[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 113 (Wednesday, September 13, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S9504]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        TRIBUTE TO NICK WALTERS

 Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I want to take a moment and wish best 
of luck to a accomplished, young and promising Mississippian who is 
leaving Federal service to pursue private sector opportunities.
  Nick Walters, originally of Wiggins, MS, was appointed as 
Mississippi's USDA rural development director by President George Bush 
in 2001. Since then, Nick has done a great job supporting Mississippi's 
communities, helping to secure resources needed for public facilities, 
utilities and for economic development.
  This is a key Federal position for my State. As Nick likes to say, 
this is the ``non-farm,'' or ``non-food'' part of USDA. It's about new 
water and waste water systems, so people can have clean, dependable 
running water. It's about new community centers, town halls, and even 
high-tech or educational assets like broadband service, telemedicine 
and long-distance learning.
  Since taking office, Nick has presented scores of oversized checks, 
in countless photos for local papers telling stories about a new water 
tower or a new police car or fire truck.
  Some people might think these things are small, and they often are in 
terms of Federal dollars. But these modest services will reverberate 
for years to come. As Nick says: USDA rural development is really about 
economic development, helping to encourage and sustain job creation--
paving the way for communities to grow.
  Nick has helped administer more than $100 million to Mississippi's 
cities and towns through this agency. He hasn't sat on laurels waiting 
for mayors, supervisors, town aldermen, or CEOs to approach him. Nick 
has been proactive, innovative, and he is actively sought cases and 
ways to meet individual community needs through USDA's various rural 
development programs.
  We have all heard the old saying: ``Don't tell me what you can't do, 
tell me what you can do.'' That is been Nick Walters' approach to 
public service. His first inclination is to act. That is something we 
Mississippians appreciate. After Hurricane Katrina, we saw many Federal 
bureaucrats in FEMA and elsewhere strapped by indecision, blinded by 
tunnel vision, stuck on what they could not do, obsessed with the word 
``no'' when they should have been saying ``yes.'' Nick isn't that type. 
He has provided a great example of what someone in this office can do 
using its authority to the utmost, and we're working hard to find a 
successor who will continue this strong leadership.
  Nick Walters will be missed but my guess is that he will be back in 
public service one day. In what capacity? I don't know. That is a 
decision for him, his wife Lisa, and his young children, Porter and 
John Garrett.
  But now with this success behind him and given his previous 
experience in the private sector, his work with former Mississippi 
Governor Kirk Fordice, his stint as chief of staff for the Mississippi 
Public Service Commission Nick Walters will be successful in wherever 
his endeavors may lead.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in thanking Nick Walters for his 
exemplary service to the Federal Government and, more importantly, to 
America as Mississippi's USDA rural development director.

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