[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO CHUCK CONNER

 Mr. LUGAR. Mr. President, for 17 years Chuck Conner has been 
my top agriculture and nutrition advisor, and for the last 10 years has 
been Republican staff director of the Agriculture, Nutrition and 
Forestry Committee. Chuck is departing the Senate to become president 
of the Corn Refiners Association.
  Chuck has ushered four farm bills through the Senate, including last 
year's historic FAIR Act that ended 60 years of Federal production 
controls. Chuck's work can be seen in moving American agriculture to 
the free market, thoughtfully downsizing the Department of Agriculture, 
reforming hundreds of USDA field offices, making food safer through 
pesticide regulations, saving and then reforming the farm credit 
system, updating commodity futures legislation, and landmark reform of 
the nutrition sections in last year's welfare reform bill.
  Chuck was with me on my Indiana farm June 28, 1985, when then 
Secretary of Agriculture Jack Block and I announced the first 
Conservation Reserve Program. Today that program is still a vital 
cornerstone of soil and water conservation in America, and the 
extension of the program last year was part of the most significant 
environmental legislation in the 104th Congress. Chuck has been 
involved every step of the way.
  He has combined a strong academic background, with an agricultural 
economics degree from the Purdue University School of Agriculture, and 
practical knowledge of how programs are implemented. His family 
continues to operate an 1100-acre corn and soybean farm in Benton 
County, IN. Chuck and his wife Dru maintain a herd of 100 registered 
Angus cows in Whitley County, IN.
  Chuck and Dru met in the early 1980's while working in my office. My 
wife, Char, and I have enjoyed watching the growth of their four 
children: Katie, Ben, Andrew, and Emily.
  I will miss Chuck's counsel, which Agriculture Committee members have 
trusted and respected. He now takes his leadership skills to 
agribusiness. On the committee he has hired, trained, and developed a 
talented staff that will be led by his longtime deputy Randy Green, 
maintaining continuity in service.
  I speak for majority and minority members of the Agriculture 
Committee in wishing Chuck Conner, an extraordinarily talented and 
loyal friend, the very best.

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