DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: A long-time colleague of the two Congressmen, Democrat Sonny Montgomery, died yesterday in his hometown of Meridian, Mississippi. For the 30 years he served, Congressman Montgomery was an advocate for veterans causes. As chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, he negotiated with North Korea to bring home the remains of U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War.</s>DEBBIE ELLIOTT, host: Montgomery said his proudest achievement was the 1984 bill that expanded education benefits for active duty military personnel, National Guard, and Reserves. But he was skeptical when veterans claimed illness stemming from the use of the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam. Sonny Montgomery was one of the so-called Boll Weevils, mainly Southern conservative Democrats who helped President Reagan pass his economic agenda. He was 85 years old.
Sonny Montgomery, a long-time congressman from Mississippi, has died. An advocate for veterans affairs, Montgomery was one of the Bowl Weevils — southern Democrats who helped push through President Reagan's conservative economic agenda.