CANR
WORK TITLE: THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH
WORK NOTEhip:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY:
STATE:
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NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: CA 297
dorgan.senate.gov
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born May 14, 1942, in Dickinson, ND; son of Emmett Patrick and Dorothy Dorgan; married Kimberly Olson (second wife; an executive vice president and lobbyist for an insurance council); children: (first marriage) Scott, Shelly (deceased); (second marriage) Brendon, Haley.
EDUCATION:University of North Dakota, B.S., 1964; University of Denver, M.B.A., 1966.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. North Dakota State Tax Commissioner, 1968-80; United States House of Representatives, 1981-92; United States Senator, Washington, DC, 1992-2011; Arent Fox LLP, Washington, senior policy advisor and cochair of Government Relations; previously worked for a Denver aerospace firm in management and training. Political work included North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, member; Senatorial Democratic Policy Committee, chair; Senatorial Committee on Indian Affairs, chair. Also the Bipartisan Policy Center, Washington DC, senior fellow; the Aspen Institute–The Center for Native American Youth, Washington, DC, program chair; Skyworks Global Inc., board of advisers, 2017–.
POLITICS: Democrat.WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Byron L. Dorgan began his career in Denver where he worked for an aerospace firm, first in management, and later training other employees to assume higher positions within the company. However, at the age of twenty-six he began to shift toward a career in public service. He was elected as North Dakota State Tax Commissioner in 1968, a position he held until 1980. In 1974, he attempted to make a run for the House of Representatives, but lost his election. Only in 1980, in a second attempt, did he finally attain his goal.
Dorgan served in the House of Representatives, reelected biannually, until 1992. At that point, the incumbent Democratic senator, Kent Conrad, made the decision to step down and not to run again for another term in the Senate. Dorgan ran for and was elected to Conrad’s old position, a seat for which he continued to be elected for subsequent terms until retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2011. Within his role in the Senate, Dorgan participated in a number of subcommittees. He was the chair of the Democratic Policy Committee, and also served on the Committee on Apprenriations. Beyond that, he participated in a variety of subcommittees, such as the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; the Subcommittee on Defense; the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, for which he is chair; and the Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security, for which he is also chair, among others. He has been an advocate for limiting regulations on the Internet, worked to help families save their homes during the financial crises of 2008-09, and offered up solutions to help cut government waste and unnecessary spending. Conrad is the author of a number of legislative works, as well as several books, including Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America and Reckless! How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (and How We Can Fix It!).
In Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America, Dorgan takes a stand as a Democrat, urging his fellow Democrats to stand up against the policies of the then-governing Republicans in regard to their actions regarding trade and tax laws and policies. According to Dorgan, the average American does not take advantage of the systems of free trade or the corporate tax structure that provides companies with more advantageous deductions and loopholes, but in fact suffers as a result of these biased policies. Republicans maintain that continued globalization is inevitable and that these practices position the country well to take place in that larger marketplace, while Dorgan counters that, at the same time, smaller businesses and individuals at home are forced to scramble for a share of the pie. The book explains Dorgan’s position and some of the economic fallout that might result from these policies over the long term. He favors a populist outlook and encourages others in positions of power to consider it as well.
Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, in a review for the Washington Post, declared that “these are not the freshest of ideas, particularly coming from a liberal Democrat. But Dorgan delivers them with real sting.” Walter Russell Mead, reviewing for the Foreign Affairs Online, commented: The book “represents a classic Democratic take on the populist message: evil corporations and their hired politicians and think-tank intellectuals are leading the assault on the middle class.”
In Dorgan’s next book, Reckless! How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (and How We Can Fix It!), the author analyzes eight years of the George W. Bush administration in terms of the financial and economic health of the nation. In the process, he lays a large portion of the country’s difficulties in 2008 and 2009 at their feet. According to Dorgan, it was the reckless policies of that administration and their encouragement of big spending for big businesses that have led in large part to economic instability and a general mistrust across the nation of the government’s ability to regulate corporate behavior and prevent irresponsibility that has trickled down to greatly affect the American public.
Calling upon his early experiences in North Dakota working as tax commissioner, Dorgan points out the issues that have caused the most concern, including the subprime mortgage situation and the subsequent collapse of numerous financial institutions, the ridiculously high national debt resulting from bailout measures on top of the expenses of two ongoing wars, and what he perceives to be major flaws in both national health- care and tax policies. He then goes on to offer suggestions for ways in which these issues can be tackled, many of which are ultimately similar to those that have since been introduced by the Obama administration. Paul J. Nyden, in a review for America’s Intelligence Wire, commented: The title “offers unique perspectives from an insider who regularly holds hearings and helps make government decisions, and an insider who readily admits his own errors.”
