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“REMARKS OF THE HONORABLE MARION BERRY DECEMBER 18, 1998 TRIBUTE TO MAURICE SMITH JR.” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Transportation was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2361 on Dec. 19, 1998.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REMARKS OF THE HONORABLE MARION BERRY DECEMBER 18, 1998 TRIBUTE TO
MAURICE SMITH JR.
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HON. MARION BERRY
of arkansas
in the house of representatives
Friday, December 18, 1998
Mr. BERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a good friend, Maurice Smith, a prominent farmer and banker in Birdeye, Arkansas, who passed from this world earlier this month Maurice was a great man who lived in Arkansas and provided leadership for the generations.
Maurice has had a long history in Arkansas politics. He served as highway commissioner and director of the state Highway and Transportation Department. He was also appointed to the University of Arkansas board of trustees and served as chief of staff to then-
Governor Bill Clinton. But if it is one thing that Maurice Smith be remembered for, it is his leadership as the director of the state Highway Department. In 1991, under his direction, a 5-cent-a-gallon increase in the gas tax and a 2-cent-a-gallon increase in the diesel fuel tax pumped an additional $48 million into the department's construction budget each year.
One of my favorite quotes is from former Senator Le Roy Percy of Greenville, MS. ``I guess a man's job is to make the world a better place to live in, so far as he is able--always remembering the results will be infinitesimal--and to attend to his own soul.'' Maurice was such a man and he will be greatly missed. He was chairman of the St. Francis Levee Board. He provided support and leadership for generations of Arkansans to make the state a better place to live, work, and raise a family, with special attentionto developing infrastructure.
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