[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 5641]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TRIBUTE TO JACK CHURCH

  Mr. JOHNSON. Madam President, for 15 years, Jack Church has 
worked tirelessly on behalf of the citizens of Butte County as 
Emergency Management and Veterans' Service Officer. Over the years, 
Jack has completed and filed applications for disability, education, 
pension, and other benefits for the nearly 900 veterans living in Butte 
County. He has also provided assistance to the families of veterans and 
worked to obtain needed military and medical records, as well as medals 
and other decorations for veterans.
  I have appreciated Jack's work on behalf of veterans over the years. 
He has been a great advocate for veterans in South Dakota, not only on 
issues that impact the individual veteran and his or her family, but 
also on issues that impact all veterans, such as maintaining access to 
health care services in the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has 
always recognized the particular issues affecting veterans who live in 
rural areas, whose access to VA health care and other services can be 
limited by distance or income. He has been active on issues such as 
prescription drug costs for veterans and senior citizens, has advocated 
concurrent receipt of disability and retiree compensation for military 
retirees, and worked hard to speed up the processing of claims filed by 
veterans. He has truly been a friend to the veterans of South Dakota 
over the years.
  In 2000, Butte County veterans received $1.8 million in Federal 
benefits, compared to $900,000 in 1990. This represents Jack's work to 
ensure the veterans in Butte County get the benefits they deserve. When 
claims or requests for records or medals were delayed, Jack was not 
afraid to ``rattle the cages'' to get the necessary action on behalf of 
the veteran. At last resort, he would contact my office for assistance 
in some of these cases. Thanks to his efforts, countless veterans in 
Butte County and the surrounding region have benefitted from services 
provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs. His comments and 
insight on veterans issues have helped me over the years in my fight to 
bring more attention and action on health care, education, and other 
issues affecting veterans. I commend Jack for his dedication and 
commitment to forging relationships that have the best interests of the 
individual veteran in mind.
  In addition to his great work with South Dakota veterans, I have 
appreciated Jack's involvement in other areas in his community. As 
emergency management officer for Butte County, Jack has helped develop 
and administer disaster plans for the citizens of Butte County. In 
times of crisis, Jack was always in the middle of the action, helping 
to coordinate relief efforts and provide assistance to individuals in 
time of need. Whether it was finding shelter during an evening storm, 
or providing food stuffs or even porta-potties, Jack has always been 
dedicated to getting assistance and emergency help to victims. But Jack 
has also been very proactive, helping to educate the public on the 
importance of awareness in times of emergencies. Together with other 
emergency management officials in South Dakota, I was pleased with 
Jack's efforts to help me promote the need for, and importance of, 
weather radios to the citizens of South Dakota.
  Jack Church richly deserves the thanks of his community. It is an 
honor for me to share his accomplishments with my colleagues and to 
publicly commend him for serving South Dakota and our country.

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