Terry Everett
Encyclopedia
Robert Terry Everett is an American
politician, who was a Republican
member of the United States House of Representatives
since 1993, representing .
On September 26, 2007, Everett announced his intention to retire at the end of the 110th Congress. He was succeeded by Bobby Bright
, who was the first Democrat to represent the district since 1965.
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.
, 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
.
of any member of the Alabama delegation. He showed a concern about local issues and demonstrated 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.
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.
On 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 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.
On June 16, 2006, he voted for the continued occupation of Iraq.
In an October 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.”
In February 2007, Everett co-sponsored a house bill with Ron Paul
to end United States membership in the United Nations
.
2004 General Election
2002 General Election
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician, who was a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
since 1993, representing .
On September 26, 2007, Everett announced his intention to retire at the end of the 110th Congress. He was succeeded by Bobby Bright
Bobby Bright
Bobby Neal Bright, Sr. is an American politician who served as U.S. Representative for from 2009 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes just over half of the state capital, Montgomery, as well as most of the Wiregrass Region in the southeastern part of the state....
, who was the first Democrat to represent the district since 1965.
Early life
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 ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
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.
Elections
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.George Wallace, Jr.
George Corley Wallace, III is an American politician from Alabama.-Personal life:...
, the son of the former governor
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
, and Republican state senator
Alabama Senate
The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal amount of districts across the state, with each district containing at least 127,140 citizens...
Larry Dixon
Larry Dixon (politician)
Larry Dixon was a Republican member of the Alabama Senate, representing the 25th District froom 1983-2010. He did not seek re-election in 2010 and retired from elective politics...
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
Enterprise, Alabama
Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee and Dale Counties in the southeastern part of Alabama in the Southern United States. The population was estimated to be 25,909 in the year 2009....
, though he is listed in the House roll as "R-Rehobeth
Rehobeth, Alabama
Rehobeth is a town in Houston County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Dothan, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2000 census the population was 993.-Geography:Rehobeth is located at .According to the U.S...
." They are Southern Baptists
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
.
Tenure
Everett was one of the most conservative members of the House. He had the highest lifetime rating from the American Conservative UnionAmerican Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
of any member of the Alabama delegation. He showed a concern about local issues and demonstrated 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.
Fort Rucker
Fort Rucker is a U.S. Army post located mostly in Dale County, Alabama, United States. It was named for a Civil War officer, Confederate General Edmund Rucker. The post is the primary flight training base for Army Aviation and is home to the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence and...
). 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.
On 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 2006, he voted against extending the Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
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.
On June 16, 2006, he voted for the continued occupation of Iraq.
In an October 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.”
In February 2007, Everett co-sponsored a house bill with Ron Paul
Ron Paul
Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul is an American physician, author and United States Congressman who is seeking to be the Republican Party candidate in the 2012 presidential election. Paul represents Texas's 14th congressional district, which covers an area south and southwest of Houston that includes...
to end United States membership in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
.
Committees
- 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| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Terry Everett (R) | 124,212 | 70 | |
| Chuck James (D) | 54,398 | 30 | |
| Terry Everett (R) re-elected for 8th term | |||
2004 General Election
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Terry Everett (R) | 177,086 | 71 | |
| Chuck James (D) | 70,562 | 28 | |
| Terry Everett (R) re-elected for 7th term | |||
2002 General Election
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Terry Everett (R) | 129,233 | 69 | |
| Charles Woods (D) Charles Woods Charles Woods was an Alabama businessman and broadcaster, and aspiring politician. Woods was raised in an orphanage. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II... |
55,495 | 30 | |
| Terry Everett (R) re-elected for 6th term | |||
- 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 JournalNational JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
- Economic: 25% Liberal, 74% Conservative
- Social: 0% Liberal, 91% Conservative
- Foreign: 25% Liberal, 68% Conservative
- Americans for Democratic ActionAmericans for Democratic ActionAmericans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
: 0 - American Civil Liberties UnionAmerican Civil Liberties UnionThe American Civil Liberties Union is a U.S. non-profit organization whose stated mission is "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States." It works through litigation, legislation, and...
: 5 - Chamber of Commerce of the United States: 100
- Christian Coalition: 100
- American Conservative UnionAmerican Conservative UnionThe American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
: 92 - National Taxpayers UnionNational Taxpayers UnionNational Taxpayers Union is a taxpayers advocacy organization and taxpayers union in the United States, founded in 1969 by James Dale Davidson. NTU advertises that it is the largest and oldest grassroots taxpayer organization in the nation, with 362,000 members nationwide. It is closely...
: 54 - League of Conservation VotersLeague of Conservation VotersThe League of Conservation Voters is a political advocacy organization founded in 1969 by American environmentalist David Brower in the early years of the environmental movement. LCV's mission is to "advocate for sound environmental policies and to elect pro-environmental candidates who will adopt...
: 9