Sam Graves

Graves is a lifelong resident of Tarkio, a small city in the northwestern corner of Missouri not far from the Iowa and Nebraska borders.[2] Sam is the son of Janice A. (née Hord) and Samuel Bruce Graves. He graduated from the University of Missouri College of Agriculture in Columbia, Missouri with a degree in Agronomy.[2] He was a member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity, also known as AG-Sig.[3]

Graves was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1992. After only one term, he was elected to the Missouri Senate in 1994, and then reelected in 1998.[2]

Graves is the brother of Todd Graves, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.[7] In October 2008, U.S. Senator Kit Bond apologized to Todd Graves after a U.S. Justice Department report cited Bond forcing Graves out over a disagreement with Representative Graves.[7] Following the report, U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey appointed a special prosecutor to investigate whether former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and other officials involved in the firings of nine U.S. attorneys broke the law (dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy).[8]

In 2009, the House Ethics Committee began inquiring whether or not Graves used his position on the Small Business Committee to invite Brooks Hurst, a longtime friend and a business partner of his wife, to testify at a committee hearing on the federal regulation of biodiesel and ethanol production. Graves had failed to mention the financial link between Hurst and Lesley Graves at the hearing, which dealt with federal subsidies for renewable fuels. A review by the independent Office of Congressional Ethics found "substantial reason to believe that an appearance of conflict of interest was created."[9] Graves said in a statement, "I look forward to a quick review of the facts and answering any questions that the committee may have. I believe that a speedy review will show that all the rules of the House concerning testimony in front of the Small Business Committee were followed."[10] The Office of Congressional Ethics referred the case to the House Ethics committee, which ended its own investigation in October, and released a report finding no ethical violations, as it asserted there was no standard in place for appearances like Hurst's.[11][12]

Graves on the left with President George W. Bush at the Ford Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri on March 20, 2007

In 2000, Democratic U.S. Representative Pat Danner suddenly retired due to breast cancer. Graves filed within the short period of time left for filing. Graves faced Representative Danner's son, Steve Danner, a former State Senator, in the general election. Graves referred to Danner as a "tax and spend liberal" and won the race with 51% of the vote [13] largely by running up huge margins in the rural areas of the district. He was arguably helped by George W. Bush carrying the district in the 2000 presidential election, a theory known as the coattail effect.

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• Congressman Sam Graves official U.S. House website
• Sam Graves for Congress
• Sam Graves at Curlie
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress