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April 20, 2001

(L-R) Dale Duggan, Runnels County FB, Steve Pringle, TFB legislative affairs director, and Dist. 2 TFB Director Lloyd Arthur visit with Congressman Charles Stenholm (D-Abilene), ranking minority member of the House Agriculture Committee in Washington D.C.

By Lana Robinson
Field Editor

A delegation of Texas Farm Bureau leaders earning a trip to Washington, D.C. for their legislative efforts were on Capitol Hill at a time of high drama in the U.S. Congress in early April. On the eve of the Easter recess, when U.S. representatives and senators from Texas were about to cast votes on the long-sought-after repeal of estate taxes, National Affairs Awards Trip winners were in the offices of their respective representatives, urging them to "Kill the Death Tax!" The message came through loud and clear in the U.S. House, where H.R. 8, the Death Tax Elimination Act of 2001, was passed the following day by a vote of 274 to 154.

"Elimination of the Death Tax is a significant victory for farmers and ranchers and other small business owners who want to pass their land and assets down to the next generation . As an organization, we feel very good to see something we have fought for over years finally come to fruition," said Texas Farm Bureau President Donald Patman of Waxahachie. "As we talked with our elected officials, it became very clear that the grassroots efforts of our members, including our 2001 National Affairs Awards Trip winners, on key issues really do make a difference."

Other legislative priorities the TFB delegation discussed with their representatives included improved farm policy, the lifting of trade sanctions that hurt U.S. agriculture, and the establishment of tax-deferred FARRM (Farm and Ranch Risk Management) Accounts. Texas farmers and ranchers also had questions concerning precautions the federal government is taking regarding FMD (Foot and Mouth Disease) and its stance on indemnification in the event of an outbreak in the U.S.

According to Steve Pringle, legislative affairs director for the Texas Farm Bureau, the National Affairs Awards Trip is a reward for counties that have been active in national affairs over the previous year.

"To qualify they must either have meet with their congressman or conducted a series of meetings with congressional staff members, in addition to other activities, such as our Policy Development meetings," Pringle explained. "We generally send out information in June telling them what they must do to qualify."

The largest group ever made the four-day trip to Washington, D.C. this year, including:

District 1 Director Ralph Detten and Craig and Judy Solomon, Deaf Smith County FB; Karlyle Haaland, Dallam CFB; and Marc Welch, Hartley CFB;

District 2 Director Lloyd Arthur and Angela Arthur and Alice Ann Day, Crosby CFB; Warren and Charlotte Mitchell, Floyd CFB; Bob and Kelly Jones, Lamb CFB; Earl and Melba Foester and Frank and Mary Sehon, Lubbock CFB; and Glen and Lori Martin, Terry CFB;

District 3 Director Steve Cochran and Billy Wayne and Lula McMeans, Stonewall-Kent CFB; Ben and Patricia Buerger, Archer CFB; Larry and Diane Burnett, Baylor CFB; Cecil and Betty Sparkman, Clay CFB; Mickey Dunnam, Joey Thomas, and Joe Wheatley, Haskell CFB; Herb and Susan Williams, Wise CFB; Larry and Karen Pratt, Young CFB;

District 4 TFB Director Joe Kapavik, Dallas CFB; President Donald Patman and Mary Patman, Ellis CFB; Harold and Lauren Nortman, Cooke CFB; and TFB County Agricultural Coordinators Jennifer Gunter and Amy Lorance, Denton CFB;

TFB Secretary-Treasurer James Maxton (District 5) and Fleda Maxton, Titus CFB; Marilyn Jones, Bowie CFB; A.B. Sadler and Harold Stone, Gregg CFB; and John and Susan Durgin, Van Zandt CFB;

District 6 TFB Director Kenneth Dierschke and Binnie Dierschke and Daniel and Larita Jansa, Tom Green CFB; Terry and Bonnie Caffey, Concho CFB; and Lyn and Lori Vogler, Dawson CFB;

