Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HR2439 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.R. No. 2439
2	2
3	3
4	4	R E S O L U T I O N
5	5	WHEREAS, Former U.S. Congressman Charlie Stenholm of
6	6	Granbury, a major architect of the nation's agricultural policy,
7	7	passed away on May 17, 2023, at the age of 84, bringing a great loss
8	8	to his family and many friends across West Texas and beyond; and
9	9	WHEREAS, The son of Lambert and Irene Stenholm, Charles
10	10	Walter Stenholm was born in Stamford on October 26, 1938, and grew
11	11	up on the family farm in the Swedish Lutheran community of
12	12	Ericksdahl; he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in
13	13	agricultural education at Texas Tech University and began teaching
14	14	in Avoca while also helping his father grow cotton and wheat and
15	15	raise cattle; hired to advocate for Rolling Plains Cotton Growers,
16	16	he also served as president of the Texas Rural Electric Cooperative
17	17	Association; he was appointed to the Texas State Agricultural
18	18	Stabilization and Conservation Service, now the Farm Service
19	19	Agency, and in 1978, he was elected to represent the 17th
20	20	Congressional District; and
21	21	WHEREAS, Mr. Stenholm was an ardent champion of rural Texas
22	22	and played a key role in shaping and passing every farm bill during
23	23	his 26 years in the U.S. House of Representatives; in the 1980s, he
24	24	helped formulate legislation that rescued the Farm Credit System
25	25	from financial distress; he assisted in drafting legislation that
26	26	reorganized the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Clinton
27	27	administration, and he was instrumental in reforming the federal
28	28	crop insurance system to better protect family farmers; and
29	29	WHEREAS, A conservative Democrat and founder of the Blue Dog
30	30	Coalition, Mr. Stenholm was known for his ability to work across
31	31	the aisle in Washington, staying genial, calm, and patient no
32	32	matter how heated the discussion; he helped garner Democratic
33	33	support for President Ronald Reagan's tax cuts and fervently
34	34	supported a balanced budget amendment; as ranking member on the
35	35	House Committee on Agriculture, he teamed with the chair, Lubbock
36	36	Republican Larry Combest, to win passage of a new farm bill that
37	37	doubled subsidies for Texas agribusiness; the pair often worked
38	38	together on such legislation as the Water Pollution Program
39	39	Improvement Act and the Carousel Retaliation Act; and
40	40	WHEREAS, Mr. Stenholm valued the opinions of others but stood
41	41	firmly by his principles even when inconvenient; although the
42	42	flag-burning amendment had local support, his belief in the
43	43	constitutional protection of free expression led him to vote
44	44	against it; those who might disagree with his position on an issue
45	45	nevertheless respected his honesty and integrity; he remained close
46	46	to his commonsense upbringing, and whenever he felt he might be
47	47	straying too far into the Washington mindset, he spent some time
48	48	riding a tractor on his 2,000-acre cotton and cattle farm;
49	49	colleagues described him as the kind of citizen-legislator the
50	50	nation's founders envisioned; and
51	51	WHEREAS, Redistricting cost Mr. Stenholm his seat in 2004,
52	52	but he continued to work on behalf of agricultural development and
53	53	safety and to promote fiscal conservatism and bipartisanship; he
54	54	became a senior policy advisor for the Washington firm Olsson Frank
55	55	Weeda Terman Matz PC and later joined the faculty of Tarleton State
56	56	University as an adjunct professor; in addition, he took a
57	57	leadership role with Farm Foundation, moderating many of its forums
58	58	at the National Press Club to increase understanding of farm and
59	59	food issues; much in demand as a public speaker, he also wrote
60	60	newspaper articles and served on the boards of such organizations
61	61	as the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Concord
62	62	Coalition; he was a man of faith and a member of both Emmanuel
63	63	Lutheran Church in Granbury and Bethel Lutheran Church of
64	64	Ericksdahl; among many accolades, he received a Distinguished
65	65	Alumni Award from Tarleton, and he was inducted into the
66	66	Cooperative Hall of Fame; and
67	67	WHEREAS, Charlie Stenholm devoted his career to the
68	68	advancement of farming and rural communities, and although he is
69	69	deeply missed by those he left behind, his exceptional
70	70	contributions will continue to resonate in the years to come; now,
71	71	therefore, be it
72	72	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
73	73	Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable Charles
74	74	Walter Stenholm and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his
75	75	family: to his wife of 58 years, Cynthia Stenholm; to his children,
76	76	Chris, Carey, and Courtney; and to all others who mourn his passing;
77	77	and, be it further
78	78	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
79	79	prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
80	80	Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Charlie
81	81	Stenholm.
82	82	Bryant
83	83	Rogers
84	84	Lambert
85	85	Ashby
86	86	Slawson
87	87	______________________________
88	88	Speaker of the House
89	89	I certify that H.R. No. 2439 was unanimously adopted by a
90	90	rising vote of the House on May 28, 2023.
91	91	______________________________
92	92	Chief Clerk of the House