[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 27]
[Senate]
[Page 36365]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       DONNA ANTHONY: IN MEMORIAM

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, we have a saying in my Senate office: Once 
a member of the Harkin family, always a member of the Harkin family. On 
Monday, with the passing of Donna Anthony, a longtime staffer in my Des 
Moines office, we lost a very valuable and dear member of our family.
  It seems like just yesterday that I was presenting Donna with a pin 
recognizing her 20 years of service to the people of Iowa as a Senate 
employee. In Donna's case, that wasn't ``service to the people of 
Iowa'' in the abstract; it was service to thousands of individual 
Iowans whose lives she touched in very real, concrete ways.
  Donna was one of those people who give bleeding-heart liberals a good 
name. She was always on a personal mission to save the world, or at 
least as many people as she could.
  She was constantly taking up the cause of people who are down on 
their luck, whether it was a senior citizen getting stiffed by 
Medicare, an immigrant family who desperately needed a visa, a victim 
of domestic violence, you name it. Her title may have been ``caseworker 
supervisor,'' but these were not just cases to her, they were people--
and she took each one to heart. She put the passion in compassion.
  I remember in Catholic school being taught that Saint Jude was the 
patron saint of lost causes. Well, I was blessed to know Saint Donna, 
the patron saint of people in dire need. Saint Jude intercedes with 
God. Saint Donna interceded with the Federal Government--which may be 
more challenging. She was constantly working her little miracles.
  Donna certainly came through for me--again and again. I long ago lost 
track of the number of people thanking me for the work that Donna did. 
And her personal loyalty was just extraordinary. She was always looking 
out for my best interest and for ways to make me look good.
  I remember when I was in Iowa Falls this past August, meeting with 
the economic development group. They had heard about the great work 
Donna had done for Marshalltown, and they wanted her to do the same for 
Iowa Falls.
  In fact, what she did in Marshalltown was typical of Donna Anthony 
going the extra mile, going the extra 10 miles. She worked closely with 
the Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce when they started making their 
trips to Washington to lobby for assistance. She drove back and forth 
to Marshalltown for countless meetings and served as an all-round 
counselor and advocate for their projects. The Marshall County sheriff, 
Ted Kamanches--a prominent Republican--became a big supporter of mine 
because of the great work Donna did for his police force, including 
having a Federal drug task force placed in Marshalltown.
  Twenty years ago, Donna started out in my Des Moines office as 
receptionist and front-desk person. She kept getting calls from people 
on the north side of Des Moines who wanted me to do something to stop 
prostitution in the area. Donna went to bat for them, and that is how 
she got her start in community casework and making connections with 
local law enforcement. She had a knack for bringing people and agencies 
together and helping them to get things done. This was the beginning of 
a long and fruitful relationship not only with neighborhood groups in 
Des Moines but with law enforcement officials all across Iowa.
  Mr. President, there is an old expression that we make a living by 
what we make, but we make a life by what we give. For 20 years in my 
office, Donna gave her all for the people of Iowa. She touched 
countless lives. And she made a life to be proud of.
  I can offer no higher praise for Donna--or anyone else, for that 
matter--than that she was a good, decent, and caring human being. I 
valued her friendship, her counsel, and her incredibly hard work. I 
think I speak for all of us in the Harkin Senate family in saying that 
we love Donna very much, and we are deeply grateful that she was a part 
of our lives.

                          ____________________