David Korten
writer, sustainability advocate
Charles Patrick Robertsis a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1981 to 1997, before his election to the Senate.
Table of Contents
Charles Patrick Robertsis a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, from 1981 to 1997, before his election to the Senate.
Born in Topeka, Kansas, Roberts is a graduate of Kansas State University. He served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps and worked as a newspaper reporter before entering politics in the late 1960s. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980 to succeed 1st District Congressman Keith Sebelius, for whom he had worked. He served eight terms in the House, including one as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.
Roberts was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1996. On the Intelligence Committee, he was responsible for an investigation into the intelligence failures prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He was the dean of Kansas’s congressional delegation and Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee (ANF). He is the first person to chair both the House and the Senate agriculture committees.
On January 4, 2019, Roberts announced that he would not seek reelection in 2020. He was succeeded by Representative Roger Marshall of Great Bend on January 3, 2021.
I full well realize that politics is a rough and tumble business, but politics should not be reduced to lobbing partisan hand grenades. Politics is not war. Terrorism is.
United States Senator from Kansas
With our Reserve and Guard units playing increasingly important roles in the war on terror and in Iraq, it is unacceptable to make them jump through any unnecessary hurdles.
United States Senator from Kansas
Security for agriculture merits serious concern by not only the agricultural community but our nation as a whole. The risk to the U.S. food supply and overall economy is real.
United States Senator from Kansas
Despite the generous rewards that state juries dole out, in many cases, victims receive less than 50 cents on the dollar in settlements with the lawyers taking the rest. This is not justice.
United States Senator from Kansas
I know there is moral outage in regard to Mr. Milosevic, and that is certainly justified. But what about our response?
United States Senator from Kansas
Throughout the world, terrorists are actively seeking their next recruit. Alarmingly, terrorist organizations are increasingly targeting school-age children as the next generation of terrorists.
United States Senator from Kansas
First, I have the privilege of being Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. It is not an oxymoron I assure you.
United States Senator from Kansas
We need to continue our full support of the nascent Iraqi government by helping to rebuild their economic infrastructure and maintain security while training the Iraqi security forces.
United States Senator from Kansas
Mr. President, it may surprise my colleagues, but I am no fan of federal disaster programs for agriculture. They are difficult to pass and often a disaster to implement.
United States Senator from Kansas
We will fight evil, but we will do it from above 15,000 feet.
United States Senator from Kansas