[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 25 (Thursday, March 2, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E256]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            TRIBUTE TO ARKANSAS STATE SENATOR JERRY BOOKOUT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARION BERRY

                              of arkansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 2, 2006

  Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to one of my 
great friends, Mr. Jerry Bookout of Jonesboro, who is one of Arkansas' 
greatest public servants. With more than 40 years of work in the 
Arkansas General Assembly, Bookout has pioneered countless reforms in 
education, retirement, and especially health care.
  As a military veteran, elected official, and community volunteer, 
Bookout has devoted his entire life to public service. He worked to 
elevate Arkansas State College to university status, strengthened the 
State's retirement system, and established the first doctoral and 
physical therapy programs at Arkansas State University.
  Although Bookout has championed many issues during his lifetime, he 
has worked particularly hard to improve the quality of health care in 
Arkansas. From chair of the American Cancer Society, to a leader in 
Arkansas' General Assembly, Bookout has shaped health policy for many 
years. His achievements earned him several distinguished positions as 
chair of the Senate Public Health/Senate Health Services Committee, the 
Senate Health Insurance and Prescription Drugs Committee, and vice-
chair of the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee.
  Bookout and his wife, the former Loretta Langford, have one son, 
Paul, who serves in the Arkansas House of Representatives and a 
daughter, Jill Rogers. He and his wife also have three grandchildren, 
Morgan and P.J. Bookout and Rachel Rogers.
  On February 25, 2006, our community will gather at the American 
Cancer Society's 1st Annual Daffodil Ball to honor Jerry Bookout for 
his remarkable contributions to health care in Arkansas. I ask my 
colleagues in Congress to join me in congratulating him on this 
occasion and thanking him for over half a century of dedicated service, 
as a great friend, and a great American.

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