[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 161 (Friday, October 3, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RECOGNIZING THE HONORABLE BUD CRAMER AND THE HONORABLE TERRY EVERETT ON 
                     THEIR RETIREMENT FROM CONGRESS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 3, 2008

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to take the time to recognize 
the retirement of my friend and colleague from Alabama: Terry Everett. 
Terry has served the people of the Second District of Alabama with 
honor and distinction for the past eight terms. He has been a faithful 
public servant fighting for farmers, veterans, and conservative values.
  Terry has served on four committees including Agriculture, Armed 
Services, Veterans Affairs, and the Permanent Select Committee on 
Intelligence. However, I would like to highlight Terry's extraordinary 
work for the agriculture community. As a farmer himself, Terry brought 
real world experience to the committee, experience that we see less and 
less from our members. The country as a whole has become more suburban 
and urban, and the members who represent it have followed. He knew 
firsthand how the laws we passed in the Agriculture Committee impacted 
the livelihood of our producers.
  Since coming to Congress in 1993, Terry has been a strong and 
consistent voice for not only the producers of Alabama, but the entire 
Nation. Agriculture is Alabama's largest industry and Terry served as 
the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Specialty Crops and Foreign 
Agriculture Programs during the 2002 Farm Bill. He also currently sits 
on that subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit and 
Energy and Research.
  The peanut farmer knew no better friend than Congressman Everett. He 
served as a co-chair of the House Congressional Peanut Caucus. Under 
his leadership on the 2002 Farm Bill, the peanut industry moved from a 
60-year-old Depression-era supply management program to a thriving 
industry that could respond to market signals and bring peanut farmers 
into the 21st century.
  During the 2008 Farm Bill, Terry expanded his reach and authored a 
provision to help producers who were suffering from drought. This 
provision provided a cost-sharing component for producers to build 
irrigation ponds for their crops during periods of drought. Without 
this provision, many producers in the South would not have been able to 
cover the cost of an irrigation pond project. This was yet another 
example of Terry taking the lead on an issue that was critically 
important to the livelihood of producers across the Nation.
  His leadership and experience will be missed. But, we do wish him and 
his wife Barbara all the best for a wonderful retirement.

                          ____________________