Dorgan has also delved into fiction via his collaboration with novelist David Hagberg, who is known for his techno-thrillers. The first collaboration resulted in the novel Blowout, a thriller focusing on a top-secret project called the Dakota District Initiative. The project is an effort to show that coal can be used to produce pollution-free energy by introducing bacteria into coal seams. If the process is successful in producing methane and burning it to produce electricity, the United States would have an energy source for centuries while freeing it from the vagaries of partially relying on countries that produce oil.
However, not everyone is pleased with the initiative, especially the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the big oil companies. As a result, one hedge fund director recruits Barry Egan of the right-wing Posse Comitatus to carry out a plan to destroy the initiative. An opposition group forms to stop them. “The authors smoothly blend near-constant action and cutting-edge science,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Another reviewer writing for Kirkus Reviews called Blowout “an enjoyable and fast-moving tale that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next one.”
In their follow-up novel, Gridlock, Dorgan and Hagberg once again focus on energy issues and what seems to be a growing effort to strike America’s electrical grid via computer hacking. Hacker Barend Dekker has been hired by Venezuelan and Iranian covert operations to introduce a Russian virus to the system. Returning to the novel are Sheriff Nate Osborne, journalist Ashley Borden, and scientist Whitney Lipton, who teamed up to stop the attack on the Dakota District Initiative in the authors’ previous novel. When an assassin begins murdering people, Osborne becomes suspicious that another attack on America’s energy system is coming. The three friends set out to stop the assassin, a former operative of the Russian Spetsnaz named Capt. Yuri Makarov.
“Dorgan’s energy policy expertise and bestseller Hagberg’s thriller-writing know-how bode well for a long series,” wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. Jeff Ayers, writing for Booklist, noted: “Gridlock is a far superior book to its predecessor, with more action, better-developed characters.”
In The Girl in the Photograph: The True Story of a Native American Child, Lost and Found in America, Dorgan uses the true story of a young Native American woman as a central figure in the history of how the United States government and others have damaged the Native American community over many years. Morgan first became acquainted with the story of Tamara from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in 1990. He read a newspaper article about how Tamara was abused at home by alcoholic parents only to be placed in a foster home where she nearly died from further abuse. Dorgan ended up starting an inquiry into the child welfare system to protect the reservation’s children and soon uncovered a broken system that did little to help its charges.
Dorgan shows how Tamara’s story reflects many of the problems and issues facing Native Americans. “Each phase of her life becomes an intimate entrance point by which to analyze a particular systemic failing,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. As Tamara faces crisis after crisis, from sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to homelessness and an effort to commit suicide, Dorgan relates each crisis to failures of specific segments of the system to address Native American problems. In the process, he examines issues, both historical and current, concerning child welfare, health care, the environment, and justice. He also discusses Native American community leaders and provides his expert opinion on how to improve the plight of Native Americans.
“Dorgan confronts difficult realities with unblinking sensitivity and an infusion of hope,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, who also noted that the book will foster sympathy for the Native Americans’ plight. Writing for Publishers Weekly, a reviewer commented: “Dorgan’s plea for change serves as an informative and moving introduction to a great injustice.”
BIOCRIT
BOOKS
Congressional Quarterly’s Politics in America: The 107th Congress, Congressional Quarterly (Washington, DC), 2001.
PERIODICALS
American, May 1, 2007, “A Foolish Inconsistency.”
America’s Intelligence Wire, June 21, 2009, Paul J. Nyden, review of Reckless! How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (and How We Can Fix It!).
Booklist, August 1, 2006, Vanessa Bush, review of Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America, p. 20; July 1, 2013, Jeff Ayers, review of Gridlock, p. 36.
Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2009, review of Reckless!; February 15, 2012, review of Blowout; September 15, 2019, review of The Girl in the Photograph: The True Story of a Native American Child, Lost and Found in America.
Library Journal, March 1, 2012, Robert Conroy, review of Blowout, p. 84.
Manufacturing & Technology News, October 25, 2006, “Interview with Sen. Byron Dorgan Author of Take This Job and Ship It,” p. 8.
Publishers Weekly, April 20, 2009, “The Blame Game,” p. 40; January 30, 2012, review of Blowout, p. 35; May 13, 2013, review of Gridlock, p. 46; September 9, 2019, review of The Girl in the Photograph, p. 57.
Reference & Research Book News, February 1, 2007, review of Take This Job and Ship It.
U.S. Newswire, October 6, 2006, “National Press Club ‘NEWSMAKER’ Briefing: ‘The Choice between Free Trade and Fair Trade.’”
Washington Post, July 31, 2006, Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, “A Rallying Cry for Democratic Populism,” p. A13.
ONLINE
American Free Press, http://www.americanfreepress.net/ (February 12, 2007), Mark Anderson, “Democrats Vow to Fight Free Trade.”
Arent Fox LLP, https://www.arentfox.com/ (October 17, 2019), author bio.
Charleston Gazette, http://wvgazette.com/ (June 20, 2009), Paul J. Nyden, “Book Review: Senator’s Book Admits Mistakes, Places Blame.”
Eno Center for Transportation, https://www.enotrans.org/ (October 17, 2019), author bio.
