Georgia’s Saxby Chambliss Honored by National Cotton Council

WASHINGTON – Last week, U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss, R. Ga., received the 2013 Harry S. Baker Distinguished Service Award from the National Cotton Council. He was honored during the National Cotton Council’s annual meeting in Washington, DC. The award, named for the late California industry leader and past NCC President Harry S. Baker, is presented annually to a deserving individual who has provided extraordinary service, leadership and dedication to the U.S. cotton industry.

During the award presentation, NCC Chairman Jimmy Dodson, a South Texas cotton producer, said that during every farm bill debate, including the most recent one, “Senator Chambliss has sought to ensure that U.S. cotton and peanut producers were not harmed by over-reaching statutes governing payment limits and payment eligibility. He also worked tirelessly at preventing the passage of legislation governing environmental issues that threatened to undermine agriculture’s viability, among them pesticide permitting and greenhouse gas regulations.”

Dodson said Chambliss also intervened on behalf of U.S. cotton in trade negotiations and specifically opposed “early harvest” resolutions in the cotton text of the World Trade Organization Doha negotiations. “He has responded to the needs of the entire Cotton Belt and to all cotton industry segments, including textile manufacturers,” Dodson said. “For example, he fought for inclusion of the Economic Adjustment Assistance Program in 2008 and its continuation in the recently enacted law in recognition of that program’s success in revitalizing the U.S. textile manufacturing sector.”