Tom Harkin: “And we all benefited from that service. He understands the appropriations process better than anyone. New staff could…”

“And we all benefited from that service. He understands the appropriations process better than anyone. New staff could always look to Jim for institutional knowledge, and count on him to be a patient teacher of many on both substantive issues an the appropriations process. The Senate depended on this expertise. Jim is a master craftsman, the person we relied on to compile all the spending figures and technical language and mould it into an appropriations bill. Whether it was drafting an amendment to the budget resolution; finding a creative offset to meet an important priority; or organizing and staffing a hearing on an important labor issue, such as those that we held on the overtime regulation, Jim Sourwine was the staffer we wanted and needed by our side.”