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Floor Speech

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Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I rise today to remember the life of John Stulp, Jr., a son of Colorado's Eastern Plains, Colorado's first and only water czar, and the former commissioner of agriculture for our State.

In his 45 extraordinary years of public service, John was appointed by five Governors--of both parties--to two cabinet positions and six State boards and commissions.

Governor Bill Ritter, who appointed John as commissioner of agriculture, said:

If we had an award for the most universally loved cabinet member, it would be John Stulp.

I agree.

After graduating from Colorado State University with a degree in veterinary science, John returned to Prowers County with his beloved wife Jane. Together, they ran Stulp Land and Livestock for 50 years, growing dryland wheat and raising cattle, while continuing to practice veterinary medicine.

I was honored to spend time with him and learn from John, including a visit to the Stulp farm in 2013.

Over the years, the Stulp family farm has welcomed Members of Congress, State legislators, commissioners, and school groups with open arms and warm hospitality. John always had something cold to drink when you were there.

He was a farmer first, and of farming he said:

You don't farm because you want to; you do it because you have to. It's in your blood.

John was elected county commissioner in deep-red Prowers County as a Democrat, which testifies precisely to the kind of leader he was-- steady, willing to work toward compromise, and always putting the needs of Southeastern Colorado first.

We could use his example around here.

As a water czar under then-Governor Hickenlooper, he had the enormous task of creating a water plan for the next 50 years. Skeptical at first, John's quiet and thoughtful approach brought rural and urban users to the table and helped forge compromise over some of the toughest issues that we face in the West and in Colorado.

He knew that rural Colorado was counting on him, I would suspect, all of his life, but he was also thinking beyond himself and beyond his own backyard--about the next generation of Coloradans: his 5 kids and now 14 grandkids and about what they would inherit.

John leaves an incredible legacy in Colorado, not just with regard to the work he did to ensure that rural Colorado was represented in the capital of Denver or in the expertise and counsel he gave to countless leaders but, I would say, most importantly to him, in his family.

I send, on behalf of the people of Colorado, my condolences to the entire Stulp family--to John's children, to his grandchildren, to his wife Jane.

Colorado will feel his loss, and his leadership will be deeply missed. I think his example will testify to the standard every one of us should strive for of leadership in our States and in our communities and as members of our families.

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