Claire McCaskill

Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, has been the Junior Senator for the state of Missouri since 2007.

Iraq War
War on Iraq

Since Sen. Claire McCaskill was elected to office on 11/7/06 there has not been enough time to build a clear voting record in the senate. She has refused to share her voting history to the general public. Sharing voting records was approved and highly encouraged by the 2006 National Political Awareness campaign with the support of key leader such as John McCain and Michael Dukakis. www.vote-smart.org/npat.php?can_id=2109 Sen. Claire McCaskill supports the troops in Iraq and Afganistan. she fought for the passing of the Truman Commission, which would allow returning troops more time after finishing a deployment. She has worked with Senator Obama for the inclusion of a provision that allows family members of wounded troop up to a year paid leave. Some of the articles included in her website do not support the way the government is running the war with private contractors and bad budgeting. Claire McCaskill is a Democrat and is likely to be against the war altogether.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal Environment A Democrat, Sen. Claire McCaskill’s party affilation leans her toward the side of environmental safety as a major priority in today’s politics. Sen. Claire McCaskill supported the [National Animal Interest Alliance Trust] which is an 501 non-interest group. It is defined as moderate animal rights organization, it encourages and funds wildlife education and informs the public about the threats of animal abusers and environmental zealots.  Sen McCaskill also supports the AFSCME American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, which has a about 1.4 million members and works for social and economic equality. A branch of the organization focuses on environmental safety and reservation. The organization includes some biologists and environmental specialists 

She has also supported the American College of Phycisans (ACP) which is the nation’s largest medical society. The ACP’s goal is to foster better healthcare and a higher standard of living thru excellence and professionalism in the medical and medical educating community not just in the U.S. but around the world. 

Senator Claire McCaskill support for these organizations shows a deep believe that education in all aspects of life including the environment will lead to a better and brighter tomorrow for everyone.

Improvement of conditions at Walter Reed
In February 2007, after the Washington Post reported about the "neglected" state of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a major hospital for the recovery of military veterans, McCaskill and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) sponsored a bill that would "improve the lives of recovering veterans" at that facility. Called the Wounded Warriors Act, the bill would mandate standards of care and facilities for wounded soldiers. It would create a congressionally appointed Wounded Warrior Oversight Board, a 24-hour bilingual hotline, employment protections for caregiver family members and a zero-tolerance for pest infestations at recovery facilities. The bill was introduced in the wake of public furor over a series in the Washington Post detailing squalid conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

FY2008 Defense Department Authorization
In late May 2007, Sens. McCaskill and John McCain (R-Ariz) sponsored earmark disclosure language in a closed-door markup of the Senate version of the FY2008 Defense Department authorization. The language would require committee and conference reports on the bill to list the name(s) of the sponsor and intended recipient(s) of any earmarks. Additionally, the language would require earmark information to be "provided by electronic means easily accessible by the public" at least 48 hours prior to consideration of the bill or the final conference report.

Also included in the bill was an amendment sponsored by McCaskill to enhance whistleblower protections for employees of Department of Defense (DOD) contractors. The Government Accountability Project (GAP) applauded the inclusion as they hoped that the support of this bill might indicate future Senate support of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, as the two bills had some similar provisions.

Early Political Career
Born in Rolla, MO, McCaskill received both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Missouri. After graduation, she clerked for the Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City before becoming an assistant prosecutor handling arson cases. In 1982, she won a seat in the State Legislature, and, in 1992, she was elected Jackson County prosecutor, the first woman to hold that position. In 1998 McCaskill was elected state auditor.

In 2004 McCaskill ran for Governor against the sitting Governor, Democrat Bob Holden. McCaskill defeated Holden in the Democratic primary to become the first challenger to upset a sitting Governor in state history. She went on to face Secretary of State Matt Blunt, but lost -- 50.8% to 47.9%. It was her first loss in 18 times being on the ballot.

2006 Senate race
Missouri's Senate race against incumbent Sen. Jim Talent was one of the closest in the nation in 2006.

McCaskill received support from actor Michael J. Fox in the form of television advertisements that asked voters to vote for her because she supports stem cell research. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, was visibly shaking in the advertisement from the medicine that he has to take. The ad sparked controversy after radio commentator Rush Limbaugh said that Fox was "exaggerating the effects of the disease". Limbaugh later changed his position to state that Fox was exploiting his disease.