Foreign Affairs, http://www.foreignaffairs.com/ (March 1, 2007), Walter Russell Mead, review of Take This Job and Ship It.
PR Newswire, https://www.prnewswire.com/ (September 7, 2017), “U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan Joins Skyworks Strategic Board of Advisors.”
Real Clear Politics, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/ (May 26, 2009), Lou Dobbs, author interview.
OTHER
Congressional Hearing Transcript Database, May 26, 2009, transcript of MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show, “Interview with Senator Byron Dorgan.”
Byron L Dorgan
Senator Byron L. Dorgan retired from the United States Senate in 2011 after a thirty year career representing the State of North Dakota, serving twelve years in the House of Representatives and eighteen years in the Senate.
During his time in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Dorgan served in the Senate Leadership for sixteen years, first as Assistant Democratic Floor Leader and then as Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. He was Chairman of Senate Committees and Subcommittees on the issues of Energy, Aviation, Appropriations, Water Policy and Indian Affairs.
Genres: Thriller
New Books
November 2019
(kindle)
The Girl in the Photograph
Series
Nate Osborne and Ashley Borden (with David Hagberg)
1. Blowout (2012)
2. Gridlock (2013)
Non fiction
Take This Job and Ship It (2006)
Reckless! (2009)
The Girl in the Photograph (2019)
Byron L. Dorgan
U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan served as a Congressman and Senator for North Dakota for 30 years before retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2011. He served in the Senate Leadership for 16 years, first as Assistant Democratic Floor Leader and then as Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. He was Chairman of Senate Committees and Subcommittees on the issues of Energy, Aviation, Appropriations, Water Policy and Indian Affairs.
Senator Dorgan is now active in his post Senate life teaching, speaking, consulting, writing and much more. He is a recognized leader in the fields of energy policy, economic issues, aviation policy, Indian issues, trade policy, health care and more.
Senator Dorgan is an Adjunct and Visiting Professor at Georgetown University lecturing on energy, economic policy and political affairs. He works part time as a Senior Policy Advisor with the Washington DC Law Firm Arent Fox. He is also a Senior Fellow with the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington DC think tank focusing primarily on energy issues. And he is Chairing a new program at the Aspen Institute – The Center for Native American Youth – that assists Native American Children with an emphasis on teen suicide prevention.
The Senator is the author of four books. The first, a New York Times Bestseller book “Take this Job and Ship It,” and a second book released in 2009, “Reckless… How Debt, Deregulation and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (And How We Can Fix It).” He co-authored a novel “Blowout” that was published in 2012, and in July of 2013 he released a second book in this “eco-thriller” series titled “Gridlock.”
Senator Dorgan has a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of North Dakota, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Denver. He is married to Kim Dorgan and has four children: Scott, Shelly (deceased), Brendon, and Haley.
U. S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan Joins Skyworks Strategic Board of Advisors
Former Senator brings decades of aviation and transportation policy expertise
News provided by
Skyworks Global Inc.
Sep 07, 2017, 13:20 ET
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SALT LAKE CITY, Sept. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyworks, the global leader in gyronautics, announced that Senator Byron L Dorgan will join its strategic board of advisors. Senator Dorgan served as a Congressman and Senator for North Dakota for 30 years before retiring from the U.S. Senate in 2011.
During his tenure in Congress, Senator Dorgan served on Senate Committees for Energy, Commerce, Defense Appropriations, and was Chairman of Indian Affairs. He was also Chairman of Senate Subcommittees on Aviation and Energy and Water Appropriations.
As Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senator Dorgan worked extensively on aviation issues. He served as co-chairman of the Eno Center for Transportation project, exploring ways to reorganize the Air Traffic Control function at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to accelerate the movement to the next generation air traffic control system using GPS as a replacement for ground based radar. He was also the lead sponsor of the Electric Vehicle Deployment Act.
"We are delighted to have someone of Senator Dorgan's stature join the Skyworks team," said retired Air Force Brig. Gen. John Michel, Skyworks Director. "The Senator brings decades of experience in aviation, mobility and alternative transportation public policy to the table, along with a deep understanding of defense program protocols and life cycles."
Senator Dorgan serves on the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory. He is also a New York Times bestselling author of four books and adjunct visiting professor at Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. He is a senior policy advisor with the Washington DC law firm Arent Fox and a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington DC think tank.
Senator Dorgan holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of North Dakota and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Denver.
Byron Dorgan
Senior Policy Advisor
Senator Dorgan is a Senior Policy Advisor at Arent Fox and Co-Chair of the firm’s Government Relations practice.
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Senator Dorgan serves as Co-Chair, along with Congressman Phil English, of the firm’s Government Relations practice. He is recognized as having substantial knowledge in the areas of energy, transportation and infrastructure, taxation, technology, defense, national security, trade, and Indian affairs, and has been the author of major energy legislation as well as transportation and tax policies.
