Everett took to Washington a work ethic honed by years as a successful small businessman.  He not only won the race for Congress against one of the best-known names in Alabama politics, George Wallace, Jr., but he eventually secured seats on four major House committees – an accomplishment currently matched by only eight fellow House members.

 

As a Cold War-era Air Force veteran, Terry Everett was recruited by the House leadership in 1995 to chair the Compensation, Insurance and Memorial Affairs subcommittee on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.  His attention to detail in shepherding the interests of our veterans later resulted in his appointment as Oversight and Investigations subcommittee chairman.  In this position, he spent four years rooting out waste in the VA system, while investigating cases of patient neglect and maltreatment in Veteran hospitals.

 

Terry Everett caught the attention of the national media in late 1997 when his subcommittee probed the Clinton Administration’s granting of Arlington National Cemetery burial waivers to political contributors and supporters.  His investigation resulted in the removal of the remains of Larry Lawrence, a former ambassador and major Clinton contributor who had lied about his military service record.

 

Looking after his congressional district, Terry Everett was appointed the chairman of the Specialty Crops subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee in 2001 to give southeast Alabama farmers a strong voice in the writing of the 2002 Farm Bill.  Everett’s proposal to reform the peanut program remained in the final version of the Farm Bill and saved the peanut program which is important to south Alabama’s economy.

 

In January 2002, House Speaker Dennis Hastert also appointed Terry Everett to a seat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.  His background as an Air Force intelligence specialist in the late 1950’s prepared him for the job of overseeing America’s intelligence community and in making recommendations for reform to avoid another September 11th style attack on the homeland.

 

In 2004, Terry Everett became the first chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces.  The Strategic Forces subcommittee oversees nearly $60 billion in annual programs, covering military intelligence programs, military space, missile defense and nuclear weapons.  As chairman, he has become a voice in Washington for increased protection of America’s commercial and military satellites which underpin both our economy and our national security.  As such, he has become a frequently requested speaker in the D.C. area on such issues as space, missile defense, and military unmanned aerial vehicles.

 

During his service in Congress, Terry Everett’s record of support for lower taxes, safer communities, improved benefits for our military and veterans, and less government interference in small business have been recognized by a wide variety of organizations ranging from the National Military Family Association, to the Seniors Coalition, to the Alabama Farmers Federation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers.

 

A native of the Wiregrass, Terry Everett and his wife Barbara taught Sunday school for twenty years in Enterprise.  Today, they live in Rehobeth.