Senate Career
McCaskill currently sits on four Senate Committees: Armed Services, Commerce, HSGAC and Aging.

Family Life
Following her first marriage, Claire spent seven years as a single mom before marrying Joseph Shepard. They each brought children to the marriage, which created a family that includes seven children. McCaskill also has four grandchildren.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
 * Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
 * Subcommittee on Interstate Commerce, Trade, and Tourism
 * Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Innovation
 * Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Insurance, and Automotive Safety
 * Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
 * Senate Special Committee on Aging
 * Senate Committee on Armed Services
 * Subcommittee on Airland
 * Subcommittee on Personnel
 * Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
 * Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Investigations
 * Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security

Twitter
 Claire McCaskill posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/clairecmc/

Latest posts: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/clairecmc.rss|title=none| max=3| short See all the members of Congress who Twitter

Resources

 * Claire McCaskill for U.S. Senate, official campaign site.

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Chatter
 * Snakes on a Senate, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee website.
 * See how you compare to Claire McCaskill

Related SourceWatch/Congresspedia Resources

 * Walter Reed Army Medical Center scandal

Articles

 * Angie C. Marek, "Missouri Two-Step," U.S. News & World Report, July 9, 2006.
 * Jonathan Singer, "MyDD Conversation with MO-Sen Candidate Claire McCaskill," MyDD.com, July 17, 2006.
 * Danielle Burton, "10 things about Claire McCaskill," U.S. News & World Report, September 13, 2006.
 * Jonathan Kaplan, "Missouri Dems count on minimum wage, stem cells to topple Talent," The Hill, September 27, 2006.
 * Sam Hananel, "Outside money fuels Missouri Senate race," Associated Press, October 3, 2006.
 * Shailagh Murray, "Missouri Debaters Battle for the Suburbs," Washington Post, October 9, 2006.
 * Deirdre Shesgreen, "On economy, McCaskill, Talent mark their territory," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 17, 2006.
 * Sam Hananel, "Illegal immigration debate spills into Senate race," Associated Press, October 19, 2006.
 * Carey Gillam, "Anger at Washington boosts Democrat in swing state," Reuters, October 24, 2006.
 * John Aravosis, "Limbaugh attacks Michael J. Fox, says his Parkinson's is just 'faking.' Do Talent, Steele, and Green agree?" and "CNN on Michael J. Fox being attacked by Rush Limbaugh who doesn't believe Fox's Parkinson's symptoms are real," AMERICAblog, October 24, 2006.
 * Massimo Calebresi, "Campaign '06: Courting Missouri's Moms," Time Magazine, October 25, 2006.
 * Steve Karske, "McCaskill stands behind her audits," Kansas City Star, October 28, 2006.
 * Jo Mannies, names stump for candidates," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 31, 2006.
 * Jonathan E. Kaplan, "Campaign takes low road through crucial Missouri," The Hill, November 1, 2006.
 * David A. Lieb, "Giuliani stumps for Talent; McCaskill focuses on problems in Iraq," Associated Press, November 2, 2006.
 * Mark Clayton, "Stem cells a wild card in Missouri Senate contest," Christian Science Monitor, November 3, 2006.
 * Deirdre Shesgreen, "How McCaskill plans to win," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 4, 2006.
 * Amy Goldstein and Peter Slevin, "In Missouri, a Forecast for Voter Misery," Washington Post, November 6, 2006.
 * John Heilemann, "Show Me Purple," New York Magazine, from the November 13, 2006 Issue.
 * Roxana Tiron, "Obama, McCaskill sponsor bill on care for veterans," The Hill, February 21, 2007.
 * Deidre Shesgreen, "McCaskill to endorse Obama," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 12, 2008: "...abandoned her neutrality after an intense lobbying effort by Obama’s campaign." Also see Hopefund.
 * Antonio D. French, "McCaskill to Endorse Obama, Might Have Something to Do with '06 Comment," PubDef.net, January 13, 2007.