[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 22786-22787]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  OUR FLORIDA COLLEAGUES: CARRIE MEEK AND KAREN THURMAN AND DAN MILLER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK FOLEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 14, 2002

  Mr. FOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to join my colleagues in recognizing 
the contributions that three of our Florida colleagues--Carrie Meek and 
Karen Thurman and Dan Miller--have made. Each brought invaluable gifts 
to this institution, and each are leaving with a legacy that any one of 
us would be proud to have.
  I have known Karen Thurman since we both were elected state officials 
in the Florida Legislature. And both then and since, she worked hard 
and long for constituents in need. She has been a particularly strong 
champion of veterans' and senior citizen causes and of Florida's 
agricultural community. Both of us have served on the Agriculture 
Committee here and since then on the Ways and Means Committee. And 
while Karen and I have found ourselves divided many times by partisan 
political issues, I have never known her once not to fight for what she 
believes deeply in. She's a fighter and a wonderful person, and while 
politics ultimately determines our fate here, there is no question 
Karen will continue a strong role in making both Florida and this 
nation better.
  The same can be said of Carrie Meek. Carrie has dedicated her 
professional and personal life to the people of Florida, as a public 
servant, college administrator and educator. Carrie has been a true 
champion to her constituents. She has been a person that would reach 
out to the neediest and be their strongest advocate. I will always 
admire her commitment and loyalty to her convictions. Surely, Carrie's 
contributions to the lives of all Floridians will continue to pay 
dividends for generations to come.
  With the retirement of Dan Miller, I am not only losing a colleague 
but a longtime good neighbor of mine in Washington.
  Dan's dedication to public service and his commitment to the idea of 
less government, of conservative government, has been unwavering and 
will be greatly missed. Even my own sigh of relief at losing a staunch 
opponent of the sugar program--a program vitally needed by many of my 
constituents--is a testament to Dan's doggedness when he is pursuing 
what he deeply believes is the right course.
  The years of service by all three of these Florida members--Karen 
Thurman, Carrie Meek and Dan Miller--are years of contributions. And I 
want to join all my colleagues in thanking them for that.

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