*Senator Dorgan is not a member of the legal practice.
Previous Work
Senator Dorgan served in the U.S. Senate leadership for 16 years as Assistant Democratic Floor Leader and Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee. He has had a lengthy career in public service at both the state and federal levels, serving as State Tax Commissioner for North Dakota followed by 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and 18 years in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Dorgan served for ten years on the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee working on tax and health care issues. In the Senate, he served on the Appropriations Committee, the Energy Committee, and the Commerce Science and Transportation Committee. He was Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, Chairman of a number of Appropriations subcommittees, and Chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee.
In addition to the above, Senator Dorgan has been a Commissioner on the U.S./China Economic and Security Review Commission and a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington, DC think tank; has served as an Adjunct Visiting Professor at Georgetown University in the McCourt School of Public Policy; and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Former Members of Congress Organization.
Publications, Presentations & Recognitions
Senator Dorgan is a New York Times Bestselling Author of five books:
Reckless! How Debt, Deregulation and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America
Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America
Blowout (a novel)
Gridlock (a novel)
The Girl in the Photograph: The True Story of a Native American Child, Lost and Found in America, publication date November 2019
Life Beyond the Law
Senator Dorgan is married to Kim Dorgan and has four children: Scott, Shelly (deceased), Brendon, and Haley.
Byron L. Dorgan is a BPC senior fellow and co-chair of its Energy Project. He was a congressman and senator for North Dakota for 30 years before retiring from the Senate in 2011. He served in the Senate leadership for 16 years, first as assistant Democratic floor leader and then as chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee.
Dorgan was chairman of Senate committees and subcommittees on the issues of energy, aviation, appropriations, water policy, and Indian affairs.
He is an adjunct and visiting professor at Georgetown University lecturing on energy, economic policy, and political affairs. He works part time as a senior policy advisor with the Washington, D.C. law firm Arent Fox. He is also chairing a new program at the Aspen Institute—The Center for Native American Youth—that assists Native American children with an emphasis on teen suicide prevention.
Dorgan is the author of four books including a New York Times bestseller, Take this Job and Ship It, and a second book released in 2009, Reckless… How Debt, Deregulation and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (And How We Can Fix It). He co-authored the novel Blowout that was published in 2012, and in 2013 he released a second book in this “eco-thriller” series titled Gridlock.
Dorgan received a Bachelors of Science degree from the University of North Dakota, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Denver.
Byron Dorgan
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Byron Dorgan
United States Senator
from North Dakota
In office
December 14, 1992 – January 3, 2011
Preceded by
Kent Conrad
Succeeded by
John Hoeven
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Dakota's at-large district
In office
January 3, 1981 – December 14, 1992
Preceded by
Mark Andrews
Succeeded by
Earl Pomeroy
18th Tax Commissioner of North Dakota
In office
March 31, 1969 – January 6, 1981
Governor
William Guy
Arthur Link
Preceded by
Edwin Sjaasstad
Succeeded by
Kent Conrad
Personal details
Born
Byron Leslie Dorgan
May 14, 1942 (age 77)
Dickinson, North Dakota, U.S.
Political party
Democratic
Spouse(s)
Kimberly Olson
Education
University of North Dakota (BS)
University of Denver (MBA)
Byron Leslie Dorgan (born May 14, 1942) is an American author, businessman, attorney and former United States Senator and United States Congressman from North Dakota and currently serves as a senior policy advisor for the Washington, DC law firm Arent Fox LLP.[1] He served 12 years in the U.S. House and 18 years in the Senate. He was a member of the Senate Democratic leadership for 16 years, first as Assistant Democratic Floor Leader and then as Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee and Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs. In 2010, Dorgan announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2010 North Dakota senate election.[2]
In addition to his work at Arent Fox, Dorgan serves as a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center, where he focuses on energy policy issues as Co-Chair of BPC's Energy Project.[3] He is an Adjunct Visiting Professor at Georgetown University,[4] and serves on several boards of directors, including the Board of Governors of Argonne National Laboratory,[5] and on the National Advisory Board of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.[6]
Dorgan is also a New York Times best-selling author of four books, including two on economic and political issues and two novels described as eco-thrillers.
Contents
1
Early life, education, and business career
2
Early political career
3
U.S. Senate
3.1
Elections
3.2
Tenure
3.3
Chairman of Senate Energy Panel
3.4
Chairman of Senate Aviation Panel
3.5
Red River Valley Research Corridor
3.6
Financial Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis
3.7
Additional Senate history
3.8
Committee assignments
4
Center for Native American Youth
5
Personal life
6
Campaign contribution controversy
7
Writings
7.1
Nonfiction
7.2
Fiction
8
Electoral history
9
See also
10
References
11
External links
Early life, education, and business career[edit]
Dorgan was born in Dickinson, North Dakota, the son of Dorothy and Emmett Patrick Dorgan, and was raised in Regent, North Dakota. His father's family was of Irish and Swedish ancestry,[7] while his mother's was German and Norwegian. He graduated from Regent High School and earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Dakota and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Denver. Dorgan worked for the Martin-Marietta Corporation in the aerospace industry.
