[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5577-5578]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE AND MEMORY OF AMBASSADOR CLAYTON YEUTTER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Nebraska (Mr. Smith) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I rise in memory of Ambassador 
Clayton Yeutter, a native of Eustis, Nebraska, who recently passed away 
after a hard-fought battle with cancer.
  Mr. Yeutter was a true statesman, who generously shared his time and 
expertise throughout his very remarkable career. On top of his numerous 
professional accomplishments, Mr. Yeutter was known as a humble, kind, 
and respected leader who never lost sight of his commitment to rural 
America.
  No one understood the importance of trade to American agriculture 
better than he did, and his work has benefited generations of, 
incidentally, Nebraska agriculture producers as well as others across 
the country.
  Mr. Yeutter grew up on a cattle and corn operation in central 
Nebraska during the Great Depression. He attended the University of 
Nebraska, where he earned a bachelor's degree in animal husbandry and, 
later, a juris doctorate and a Ph.D. in agricultural economics.
  After serving in the Air Force in the 1950s and returning home to 
work on his farm, he got his start in politics as chief of staff for 
Nebraska Governor Norbert Tiemann in the mid-1960s. Soon he was named 
director of the Nebraska Mission to Colombia, which led

[[Page 5578]]

him to the USDA and decades of distinguished public service.
  His extensive resume included serving as U.S. Trade Representative 
under President Ronald Reagan and Agriculture Secretary under President 
George H.W. Bush. He also ran the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for 8 
years and served as chairman of the Republican National Committee.
  As we mourn the loss of this influential Nebraskan, I extend my 
condolences to Mr. Yeutter's wife, Cristena, and his children, 
grandchildren, and great-granddaughter as well.
  I yield to my colleague from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry).
  Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Congressman Adrian 
Smith, for yielding, and I thank him, more importantly, for honoring 
the life and memory of our mutual good friend Clayton Yeutter.
  In my desk in my office there is a letter, and it was written to me 
by Clayton Yeutter, former Secretary of Agriculture, a couple of years 
ago. Of course, we all receive a lot of letters, but sometimes you get 
one that you just want to keep close to you.
  Clayton Yeutter was a gentleman, he was a farmer from Nebraska, and 
he was a true statesman. In that letter, he basically kindly and gently 
encouraged me in public service. He was the ideal public servant. He 
expressed his sentiments to me personally, but in his public life, with 
a great nobility, a great yearning and care for our country, he 
committed himself in multiple ways to serving our institutions of 
governance. But he never forgot his humble roots back in Nebraska.
  So I simply want to say: Well done, good, faithful servant Clayton 
Yeutter, my friend.
  I thank the gentleman for honoring Ambassador Yeutter's life.
  Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I can't say enough to honor such 
a true giant in public service as Secretary Yeutter, Ambassador 
Yeutter. The list goes on of his many titles, an incredible man, but 
his humility did so much for our country.

                          ____________________