Senate Resolution 111 - Introduced
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 111
BY COMMITTEE ON RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
1 A Resolution honoring Senator Pam Jochum for her
2 service to Iowa.
3 WHEREAS, the guideposts for Senator Mary Pamela
4 (Pam) Jochum’s life of public service include the
5 people of her beloved Dubuque community; her father,
6 Eugene (Mickey), who worked for the Dubuque Packing
7 Company and her mother, Jean (Noel) Hingtgen, who
8 raised six children and volunteered with neighborhood
9 schools and local charitable organizations, who by
10 their examples taught her the importance of family and
11 a hard day’s work; the sisters of multiple orders who
12 instilled in her a passion for democracy, equality, and
13 justice and the ideal that failing to speak up and do
14 what is right is failing to do your civic duty; and her
15 daughter, Sarah Noel, who epitomized empathy, dignity,
16 and unconditional love; and
17 WHEREAS, after graduating magna cum laude in speech
18 communication from Loras College, recognizing that
19 good government should promote fairness, improve the
20 lives of all, and provide a public voice for those who
21 are not able to speak for themselves, Senator Jochum
22 became active in politics as the chairperson of the
23 Dubuque County Democratic Party, as an organizer for
24 presidential and other candidates, and as a delegate to
25 national conventions; and
26 WHEREAS, Senator Jochum was elected to the House of
27 Representatives in 1992 as the first woman to represent
28 Dubuque in the General Assembly, serving eight terms
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1 before moving to the Senate in 2008; and
2 WHEREAS, Senator Jochum has served in many
3 leadership positions during her tenure, including as
4 President of the Senate from 2013 to 2017, becoming
5 only the first woman Democrat and the second woman to
6 hold the position, as assistant Democratic leader, and
7 most recently as Senate Democratic leader; and
8 WHEREAS, during her over 30 years in the House
9 of Representatives and the Senate, Senator Jochum
10 has served as a member of or in other positions on
11 the Appropriations, Administration and Rules/Rules
12 and Administration (vice chairperson and ranking
13 member), State Government (chairperson, vice
14 chairperson, and ranking member), Labor and Industrial
15 Relations/Labor/Labor and Business Relations (vice
16 chairperson), Transportation, Ways and Means (ranking
17 member), Natural Resources, Economic Development,
18 Judiciary, Environmental Protection, Rebuild Iowa,
19 Human Resources/Health and Human Services, Ethics
20 (ranking member), and Commerce Committees, and on
21 the Administration and Regulation (chairperson and
22 vice chairperson) and Justice Systems Appropriations
23 Subcommittees; and
24 WHEREAS, Senator Jochum has also served on
25 innumerable councils, committees, boards, and
26 commissions, including the Public Retirement Systems
27 Committee, Administrative Rules Review Committee,
28 State Government Efficiency Review Committee, the
29 Mississippi River Partnership Council, the Indigent
30 Defense Advisory Commission, and the Tax Expenditure
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1 Committee; the Legislative Council; the Prevention of
2 Disabilities Policy Council, the Family Development
3 and Self-Sufficiency Council, the Investment Board of
4 the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System, and the
5 Mental Health and Disabilities Services Commission; and
6 WHEREAS, Senator Jochum, believing that creating a
7 society and an economy that protects the rights and
8 freedoms of all and works for all Iowans is vital to
9 the future of the state, has played a leading role
10 in expanding affordable health care to thousands of
11 working Iowans through the creation of the Iowa Health
12 and Wellness Plan and the Children’s Health Insurance
13 Program (Hawki), has been a champion for citizens
14 with disabilities, has worked to ensure government
15 transparency and access to public information and
16 records, has helped expand access to early childhood
17 education and affordable higher education, has
18 influenced reforms in Iowa’s tax laws and backed a
19 living wage to build strong working families, and has
20 protected the environment by advocating for alternative
21 energy sources and flood mitigation programs; and
22 WHEREAS, Senator Jochum has received countless
23 honors, including from the Freedom of Information
24 Council, labor unions, child advocacy organizations,
25 Iowa Caregivers, the Iowa Hospital Association, the
26 Iowa Health Care Association, The League of Women
27 Voters, the Iowa League of Cities, the Dubuque
28 Chamber of Commerce, the Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa,
29 the Iowa Firefighters Association, the Iowa State
30 Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association, and the Iowa
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1 Pharmacy Association, and has received the Uncommon
2 Public Service Award from the Hoover Presidential
3 Foundation, one of the highest awards given to Iowa
4 state legislators; and
5 WHEREAS, Senator Jochum has had an inspirational
6 legislative career, being described as passionate,
7 tenacious, and committed to her community and to
8 dignity for all people; serving as a tremendous role
9 model for women; and being respected for her ability to
10 build coalitions and get things done for Dubuque and
11 for Iowa; all while humbly acknowledging that “you just
12 can’t ask for more of an honor than for people to have
13 enough belief and trust in you that they want you to be
14 their voice”; NOW THEREFORE,
15 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate honors
16 Senator Pam Jochum for her years of service to her
17 community of Dubuque and to the state of Iowa, and
18 wishes her all the best in the years to come.
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