Early political career[edit]
Dorgan's public service career began at age 26, when he was appointed North Dakota State Tax Commissioner to a fill a vacancy opened upon the death of the incumbent tax commissioner. He was the youngest constitutional officer in North Dakota's history.[8] He was re-elected to that office by large margins in 1972 and 1976, and was chosen one of "Ten Outstanding State Officials" in the United States by the Washington Monthly magazine. His future Senate colleague Kent Conrad worked in the same office before succeeding Dorgan at this post. Dorgan ran unsuccessfully for a seat in Congress in 1974. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in his second bid in 1980. He was a member from 1981 until 1992, being re-elected five times.
U.S. Senate[edit]
Elections[edit]
In 1992, the Democratic incumbent, Kent Conrad opted not to run for re-election because of a campaign promise. Dorgan won the election for the seat. However, that September the state's other senator, Quentin Burdick, died and Conrad ran for the seat in the special election. Conrad took the new seat in 1992 and Dorgan assumed Conrad's old seat a few weeks early. Dorgan was re-elected in 1998 and 2004. Conrad later was elected for a full term from North Dakota's other Senate seat.
Tenure[edit]
When Dorgan was chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, he was one of the most powerful Democrats in the Senate. He was considered "something of a liberal hero."[1] In the later years of his Senate career, he had been increasingly sought by the national media for comment on political issues. He was a strong opponent of continuing the U.S. embargo toward Cuba. He was instrumental in passing legislation to remove the embargo as it applied to the sale of food and medicine to Cuba.[9] He introduced, with varying levels of success, several amendments to end the U.S. prohibition on travel to Cuba, and to terminate funds for anti-Castro broadcasting. Dorgan has also opposed most bills "liberalizing" trade policies between the United States and other countries, maintaining that most trade agreements resulted in higher trade deficits and shipping U.S. jobs overseas. He has a mixed record on tort reform issues, voting against the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act and the Class Action Fairness Act, but voting in favor of the vetoed Common Sense Product Liability and Legal Reform Act and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.
Chairman of Senate Energy Panel[edit]
Dorgan was Chairman of the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee and was also senior member of the Senate Energy Committee. He was an early supporter of renewable energy, sponsoring measures on the production tax credit for wind energy and creating a Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) mandate to help build a renewable fuels industry.[10][11] He also persuaded the U.S. Geological Survey to conduct and release the first official estimate of recoverable oil in the Bakken Formation in North Dakota.[12] That estimate concluded that there was up to 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil from the shale deposits in North Dakota.
Chairman of Senate Aviation Panel[edit]
Dorgan was Chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee and worked extensively on aviation issues. He has served as Co-Chairman of the Eno Center for Transportation project exploring ways to reorganize the Air Traffic Control function at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to accelerate the movement to the next generation air traffic control system using GPS as a replacement for ground-based radar.[13]
Red River Valley Research Corridor[edit]
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Dorgan earmarked substantial funds to create a Red River Valley Research Corridor to bring new high-tech jobs to that region. The Research Corridor was anchored by North Dakota State University and the University of North Dakota, which became magnets for new economic opportunities and new jobs in materials science, micro and nano-technology research, unmanned aviation vehicle research, among others.
Financial Regulation and the Global Financial Crisis[edit]
As early as 1994, Dorgan was sounding the warning about the speculation in unregulated financial derivatives, which would later be a central issue in the subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent 2007–2012 global financial crisis:,[14] by U.S. banks on their proprietary accounts. He wrote the cover story for the Washington Monthly magazine titled "Very Risky Business" warning of the danger to the economy of the wagers that large financial institutions were making by trading in unlimited derivatives.[15]
In 1999, Dorgan voiced continuing concern over lack of regulation of derivatives.
We are moving towards greater risk. We must do something to address the regulation of hedge funds and especially derivatives in this country, $33 trillion, a substantial amount of it held by the 25 largest banks in this country, a substantial amount being traded in proprietary accounts of those banks. That kind of risk overhanging the financial institutions of this country one day, with a thud, will wake everyone up.
Senator Dorgan was one of only eight members of the Senate to vote against the repeal of key provisions of the Glass-Steagall Act (contained in the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act) in 1999.[16] During debate on that 1999 legislation, in a speech on the Senate floor,[17][18] he said that, "it will in my judgement raise the likelihood of future massive taxpayer bailouts" (cited in John Lanacaster, Whoops, London, 2010, p. 161). On September 26, 2008, against a backdrop of growing economic turmoil caused by the Credit Crunch, David Leonhardt of The New York Times singled out a quotation made by Dorgan in 1999[16] during the US Senate's repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act. "I think we will look back in 10 years' time and say we should not have done this, but we did because we forgot the lessons of the past, and that that which is true in the 1930s is true in 2010."
