[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 24, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5029-S5030]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Tribute to Lynn Tjeerdsma

  Madam President, before I close, I would like to take a couple of 
minutes to recognize a staffer of mine who will be retiring at the end 
of this work period.

[[Page S5030]]

  Lynn Tjeerdsma first came to work for me in 2007 to help out on the 
2008 farm bill. After the bill passed, he headed back to the Farm 
Service Agency at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to serve as 
Assistant Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs, but I asked him back 
in 2011 to work with me on the 2012--which actually ended up being the 
2014--farm bill, and he has been with me ever since.
  I suppose it is possible that there is someone out there who knows 
the ins and outs of farm policy better than Lynn, but I have yet to 
meet that person.
  After working with Lynn in 2007 and 2008, I asked him back for the 
2012 farm bill because I wanted the best for South Dakota's farmers and 
ranchers, and Lynn is the best. There is a reason for that.
  Lynn has an impressive farm policy resume on both the administrative 
and the legislative side. In addition to working for me, he worked for 
Senator Larry Pressler on the 1990 farm bill, and he has extensive 
experience in the executive branch of our government.
  He worked for the Farm Service Agency at the Department of 
Agriculture for years as a county executive director in Moody, SD; as a 
county executive director in Cass County, NB; as a program specialist 
and later a branch chief; and then, as I mentioned, as Assistant Deputy 
Administrator for Farm Programs. He also worked for the nonprofit 
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
  As impressive as his farm policy resume is, that is not all Lynn has 
brought to the table. Lynn often says: ``The best ideas for a farm bill 
come from a farm, not from behind a desk in Washington, DC.''
  Lynn isn't just an agricultural policy expert; Lynn is a farmer--not 
was a farmer--although he farmed a large spread for 15 years before 
going to work for the Department of Agriculture--but is a farmer. Lynn 
still owns and operates a corn and soybean farm near Platte, SD. So he 
has a deep insight into the challenges facing farmers and ranchers and 
how we can meet their needs here in Washington, DC.
  I have talked a lot about Lynn's agricultural expertise. I have 
relied on it for almost a decade. South Dakota's farmers and ranchers 
are better off today because of the knowledge and insight Lynn has 
brought to the table. I also want to talk about Lynn personally.
  Every one of us in the Senate wants smart and knowledgeable staffers, 
but in an ideal world, our staffers aren't just smart and 
knowledgeable; they also have the kind of character that Lynn 
displays--dedicated, hard-working, cheerful, generous, humble, and 
unfailingly kind.
  He is the kind of public servant we all aim to be and a gentleman in 
the very truest sense of the word.
  I am not the only one who is going to miss Lynn. Every one of my 
staffers is going to miss him as well. He has been a mentor to many in 
the office, and, perhaps more importantly, he has been supplying the 
staff with doughnuts every Friday for years.
  After a tough week, everyone looked forward to Lynn's Friday morning 
email letting them know the Krispy Kremes were in the office. The 
doughnut notification email always included a list of things Lynn was 
thankful for that week, whether it was the weather or the fact that 
South Dakota farmers had gotten all their soybeans in the ground.
  Lynn and his wife Mary were generous hosts, as well, inviting 
staffers over for Easter egg hunts and cookouts. We will miss other 
distinctly Lynn things, too, like his impressive cowboy boot collection 
or how we had to prevent him from biking home in a torrential downpour. 
Lynn has logged more than 5,000 miles on his bike while working for me, 
traveling from his home in Alexandria to the Dirksen Building on a 
daily basis.
  And, of course, everyone will miss Lynn's stories--like the one about 
the day that a younger Lynn tried to bring a rattlesnake home in a 
burlap bag. As you can imagine, the snake did not appreciate the 
accommodations, so he got loose, slithering under the driver's seat of 
Lynn's car. Lynn's abrupt exit from the vehicle created quite a hazard 
that day, with the snake as the only occupant of the now driverless 
vehicle rolling down the gravel roads near his childhood home.
  When I talk about missing Lynn, I also have to talk about the farmers 
and ranchers in my State who will miss having him here in Washington. 
More than once, agricultural groups in South Dakota have asked Lynn to 
keynote during annual banquets. On one occasion, I offered to give a 
speech but was told that Lynn was the preferred speaker.
  Lynn will be sorely missed, but he has more than earned his 
retirement. I know how much he is looking forward to spending more time 
with his wife Mary and with their 5 children and 10 grandchildren. I 
know he and Mary plan to travel to Hawaii and Alaska and that it is a 
goal of Lynn's to visit as many national parks as he possibly can.
  I know he will enjoy sitting, watching the waves with Mary at their 
house in Alabama and, of course, continuing to farm his corn and 
soybeans in South Dakota.
  Lynn, thank you for your service and your friendship. May God bless 
you in your retirement.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cramer). The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.