Agricultural News
Portrait of Former House Ag Committee Chair Frank Lucas Unveiled in Longworth Building of US House
Wed, 24 Jun 2015 05:14:01 CDT
The Chairman of the House Ag Committee from 2011 to 2014, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas, was honored Tuesday evening by friends, supporters and colleagues as his portrait was unveiled during a reception held in the House Ag Committee meeting room in the Longworth Office Building of the US House of Representatives. The portrait, was paid for by private donations and has been donated to the US House art collection- accepted during the unveiling by the US Speaker of the House- John Boehner. The portrait was painted by Robert Alexander Anderson of Massaachusetts.
Boehner praised Chairman Lucas for his tireless efforts to bring the votes needed to the floor in favor of what became the 2014 Farm Law. Other lawmakers also praised the skills of their western Oklahoma colleague- all in agreement that the 2014 farm law had proven to be a very difficult piece of legislation to successfully pass in the House- but that Lucas found a way to accomplish the task.
A total of six Ag Committee Chairs were present for the ceremony- Lucas, Present House Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas, Collin Peterson of Minnesota- also the current Ranking Member, Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas who was House Ag Committee chair when Freedom to Farm was passed as a part of the 1996 Farm Law and is now Chair of the Senate Ag Committee, Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan who served as Chair of the Senate Ag Committee as the 2014 Farm Law was developed and worked closely with Lucas(and she is now the ranking member of that Committee in the Senate).
In a conversation with Radio Oklahoma Farm Director Ron Hays ahead of the ceremony- Congressman Lucas said he was honored by the support of those who commissioned the portrait- and that he believes it represents the culmination of his years as the ranking member and then Chairman of the Committee- where he attempted to instill "Oklahoma values" into the process of writing the 2014 farm law.
Lucas told Hays that he is convinced that farmers needed and deserved to have choices in the the federal farm safety net that makes up Title One of the law- and that the outcome of the election process of ARC or PLC as the safety program of choice by farmers proves the value of structuring the law in what became it's final form.
Lucas and Hays talked about the 2014 Farm Law in greater detail- and also about the contrast between the two parties in how they govern in the House- where the Republicans impose term limits on their Chairmen and Ranking Members of Committees while the Democrats do not. You can hear the complete conversation between Hays and Congressman Lucas by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
Hays also took pictures of the celebration- and you can see those pictures in a special Flickr album by clicking here.
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