Bill Text: TX HR2439 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of former U.S. Congressman Charlie Stenholm of Granbury.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2023-05-28 - Reported enrolled [HR2439 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR2439-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 2439 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Former U.S. Congressman Charlie Stenholm of | ||
| Granbury, a major architect of the nation's agricultural policy, | ||
| passed away on May 17, 2023, at the age of 84, bringing a great loss | ||
| to his family and many friends across West Texas and beyond; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The son of Lambert and Irene Stenholm, Charles | ||
| Walter Stenholm was born in Stamford on October 26, 1938, and grew | ||
| up on the family farm in the Swedish Lutheran community of | ||
| Ericksdahl; he earned bachelor's and master's degrees in | ||
| agricultural education at Texas Tech University and began teaching | ||
| in Avoca while also helping his father grow cotton and wheat and | ||
| raise cattle; hired to advocate for Rolling Plains Cotton Growers, | ||
| he also served as president of the Texas Rural Electric Cooperative | ||
| Association; he was appointed to the Texas State Agricultural | ||
| Stabilization and Conservation Service, now the Farm Service | ||
| Agency, and in 1978, he was elected to represent the 17th | ||
| Congressional District; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Stenholm was an ardent champion of rural Texas | ||
| and played a key role in shaping and passing every farm bill during | ||
| his 26 years in the U.S. House of Representatives; in the 1980s, he | ||
| helped formulate legislation that rescued the Farm Credit System | ||
| from financial distress; he assisted in drafting legislation that | ||
| reorganized the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Clinton | ||
| administration, and he was instrumental in reforming the federal | ||
| crop insurance system to better protect family farmers; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A conservative Democrat and founder of the Blue Dog | ||
| Coalition, Mr. Stenholm was known for his ability to work across | ||
| the aisle in Washington, staying genial, calm, and patient no | ||
| matter how heated the discussion; he helped garner Democratic | ||
| support for President Ronald Reagan's tax cuts and fervently | ||
| supported a balanced budget amendment; as ranking member on the | ||
| House Committee on Agriculture, he teamed with the chair, Lubbock | ||
| Republican Larry Combest, to win passage of a new farm bill that | ||
| doubled subsidies for Texas agribusiness; the pair often worked | ||
| together on such legislation as the Water Pollution Program | ||
| Improvement Act and the Carousel Retaliation Act; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Stenholm valued the opinions of others but stood | ||
| firmly by his principles even when inconvenient; although the | ||
| flag-burning amendment had local support, his belief in the | ||
| constitutional protection of free expression led him to vote | ||
| against it; those who might disagree with his position on an issue | ||
| nevertheless respected his honesty and integrity; he remained close | ||
| to his commonsense upbringing, and whenever he felt he might be | ||
| straying too far into the Washington mindset, he spent some time | ||
| riding a tractor on his 2,000-acre cotton and cattle farm; | ||
| colleagues described him as the kind of citizen-legislator the | ||
| nation's founders envisioned; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Redistricting cost Mr. Stenholm his seat in 2004, | ||
| but he continued to work on behalf of agricultural development and | ||
| safety and to promote fiscal conservatism and bipartisanship; he | ||
| became a senior policy advisor for the Washington firm Olsson Frank | ||
| Weeda Terman Matz PC and later joined the faculty of Tarleton State | ||
| University as an adjunct professor; in addition, he took a | ||
| leadership role with Farm Foundation, moderating many of its forums | ||
| at the National Press Club to increase understanding of farm and | ||
| food issues; much in demand as a public speaker, he also wrote | ||
| newspaper articles and served on the boards of such organizations | ||
| as the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and the Concord | ||
| Coalition; he was a man of faith and a member of both Emmanuel | ||
| Lutheran Church in Granbury and Bethel Lutheran Church of | ||
| Ericksdahl; among many accolades, he received a Distinguished | ||
| Alumni Award from Tarleton, and he was inducted into the | ||
| Cooperative Hall of Fame; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Charlie Stenholm devoted his career to the | ||
| advancement of farming and rural communities, and although he is | ||
| deeply missed by those he left behind, his exceptional | ||
| contributions will continue to resonate in the years to come; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable Charles | ||
| Walter Stenholm and extend sincere sympathy to the members of his | ||
| family: to his wife of 58 years, Cynthia Stenholm; to his children, | ||
| Chris, Carey, and Courtney; and to all others who mourn his passing; | ||
| and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
| Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Charlie | ||
| Stenholm. | ||
| Bryant | ||
| Rogers | ||
| Lambert | ||
| Ashby | ||
| Slawson | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 2439 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
| rising vote of the House on May 28, 2023. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