On January 23, 2008, Dorgan was one of the first politicians to speak of the oncoming economic downturn in a speech to the Senate given in response to then-President Bush's economic stimulus package.[citation needed]
Additional Senate history[edit]
Dorgan speaking in 2005
In 2007, Dorgan was a major supporter of net neutrality legislation in the Senate, seeing it as essential to keeping the Internet open and democratic.[19]
In 2007, he was a major opponent of the McCain-Kennedy Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1639) saying that the legislation's guest worker provision would continue the downward push of illegal aliens on the wages of American workers.[20]
In 2009, he voted along with all 39 voting Republican senators and 12 Democrats against an amendment to the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009.[21]
Three times,[22] Dorgan introduced a bill to form a new committee modeled after the 1940s Truman Committee to oversee Government waste, fraud, and corruption in the awarding of government contracts.[23]
In 2009, Dorgan voted to approve the $838 billion stimulus package. The Senate voted 61-37 to pass this legislation.[24]
In 2009, Dorgan sided with fellow Democrats to make funds available to modify or build facilities to allow Guantanamo detainees to be brought to the United States. This was a reversal from his previous vote to not allow federal funds to be used to transfer or incarcerate Guantanamo inmates.[25]
Although Dorgan had indicated in early 2008 he would seek a fourth term in the Senate,[26] on January 5, 2010, he issued a statement announcing he would not run for re-election. In it, he insisted that the "... decision [was] not a reflection of any dissatisfaction with my work in the Senate, nor [was] it connected to a potential election contest [in the fall of 2010] (frankly, I believe if I were to run for another term I would be reelected)."[27] He gave his Senate farewell speech on December 9, 2010.[28]
Dorgan is briefly featured in Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, in which he discusses the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks. He was not being interviewed by Moore.[citation needed]
Committee assignments[edit]
2009-2010
Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee on Defense
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development (Chairman)
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security (Chairman)
Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet
Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance
Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
Subcommittee on Energy
Subcommittee on National Parks
Subcommittee on Water and Power
Committee on Indian Affairs (Chairman)
Center for Native American Youth[edit]
Following his departure from the Senate, Dorgan announced the creation of a non-profit organization to help Native American youth living on Indian Reservations. He donated $1 million of unused campaign funds to create the Center for Native American Youth (CNAY),[29][30] which is housed as a separate program at the Aspen Institute. The Center works on teen suicide prevention, providing educational opportunities, and additional issues with Indian youth in the United States. CNAY sponsors a Champions of Change program that recognizes outstanding Native American youth and develops mentors for other youth.[31] Dorgan serves as the unpaid Chairman of the Board of CNAY.
Personal life[edit]
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Dorgan is married to the former Kimberly Olson, who was formerly an Executive Vice President and lobbyist for The American Council of Life Insurers. Together they have two children, Brendon and Haley. From his first marriage, Dorgan has a son Scott who has two children, Mason and Madison, and he also had a daughter Shelly, who is deceased.
Campaign contribution controversy[edit]
In November 2005, Dorgan was accused of receiving campaign contributions from people who worked for companies connected to lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Because Dorgan was the top Democrat on the committee investigating corruption charges against Abramoff, questions were raised about a possible conflict of interest. In a statement released on November 28, 2005,[32] Dorgan responded by asserting that he has never personally met Jack Abramoff, nor has he ever received money from Abramoff. Dorgan did acknowledge receiving money from Abramoff's clients, but the donations began prior to their involvement with Abramoff. Dorgan's statement went on to say that he has supported the programs that benefited Abramoff's clients years prior to the contribution. On December 13, 2005 Dorgan announced that he was returning all donations from Abramoff's clients as a precaution to avoid any impropriety as the contributions may have been directed or requested by Abramoff.[33]
Writings[edit]
Nonfiction[edit]
Electric Transmission Infrastructure and Investment Needs: Hearing Before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate (editor). Diane Pub Co., 2003 ISBN 0-7567-2997-1.
Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America. Thomas Dunne Books (2006) ISBN 0-312-35522-X. (appeared on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list)
Reckless!: How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (And How We Can Fix It!). Thomas Dunne Books (2009) ISBN 0-312-38303-7.
The Girl in the Photograph: The True Story of a Native American Child, Lost and Found in America. Thomas Dunne Books, 2019. ISBN 9781250173645.
Fiction[edit]
Blowout (with David Hagberg). Forge, 2012. ISBN 978-0-7653-2737-6
Gridlock (with David Hagberg). Forge, 2013. ISBN 978-0-7653-2738-3
Electoral history[edit]
U. S. Senate elections in North Dakota, Class III: 1992–2004[34]
Year
Democratic
Votes
Pct
Republican
Votes
Pct
3rd Party
Party
Votes
Pct
1992
Byron L. Dorgan
179,347
59%
Steve Sydness
118,162
39%
Tom Asbridge
Independent
6,448
2%
1998
Byron L. Dorgan
134,747
63%
Donna Nalewaja
75,013
35%
Harley McLain
Reform
3,598
2%
2004
Byron L. Dorgan
212,143
68%
Mike Liffrig
98,553
32%
Dorgan, Byron L. THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH Dunne/St. Martin's (Adult Nonfiction) $27.99 11, 26 ISBN: 978-1-250-17364-5
A sober and sobering testimonial about the devastating consequences of the United States government's broken promises to the Native American community.
