Michael Joseph Reed's Strong Legacy

Floor Speech

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Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember a dedicated public servant and appropriations policy adviser par excellence, my former chief of staff and friend, Michael Joseph Reed. Michael transitioned on Monday, January 15.

Starting as a Presidential management intern at the U.S. Department of Transportation, he went on to serve two prolific congressional appropriators--Congressmen Lou Stokes of Ohio and Bill Gray of Pennsylvania.

When I got a seat on the House Appropriations Committee in 2003, I needed a seasoned specialist and was blessed to have Michael Reed join my team, first as special assistant, then deputy chief of staff, and finally chief of staff and senior policy adviser.

For 18 years I matriculated in the Michael Reed school of budgetary policy. He was a master. Learning the intricacies of ag policy, he became an asset to me and was highly respected on both sides of the aisle.

Upon leaving the Hill, he was honored by the communities and industries he helped, including the University of Georgia College of Agriculture and the Georgia Peanut Commission, among others. The research and disaster relief he made possible for American agriculture are among his lasting legacies.

Family and friends will celebrate his life in a private ceremony this week. We mourn his loss but thank God that his legacy of service will endure.

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