Kurt Schrader

Walter Kurt Schrader (born October 19, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, his district covers Salem and Newport. Schrader previously served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1997 to 2008.
Early life, education, and early career.
Schrader was born in Connecticut and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University in 1973. While at Cornell, Schrader met Martha Northam and the two were married in 1975. Schrader earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from the University of Illinois in 1977. A year later, the Schraders moved to Oregon, and Kurt opened the Clackamas County Veterinary Clinic in Oregon City, to begin his veterinary practice.
Schrader served for 16 years on the Canby Planning Commission.
Oregon legislature.
Elections.
Schrader served three terms in the Oregon House of Representatives. He first ran for the office in 1994, where he lost to Republican Jerry Grisham in the general election by 38 votes. In 1996, Schrader ran again, defeating Paul Kraxburger. He was subsequently reelected in 1998 and 2000.
In 2002, Schrader ran for the Oregon State Senate seat vacated by the retiring Verne Duncan, representing the 20th district in southwestern Clackamas County, including the cities of Barlow, Canby, Gladstone, Johnson City, Oregon City and portions of Milwaukie. He defeated fellow Oregon House member Kathy Lowe in a contentious Democratic primary, then faced no Republican opposition in the general election. His wife, Martha Schrader, was the Democratic nominee to succeed Schrader for his vacant House seat; she lost in the general election to Wayne Scott. She then served as a Clackamas County commissioner until 2009, when she was appointed by the same commission (recusing herself from voting) to replace her husband in the State Senate.
Committee assignments.
In the Oregon Senate, Schrader served as co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee in the 2003 and 2005 sessions, as well as chair of the Interim Joint Legislative Audit Committee in the 2005 session. To prepare for his U.S. House seat, Schrader resigned effective December 17, 2008.
U.S. House of Representatives.
Elections.
2008.
In May 2008, Schrader won the Democratic nomination for for the seat being vacated by Darlene Hooley. In the general election, Schrader defeated Republican Mike Erickson, winning election to the U.S. House. Schrader won the election with 54 percent of the vote to Erickson's 38 percent. Schrader won all seven of the counties in the 5th congressional district, though he posted a plurality win in Polk County.
Schrader was challenged by Republican nominee and Oregon State Representative Scott Bruun and Pacific Green nominee Chris Lugo. Despite several polls showing Bruun ahead and pollster Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight predicting Schrader would likely lose his bid for reelection, the final vote tally had Schrader winning by a fairly comfortable five-point margin, picking up 51% of the vote to Bruun's 46%. It was the closest House race in Oregon in 2010, a year in which Republicans picked up at least 63 House seats, but only one on the West Coast.
2012.
Schrader won re-election 54.1% to 42.6%.
2014.
Schrader won 53.9% to 39.4%
2016.
Schrader won 53.6% to 43.1%. He was absent from the Congressional swearing-in on January 3, 2017, because he was on his honeymoon. He was the only member of Congress not to be sworn in that day.
Tenure.
Schrader voted for the Budget Control Act. He voted both in favor of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and for funding SCHIP.
On December 17, 2009, Schrader announced that he would become a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.
Schrader was ranked as the 50th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the 114th United States Congress (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oregon) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party). In December 2016, he severely criticized the election of Nancy Pelosi as House Minority Leader. "I'm very worried we just signed the Democratic Party's death certificate for the next decade and a half," he said.
Abortion.
Schrader is pro-choice and has received a 100 rating from both Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. In May 2012, Schrader opposed and voted against the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act of 2012, introduced by Republican Representative Trent Franks of Arizona. The bill proposed imposing criminal penalties for giving abortions in special cases, notably when based on gender, race or color of the child or parent.
Health care.
Schrader received a 100% rating from the Children's Health Fund. In 2016, he received an 86% from American Public Health Association. He supports the Affordable Care Act. Schrader is the co-chair (along with Pennsylvania Representative Allyson Schwartz) of the New Dem Health Care Task Force, which set forth an agenda of "more effectively implementing health care policy in this country that improves payment and delivery systems."
In July 2017, Schrader led a group of ten House Democrats who proposed a plan to improve Obamacare. The plan included a $15 billion "annual reinsurance fund to pay health insurers that enroll higher-cost, sicker individuals."
Agriculture regulation.
In March 2017, Schrader told a district audience that the Trump administration seemed determined to deregulate agriculture. He admitted that agriculture regulations "were a bit of an overreach," causing problems for both dairy and dirt farmers.
Veterinary medicine.
Schrader coauthored the Veterinary Medicine Mobility Act of 2014 (H.R. 1528; 113th Congress), a bill that would amend the Controlled Substances Act to clarify that veterinarians are not required to have separate registrations to dispense controlled substances outside of their principal place of business, such as when treating animals on a farm.
Gun control.
In December 2017, Schrader was one of only six House Democrats to support legislation allowing concealed handgun licensees to carry their weapons in all 50 states.
Minimum wage.
In July 2019, Schrader was one of six Democrats in the House of Representatives to oppose a bill which would incrementally increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15.00 an hour by 2025. He was one of two Democrats who voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 because of a provision to raise the minimum wage to $15.00. When this was removed, Schrader voted in favor of the bill for final passage.
Personal life.
Schrader and former Oregon state senator Martha Schrader divorced in 2011. He has five children. On December 31, 2016, Schrader married Pepco executive and former lobbyist Susan Mora. He is an Episcopalian.
Schrader's district residence is the Kraft-Brandes-Culberston Farmstead in Canby, also known as Three Rivers Farm, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.