G. K. Butterfield: “I rise today with Congressmen Jones, Price, Watt, Etheridge, McIntyre, Miller and Shuler, all of North Carolina, to…”

“I rise today with Congressmen Jones, Price, Watt, Etheridge, McIntyre, Miller and Shuler, all of North Carolina, to honor and observe the 70th birthday of our four-term Governor of North Carolina, the Honorable James B. Hunt, Jr. Over the years my long-time and dear friend, Governor Hunt, has successfully dedicated so much of himself to public service. He is a man of immense vision with an extraordinary ability to implement his vision with great results. That vision has often been focused on education. Governor Hunt's list of accomplishments is long and highly distinguished in the area of education. He led efforts to establish the State's primary reading program. He also spearheaded the efforts to reduce class sizes and prevent students from dropping out of school. Governor Hunt assumed the lead role in establishing the State's school of science and mathematics, the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, and the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. Smart Start, which was established under Governor Hunt's leadership, has become a nationally recognized and award-winning public-private partnership that ensures that children enter school healthy and ready to succeed. The program helps provide quality child care, health care and family support for every child in need, and there are now 14 States using this model.”