[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S3845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN J. RAPP

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, I'd like to take a few minutes to 
honor Stephen J. Rapp, United States Attorney for the Northern District 
of Iowa.
  Steve Rapp has been a trailblazer in my home state of Iowa since he 
began his career in public service in his early twenties. Back in 1972, 
he won a seat in our House of Representatives, and at the tender age of 
twenty-five, he came within a hair's breadth of winning the Third 
District Congressional seat. He did eventually join us on Capitol Hill 
a few years later when he served as Staff Director and Counsel of the 
U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency.
  After his stint in Washington, Steve returned to Iowa and served 
another four years in our House of Representatives where he 
distinguished himself as a leader on anti-crime legislation. Steve was 
instrumental in passing our state's rape shield law and our strong 
anti-drunk driving regulation. And he wrote the law that forbids 
release pending appeal of criminals who are guilty of forcible 
felonies.
  In 1993, Steve was appointed as a United States Attorney for the 
Northern District of Iowa, and under his stewardship, the Northern 
District became a national torchbearer in criminal prosecutions. Steve 
filed America's first prosecution under Title II of the Brady Law. He 
also filed the nation's first prosecution under the federal ``Three 
Strikes'' law, and the first prosecution under the Lautenberg amendment 
that prohibited convicted domestic violence offenders from owning a 
gun.
  But Steve wasn't content merely to do a stellar job on the day to day 
duties of United States Attorney. He became a member of the Attorney 
Generals Advisory Committee, serving on the working Group on Interior 
Enforcement Immigration Law and on Subcommittees handling violence 
against women, organized crime, victim crime, juvenile justice and 
Native American issues. In addition, he served as chair of the Midwest 
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and has held forums across 
Northern Iowa to educate citizens and help reduce methamphetamine use.
  When I think of all the work Steve Rapp has done for our state and 
our country, I'm reminded of the words of President John F. Kennedy who 
once noted, ``Law is the strongest link between man and freedom.'' 
Steve Rapp has worked tirelessly to keep the people of Northern Iowa 
and America free, free from crime and violence, and free to raise their 
families and live their lives in safe, secure communities.
  Steve has been honored by groups ranging from the Afro-American 
Community Broadcasting to the NAACP to the Black Hawk County Legal 
Secretaries Association. And it is my pleasure to add myself to that 
list and offer my deepest gratitude for his long and distinguished 
record of service.

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