Former North Dakota Sen. Dorgan (Reckless!: How Debt, Deregulation, and Dark Money Nearly Bankrupted America (And How We Can Fix It!), 2009, etc.) continues his post-office advocacy work with this grim expose. The central figure is Tamara, a young woman from the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Her biography distills hundreds of years of institutional dishonesty, incompetence, and malevolence, which have left the Native American community's well-being far behind that of other American demographics. Dorgan first encountered Tamara through a newspaper story in 1990. Her parents were abusive alcoholics, and at age 2, she was placed in a foster home where she was beaten nearly to death. The author launched an investigation into the reservation's child welfare system, which yielded alarming facts but left much work still to be done. This book, he explicitly hopes, will inspire readers to action. Dorgan gradually reveals Tamara's story, which exemplifies many of the most pressing concerns confronting Native Americans. Each phase of her life becomes an intimate entrance point by which to analyze a particular systemic failing. The author looks into the history and current state of issues, including child welfare, health care, education, and justice. He details problems like generational trauma, environmental degradation, and land theft while highlighting leadership within the community and offering recommendations for a brighter future. The text is well organized, balancing personal anecdotes with history and hard data. Many of the statistics, though, lack citations that would further bolster the author's credibility among skeptics. Dorgan confronts difficult realities with unblinking sensitivity and an infusion of hope. Policy change is his undisguised intention, so the authorial voice is that of a politician persuading his constituency.
Simultaneously appalling and optimistic, this book will enlist many sympathetic readers to the cause of Native rights.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Dorgan, Byron L.: THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPH." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2019. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A599964257/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=769fc09f. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A599964257
The Girl in the Photograph: The True Story of a Native American Child, Lost and Found in America
Byron L. Dorgan. St. Martin's/Dunne, $27.99 (208p) ISBN 978-1-250-17364-5
In this poignant account, former senator Dorgan connects the tale of an abused girl on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota to the larger story of the U.S. government's mistreatment of Native Americans. Dorgan first encountered five-year-old Tamara (no last name is given) in 1990, when her photograph appeared in a Bismarck Tribune story about the beating she endured in a reservation foster home. The next weekend, Dorgan writes, he traveled from Washington, D.C., to Standing Rock to meet Tamara. But he soon lost track of her. Twenty-seven years later, she reached out to him on social media. Dorgan uses the harrowing details of Tamara's life story--which includes sexual abuse, homelessness, untreated PTSD, and attempted suicide--to put a human face on the plight of indigenous Americans in general. Among many shocking statistics, he notes that the federal government allocates less healthcare funding per Native person than per incarcerated person. On a more positive note, Dorgan profiles young Native American leaders, such as Mariah Gladstone, whose Indigikitchen project promotes traditional foodways as a means to improving Native Americans' health. Dorgan's plea for change serves as an informative and moving introduction to a great injustice. (Nov.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"The Girl in the Photograph: The True Story of a Native American Child, Lost and Found in America." Publishers Weekly, 9 Sept. 2019, p. 57. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A600790140/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=3a45685a. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A600790140
Gridlock.
By Byron L. Dorgan and David Hagberg.
July 2013.416p. Forge, $25.99 (9780765327383).
Former U.S. senator Dorgan (D-North Dakota) and veteran thriller author Hagberg team up again in this tense follow-up to Blow-out (2012). Sheriff Nate Osborne, journalist Ashley Borden, and scientist Whitney Lipton have become fast friends after the events in the previous book. They barely survived; all are trying to forget, but Osborne has a gut feeling that another attack is coming. He's right. An assassin starts the ball rolling, but the murders are only the beginning. At stake is the entire power grid of the U.S. Bring that down, and the country will revert back to the Stone Age. Gridlock is a far superior book to its predecessor, with more action, better-developed characters, and effective use of the stark North Dakota landscape. Readers new to the series will find enough backstory to throw them into the tale. Imagine Vince Flynn on a road trip to the Dakotas.
