Sunday Focus: Remembering Them

     There was news this week that outgoing Congressman Spencer Bacchus (R-Birmingham) is going to be remembered for a long, long time. 
     An oil portrait has been painted of him, to honor the two years he was chair of the House Financial Services Committee (formerly The Banking Committee). 

     He described it as "an honor that I never could have imagined and it is truly humbling..."

      But earlier this year, a dozen other Republican Members of Congress (and one Democrat) co-sponsored a bill  to eliminate government funding for those portraits...it was unofficially called the EGO Bill.
     The legislation went nowhere, dying before even committee action was taken.
      The Bachus portrait was painted by a Minnesota artist.
       ABC TV News reported last year about the big money spent on portraits of elected and appointed officials, including...

.....outgoing EPA administrator Lisa Jackson (which) cost $38,350. Air Force Secretary Michael Donnelly’s portrait cost $41,200.
Commerce Secretary John Bryson’s portrait cost $22,500, the paper said. He served President Obama for eight months.

     No immediate word on how much retiring Representative Bachus' portrait cost taxpayers, or why it was not at least painted by an Alabama artist.
     The Anniston Star published an article about Gov. Bob Riley's official portrait, and it includes interesting background about other official portraits. 

 

C.C. Clay
Governor: 1835-1837
Chief Justice Ala. Supreme Court: 1820-1823

Trivia:
In 1823 Clay fought a duel with Dr. Waddy Tate of Limestone County and temporarily resigned from public service.