Former Arkansas U.S. Rep. Marion Berry, who served 7 terms, dies at 80

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former U.S. Rep. Robert Marion Berry, an Arkansas Democrat who served seven terms in Congress and was known for blunt rhetoric and his advocacy for farmers and elderly residents, has died. Clinton on Saturday praised Berry as someone who “never forgot where he came from.” “Marion Berry was a fine leader, a completely authentic person and a great friend,” Clinton said in a statement. He once referred to a Texas Republican congressman on the House floor as a “Howdy-Doody-looking nimrod.” Frustrated with the George W. Bush administration’s response to disasters in Arkansas, he called the Federal Emergency Management Agency “an incompetent bunch of nincompoops that simply can’t run their agency.” His congressional district was a major producer of soybeans, rice and cotton, and Berry aggressively pushed for an end to the U.S. trade embargo with Cuba, which could have boosted exports of those products. Berry also advocated for lowering prescription costs for seniors and lambasted a prescription drug program enacted by former Bush as a “catastrophic mess” and a “genuine legislative disaster.” Berry, a member of a coalition of moderate and conservative lawmakers known as “Blue Dog Democrats,” was unapologetic about his quips, saying it reflected his passion for representing his district.