Terry Everett

Robert Terry Everett (born February 15, 1937) is an American politician, who has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing Alabama's 2nd congressional district. This district includes the entire southeastern portion of the state, including Dothan, Enterprise and part of Montgomery.

On September 26, 2007, Everett announced his intention to retire at the end of the 110th Congress.^[1]

Life & political career

Everett was born in Dothan as the oldest son of a sharecropper and railroad worker. Both of his parents died at an early age, and Everett had to work two jobs to help his two brothers and sister. After graduating high school, he served four years in the Air Force as an intelligence specialist in Europe, where he learned Russian, and then worked a sports and police beat reporter for the Dothan Eagle. He eventually became owner of a chain of newspapers in the Southeast, as well as a large farm and a real estate development. He sold all but one of his holdings in 1988.

In 1992, Bill Dickinson announced his retirement from Congress, having served the 2nd District since 1964. It was widely expected that the race to succeed him would be between Democratic state treasurer George Wallace, Jr., the son of the former governor, and Republican state senator Larry Dixon from Montgomery. However, Everett upset Dixon in the Republican primary, winning by 15 points largely by dominating the area of the district outside Montgomery. In November, he defeated Wallace by just under two points (3,500 votes) in November. Everett probably wouldn't have won if not for redistricting changes that moved most of Montgomery's black residents to the 7th District to create a minority-majority district. Indeed, Dickinson had only won a 14th term in 1990 by only two points. Everett was reelected with 73 percent of the vote in the 1994 Republican wave, and six more times after that with no substantive opposition.

Everett and his wife, the former Barbara Pitts, make their home in Enterprise, Alabama, though he is listed in the House roll as "R-Rehobeth." They are Southern Baptists.

Early congressional photo of Everett

House record

Everett is one of the most conservative members of the House. He has the highest lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union of any member of the Alabama delegation. He has shown a concern about local issues and demonstrates a real impact on some issues that are vital to his constituency. In 1995, he formed a Peanut Caucus and on the Agriculture Committee held out against the Freedom to Farm Act until he got the peanut program continued (though with a 10% cut in the support price). On the 2002 Farm bill, Everett chaired the Speciality Crops and Foreign Agriculture Programs Subcommittee, which placed him in a strong position to advocate the interests of peanut farmers. When the 30% peanut subsidy finally lost congressional support, he managed to secure passage of a $3.5 billion program for a fallback government purchase option for peanut farmers.

Terry Everett's political orientation based on voting record

Terry Everett visiting Vandenberg Air Force Base

Everett has also worked on military and veterans' issues (the 2nd District includes Fort Rucker). As a Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee chairman in 1999, he took credit for a $1.7 billion increase for veterans' health care spending and the opening of four new national cemeteries. Everett sought to shift funding priorities "from longer-term efforts to those that will provide more immediate benefit to the war fighter in Iraq", including space-based capabilities.

In 2006, he voted against extending the Voting Rights Act due to the House's failure to adopt an amendment that would have distributed the act's provisions by current data and extended its coverage to areas beyond the southeast showing voter discrimination.^{[citation needed]}

On June 16 2006 he voted for the continued occupation of Iraq. December 14 2005 he voted for the reauthorization of the Patriot Act. On June 29 2005 he voted for the increase of funds by $25 million for anti-marijuana print and TV ads.

In an Oct. 2006 New York Times Op-ed piece, Congressional Quarterly journalist Jeff Stein revealed that despite Everett's being vice-chairperson of the House intelligence subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence, Everett did not know the ideological and religious differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims. Stein wrote that he posed a question to Everett: “'Do you know the difference between a Sunni and a Shiite?'... Mr. Everett responded with a low chuckle. He thought for a moment: 'One’s in one location, another’s in another location. No, to be honest with you, I don’t know. I thought it was differences in their religion, different families or something.'" After Stein explained some of those differences to the congressman, Everett responded, "“Now that you’ve explained it to me, what occurs to me is that it makes what we’re doing over there extremely difficult, not only in Iraq but that whole area.”^[2]

In February 2007, Everett co-sponsored a house bill with Ron Paul to end United States membership in the United Nations.^[3]

Committees and subcommittees

• House Committee on Agriculture (4th of 25)
  • Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy and Research
  • Subcommittee on Specialty Crops, Rural Development and Foreign Agriculture Programs
• House Committee on Armed Services (6th of 34)
  • Subcommittee on Strategic Forces (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Seapower and Expeditionary Forces
• Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (4th of 12)
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Terrorism/HUMINT, Analysis and Counter Intelligence
  • Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence

Electoral history

2006 General Election

2004 General Election

2002 General Election

• General Election 2000: Terry Everett (R) — 68%
• General Election 1998: Terry Everett (R) — 69%
• General Election 1996: Terry Everett (R) — 63%
• General Election 1994: Terry Everett (R) — 74%
• General Election 1992: Terry Everett (R) — 49%

Group ratings (2004)

• National Journal
  • Economic: 25% Liberal, 74% Conservative
  • Social: 0% Liberal, 91% Conservative
  • Foreign: 25% Liberal, 68% Conservative
• Americans for Democratic Action: 0
• American Civil Liberties Union: 5
• Chamber of Commerce of the United States: 100
• Christian Coalition: 100
• American Conservative Union: 92
• National Taxpayers Union: 54
• League of Conservation Voters: 9

References

1. ^ Congressman Terry Everett - September 26, 2007: Congressman Everett Announces Intentions to Retire
2. ^ Jeff Stein (October 17, 2006). "Can You Tell a Sunni From a Shiite?", New York Times.  ALTERNATE site http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/10/17/opinion/edstein.php
3. ^ Results - THOMAS (Library of Congress)

External links

• U.S. Congressman Terry Everett official House site

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets.org
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues

No comments have been added.

Your name:
City:
Country:	USA UK India Pakistan UAE Saudi Arabia Germany Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burund Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Rep Chad Chile China Columbia Comoros Congo Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic DR Congo Denmark Djiboutil Dominica Dominican Rep Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Eq Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Grenadines Guatemala Guinea Bissau Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Ivory Coast Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Macau Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nauru Nepal Neth Antilles Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Rawanda Romania Russia Sao Tome Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Korea South Africa Spain Sri Lanka St Kitts_Nevis St Lucia Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvala UAE Uganda Ukraine Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Western Samoa Yemen Yugoslavia Zaire Zambia Zimbabwe
Your comments:
Security check * (Please enter the number into adjoining box)