped the National Security Administration with its wiretapping efforts, Bond said Americans had nothing to fear "unless you have Al Qaeda on your speed dial."Bond was, however, skeptical of the Iraq troop surge. His son Sam, a Marine, served two tours in Iraq.

The Environment

In a 2003 editorial, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch labeled Bond "Senator Smog" for his efforts to stop states from curbing lawnmower emissions. Bond said he was protecting an engine maker and 1,700 jobs based in Missouri.

He also opposed efforts to ban genetically modified foods, including those produced by Monsanto, a major company based in St. Louis. In 2002 he successfully co-authored an amendment to delay stricter auto-mileage standards in favor of Missouri's assembly plants.In general, Bond opposes regulations that he fears will drive Missouri's production jobs overseas. Bond has also made it a priority to keep Boeing's F-15 plant operating in St. Louis. In 2004, he ensured that the plant would stay open until at least 2008 when he secured $120 million to build two more jets. "We will have to rent a very big hall for all of those who will celebrate to see him leave town," Frank O'Donnell, the head of the advocacy group Clean Air Watch, said of Bond's upcoming retirement.

The Network

In November 2007, Bond endorsed former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R-N.Y.) for the Republican nomination for president and became his national co-chair and Senate liaison.

As colleagues on the Appropriations subcommittee of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, Bond and Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) have worked together on legislation affecting such varied interests as Alzheimer's disease and the space program.

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Additional Resources