A Minnesota Leader Who Makes a Difference
In 2006, Amy Klobuchar became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in Minnesota’s history. Senator Klobuchar’s career has been guided by the values she learned growing up in Minnesota. Her grandfather worked 1,500 feet underground in the iron ore mines of northern Minnesota. Her father, Jim, was a newspaperman, and her mother, Rose, was an elementary school teacher who taught second grade until she was 70.
The Senator has built a reputation of putting partisanship aside to help strengthen the economy and support families, workers and businesses. She consistently has one of the highest legislative rankings in Congress for working across the aisle with both Senators and House members. The Washington Post has called her “talented and effective,” Working Mother magazine named her as “Best in Congress” for her efforts on behalf of working families, and The New York Times alled her a “former prosecutor with made-for-state-fair charms.”
Senator Klobuchar knows that her first duty is to represent the people of Minnesota. She fought to obtain full funding to rebuild the I-35W bridge, which was completed just 13 months after it tragically collapsed into the Mississippi River. She worked to pass the most significant consumer product safety legislation in a generation, keeping toxic foreign products off our shores. And she helped ensure that National Guard members receive the full benefits they’ve earned.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, she was part of the conference committee that reached an agreement with the House on a long-term Farm Bill in 2014. In 2015, the Senator was appointed to a leadership position as Chair of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, where she brings together Senators, businesses, community leaders and policy experts to develop policies to move the country forward. She also serves as Ranking Senate Member of the Joint Economic Committee and on the President’s Export Council, where she helps give businesses the tools they need to create good jobs right here at home. She has authored legislation to help small businesses tap into new markets abroad, passed a significant amendment aimed at boosting funds for STEM education for American students, and led successful national initiatives to boost American tourism.
Senator Klobuchar also serves as the Ranking Member on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, where she has worked to protect consumers from anti-competitive behavior and to make sure businesses can compete on a level playing field. She has introduced legislation to crack down on “pay-for-delay” agreements that keep affordable generic drugs off the market.
Before serving in the Senate, Amy Klobuchar headed the largest prosecutor’s office in Minnesota for eight years. Her safe schools initiative, community prosecution efforts, and criminal justice reforms earned national awards from both the Bush and Clinton Justice Departments. In the Senate, she led a successful effort to pass bipartisan sex trafficking legislation and played a critical role in passing the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
Before being elected to public office, the Senator was the leading advocate for successful passage of one of the first laws in the country guaranteeing 48-hour hospital stays for new moms and their babies.
The Senator was the valedictorian of her Wayzata High School class. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and the University of Chicago Law School. She is married to John Bessler, a native of Mankato who attended Loyola High School and the University of Minnesota. Amy and John have a daughter, Abigail, who is in college.
To read more about Amy:
Trips with dad: Weeklong 'Jaunts,' blown tires and Cheez Whiz
By Doug Smith, Star Tribune
Sen. Amy Klobuchar quietly climbs Washington ranks
By Allison Sherry, Star Tribune
'Meat and potatoes' approach feeds Klobuchar's Senate career
By Kevin Diaz, Star Tribune
Senate race: Amy Klobuchar has plans to solve 'big issues,' too
By Bill Salisbury, Pioneer Press
Amy Klobuchar: Poised and popular
By Steve Berg, Star Tribune
Unstoppable Amy
By Brian Lambert, Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine
The Audacity of Minnesota: Senator Amy Klobuchar
By Lisa DePaulo, Elle Magazine
Chasing Amy
By Frank Bures, Minnesota Monthly