District 7 TFB Director Regan Kirk and Kim Kirk and Maarten and Deanne Cromer, San Saba CFB; Allen and Jeri Wilson, Callahan-Shackelford CFB; Keith and Michelle McIlvain, Comanche CFB; Jim and Judy Gibson, Erath CFB; Dale and Linda Duggan, Runnels CFB; Sam and Emma Nix and Winston and Vernon Ohlhausen, Taylor CFB;

District 8 TFB Director Daniel Dierschke and Marilynn Diershke, Travis CFB; Gary and Barbara Phillips, Bosque CFB; Steven and Karla Stone, John and Teresa Davis, Lampasas CFB; TFB Executive Director Vernie Glasson, TFB Associate Legislative Director Ken Hodges, TFB Legislative Director Steve Pringle, TFB Field Editor Lana Robinson, TFB Travel Services Director Betsy Simon, and Joe and Eileen Vanous, McLennan CFB; Lucien and Joanie Kruse and TFB Associate Field Operations Director Durwood Tucker, Milam CFB; Charles and Carolyn Brown and Marcus and Sandra Greaves, Robertson CFB; and Wilbert and Joyce Vorwerk, Williamson CFB;

District 9 TFB Director Jim Smith and Kay Smith and Will and Carol Winfree, Jefferson CFB; Albert and Deanna Thompson, Nacogdoches CFB; and Bobby and Margaret White, Trinity CFB;

District 10 TFB Director Thomas Boehme and Helen Boehme and Ken and Laurie Graff, all of Medina CFB; Walter and Shirley Stevens, Atascosa CFB; Anton and Marilyn Haner, Bandera CFB; TFB County Agricultural Coordinator Emilee Trlica and Howard and Barbara Schirmer, Bexar CFB; James Neal, Jr., Frio CFB; Jack Gary, Hays CFB; Jim Haynie, Kerr CFB; Weldon and Judie Gilleland, Uvalde CFB; John Schuster, Val Verde/Kinney CFB;

Representing District 11: County Ag Coordinator Tribbie Grimm, Brazoria CFB; Clinton Bushacker, Fayette CFB; Alice and Robert Schumann, Fort Bend CFB; and Edwin Cannon and William Kalbow, Harris CFB;

District 12 TFB Director Zachary X. Yanta and Linda Yanta, Karnes CFB; Edwin and Rosie Johns, Wilson CFB; and

TFB Vice President Dale Jeske (District 13) and Janet Jeske, TFB County Agricultural Coordinator Bobby Aguilar, and John and Bevie Rabe, Hidalgo CFB; James Taubert and Karen Vest, Cameron CFB; and former Dist. 13 State Director David Krebs II and Bobby Nedbalek, San Patricio CFB.

The group enjoyed a night tour of the Capitol building at the invitation of Dist. 11 Congressman Chet Edwards (D-Waco) on Sunday, April 1. On Monday, a team of American Farm Bureau Federation staff apprised Texas leaders concerning movement in Congress on various agricultural issues as additional preparation for those with scheduled appointments with their congressmen Tuesday and Wednesday. At 9:30 a.m., the delegation received a briefing by Eileen McGinnis, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christine Todd Whitman's Chief of Staff, and Dale Moore, Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman's Chief of Staff, at a meeting at AFBF headquarters. That afternoon, two members of the White House staff shared President Bush's budgetary and agricultural agenda with TFB members at the Old Executive Building, near the White House. Dist. 17 Congressman Charles Stenholm (D-Abilene), ranking minority member of the House Agriculture Committee, was the keynote speaker at a dinner at the Holiday Inn-Capitol's Columbia Ballroom later that evening.

Dist. 8 Congressman Kevin Brady (R-The Woodlands) and American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman, who was president of the Texas Farm Bureau before his ascendancy to that post in January 2000, addressed the group at a breakfast the following morning. In the afternoon, the National Affairs Awards group met with Senators Kay Bailey Hutchison and Phil Gramm at the Russell Senate Office Bldg. Afterwards, several individuals were present in the Senate gallery when Vice President Dick Cheney cast the first tie-breaking vote on an amendment to fund a Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Participants were treated to a nighttime tour of the nation's historic monuments. Others ventured on their own to Mount Vernon, home of President George Washington, Arlington National Cemetery, the National Archives, Library of Congress, National Gallery, and the Smithsonian Institute.