Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise here today to pay tribute to one of my great friends, Mr. Jerry Bookout of Jonesboro, who is one of Arkansas' greatest public servants. With more than 40 years of work in the Arkansas General Assembly, Bookout has pioneered countless reforms in education, retirement, and especially health care.
As a military veteran, elected official, and community volunteer, Bookout has devoted his entire life to public service. He worked to elevate Arkansas State College to university status, strengthened the State's retirement system, and established the first doctoral and physical therapy programs at Arkansas State University.
Although Bookout has championed many issues during his lifetime, he has worked particularly hard to improve the quality of health care in Arkansas. From chair of the American Cancer Society, to a leader in Arkansas' General Assembly, Bookout has shaped health policy for many years. His achievements earned him several distinguished positions as chair of the Senate Public Health/Senate Health Services Committee, the Senate Health Insurance and Prescription Drugs Committee, and vice-chair of the Senate Public Health, Welfare, and Labor Committee.
Bookout and his wife, the former Loretta Langford, have one son, Paul, who serves in the Arkansas House of Representatives and a daughter, Jill Rogers. He and his wife also have three grandchildren, Morgan and P.J. Bookout and Rachel Rogers.
On February 25, 2006, our community will gather at the American Cancer Society's 1st Annual Daffodil Ball to honor Jerry Bookout for his remarkable contributions to health care in Arkansas. I ask my colleagues in Congress to join me in congratulating him on this occasion and thanking him for over half a century of dedicated service, as a great friend, and a great American.
