[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 17732]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO BRIAN AHLBERG

  Mr. HARKIN. Madam President, as I prepare to depart the Senate, I 
would like to take a few minutes to express my deep appreciation to 
Brian Ahlberg, my chief of staff for the last decade. Of course, every 
Senator knows that the title ``chief of staff'' encompasses a vast 
range of roles and responsibilities--counselor, confidant, kibitzer, 
trouble-shooter, day-to-day manager, strategic planner, and, in Brian's 
case, trusted friend. Brian has excelled in all of these critical 
roles, and I am very grateful to him.
  Knute Rockne was fond of saying: ``I've found that prayers work best 
when you have big players.'' As Senators, we know that it is not enough 
to be on the side of the angels; we have got to have big players. For 
me, that means big intellect, big work ethic, big heart. And those are 
qualities that Brian Ahlberg possesses in superabundance.
  Brian originally joined my staff in 2003 as legislative director, 
after a decade of service in that role and others for my great friend 
Senator Paul Wellstone. In short order, I promoted him to chief of 
staff, and he has served in that role with enormous skill and 
professionalism ever since.
  Staff directors on committees have the challenge of managing large 
staffs. As chief of staff, Brian has had what is arguably an even 
bigger challenge: managing me. He has done so with great loyalty, 
intelligence, tact, and consistently good judgment. He is the 
proverbial calm amidst every storm. When my Irish is up, Brian's 
Norwegian cool serves as a calming counterweight. He has never 
hesitated to speak up when he thinks I am wrong or misguided--an 
invaluable service. He has done a great job of allowing me, as Senator, 
to get into just enough trouble to be effective in my own job.
  It has been said, perhaps only half jokingly, that Senators are a 
constitutional impediment to the smooth functioning of staff. I long 
ago learned to get out of Brian's way and let him manage my far-flung 
operation. We call ourselves Team Harkin--staffers on my Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on my Appropriations 
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related 
Agencies, and on my personal staff, both in Washington and back in 
Iowa. Brian is the impresario who skillfully coordinates their work as 
a single, collaborative team, skillfully resolving conflicts and 
keeping people focused on the mission at hand. I believe that Brian's 
skill in this role is a major reason for Team Harkin's remarkable 
legislative productivity over the last decade.
  Brian has a great way of keeping my staff and me focused on what is 
truly important and strategic, avoiding detours and sidetracks. In 
meetings and one-on-one, he functions like a whetstone--his aim is to 
make things sharper, and to cut to the heart of an issue or task.
  I also appreciate the way Brian interacts with staff. He helps me to 
hire seasoned professionals, and then he empowers them to do what they 
do best, giving them confidence that he will be there to back them up 
when the going gets tough. His authoritative but soft-spoken, even-
tempered approach seems to bring out the best in people around him.
  Brian's focus is always on the task, not his ego. Washington is to 
self-promotion what Iowa is to corn and soybeans; but self-promotion is 
the opposite of Brian's style. He is always quick to spread the credit 
around, especially if that is what it takes to strengthen the team or 
seal the deal.
  The questions you can always count on Brian to ask are: ``How does 
this help people in Iowa?'' and ``How does this give a hand up to 
people who truly need it and deserve it?''
  Over the years, Brian Ahlberg has become a consummate Washington 
player. But he remains a Midwesterner through and through, a passionate 
progressive like his early mentor Paul Wellstone, with a passion for 
fairness and justice, a determination to make life better for ordinary 
working Americans.
  Finally, I want to note that Brian has always been wonderfully 
attentive to my staff members' family needs, doing everything possible 
to accommodate them in times of sickness, bereavement, or emergency. 
Certainly, family comes first in Brian's own life. On that score, I 
realize that Brian's wife Jodi and sons Anders and Lucas have 
sacrificed because of his long hours at work, and for that I owe them a 
debt of gratitude.
  Brian Ahlberg is my colleague, my confidant, my trusted friend. He is 
also a wonderful public servant. I will always be grateful to him for 
the personal sacrifices he has made to help me advance my agenda here 
in the Senate. Likewise, I will always be grateful to him for his 
extraordinary service to the people of Iowa and, more broadly, the 
people of the United States. I wish Brian and his family much happiness 
and success in the years ahead.

                          ____________________