Ayers, Jeff
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Ayers, Jeff. "Gridlock." Booklist, 1 July 2013, p. 36. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A338036582/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=d375dfb2. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A338036582
Gridlock Byron L. Dorgan and David Hagberg. Forge, $25.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-765-32738-3
The nation's energy grid remains a terrorist target in Dorgan and Hagberg's action-packed follow-up to 2012's Blowout. Several computer probes aimed at our electrical power system indicate that a major strike is on the way. The Iranian and Venezuelan secret services have hired Barend Dekker, a genius hacker operating out of Holland, to insert a Russian virus into the American grid. Dr. Whitney Lipton, the head of the Dakota Initiative power station, which survived a massive attack in the last book, is still herding her army of coal-eating, methane producing bacteria. Her friend Ashley Borden, a reporter for the Bismarck Tribune, and Ashley's boyfriend, county sheriff Nate Osborne, are about all that stands in the way of ex-Spetsnaz Capt. Yuri Makarov, now working as a contract killer to aid in the virus's implementation. Former Senator Dorgan's energy policy expertise and bestseller Hagberg's thriller-writing know-how bode well for a long series. Agent: Mel Berger, William Morris Endeavor. (July)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2013 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Gridlock." Publishers Weekly, 13 May 2013, p. 46. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A330143263/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=a206f540. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A330143263
Dorgan, Byron L. & David Hagberg. Blowout. Forge: Tot. Mar. 2012. c.384p. ISBN 9780765327376. $25.99. F
A top-secret research team has commenced work on a project, the Dakota District Initiative, which if successful will possibly end U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Located in North Dakota, the initiative entails cleanly converting coal to oil. There are, of course, many who would like this project to fail, including oil-producing nations. As attacks are launched on the facility by mercenaries hired by Venezuela, much of the project's defense falls on the shoulders of local sheriff Nate Osborne and journalist Ashley Borden. Prolific author Hagberg is best known for his Kirk McGarvey thrillers, and Dorgan is a recently retired U.S. senator from North Dakota. VERDICT While there is plenty of action here readers will have to accept large plot holes and the authors' tendency to be preachy when it comes to what they clearly feel are the devastating and imminent dangers of human-made climate change. The result is an okay but flawed thriller. Purchase for demand.--Robert Conroy, Warren, MI
Conroy, Robert
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.libraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Conroy, Robert. "Dorgan, Byron L. & David Hagberg. Blowout." Library Journal, 1 Mar. 2012, p. 84. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A281900588/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ab6a940b. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A281900588
Hagberg, David BLOWOUT Forge (Adult Fiction) $25.99 3, 27 ISBN: 978-0-7653-2737-6
A blistering thriller from Dorgan, a former congressman and senator for North Dakota, and Hagberg, a former U.S. Air Force cryptographer. In North Dakota, a top-secret project called The Dakota District Initiative seeks to prove the viability of converting coal into pollution-free energy. The key is bacteria that literally can be taught to eat a coal seam and generate massive quantities of methane. As a result, America would break its dependence on oil for hundreds of years. Geopolitics would never be the same. OPEC nations would lose revenue and power, so one of them decides The Initiative must be destroyed. The job calls for a maniac, and that means Barry Egan of the Posse Comitatus. He will earn a lot of money if he can destroy the project's test facility, but the killing along the way seems a task he'd gladly take on for free. It's a tough old world, Egan continually says, usually as he's putting a slug in someone's head. Luckily, the good guys are brave and smart, like Sheriff Nate Osborne, a Medal of Honor winner with a titanium leg. The story begins with a failed attack on the facility, followed by a far more deadly attempt. The science behind the project may be no more than the authors' imaginations-who knows?-but single-celled coal-eaters make a plausible basis for the yarn. If there is one minor quibble, it's with the comic-book characterizations: The bad guys are all bad and the good guys (and gals) are all good. There is a thread of romance that adds a little dimension, but nothing that titillates the senses. This book is all about good vs. evil (read: us vs. them), with plenty of action and narrow escapes. An enjoyable and fast-moving tale that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next one.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Hagberg, David: BLOWOUT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2012. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A279908043/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ddb9ba24. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A279908043
Blowout
Byron L. Dorgan and David Hagberg. Forge, $25.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-7653-2737-6
Former U.S. senator Dorgan (Take This Job and Ship It: How Corporate Greed and Brain-Dead Politics Are Selling Out America), assisted by bestseller Hagberg (Abyss), makes good use of his energy affairs expertise in this exciting eco thriller. A secret government project in the North Dakota Badlands, the Dakota District Initiative, seeks to inject bacteria into coal seams to create methane that can be burned to produce electricity. If successful, this pollution-free process could solve America's energy needs for four or five centuries, and foil the oil producing nations and the rapacious businesses that benefit from them. Wealthy hedge fund director D.S. Wood hires Posse Comitatus warrior Barry Egan and a group of likeminded wing-nuts to blow up the Initiative and save the world for big oil. A hardy cast of scientists, military men, and ordinary folk join forces to stop Wood and his henchmen. The authors smoothly blend near-constant action and cutting-edge science. Agents: Mel Berger. William Morris; Susan Gleason. Susan Gleason Literary Agency. (Mar.)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2012 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Blowout." Publishers Weekly, 30 Jan. 2012, p. 35+. Gale General OneFile, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A279261084/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cceda3a7. Accessed 6 Oct. 2019.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A279261084