[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8] [Senate] [Pages 10443-10444] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO JAMES S. HOLT Mr. CRAIG. Mr. President, I pay tribute to Dr. James S. Holt, who passed away on April 28, 2008. Dr. Holt was known to many Members of this Senate because of the outstanding contributions he made to developing sound Federal public policy related to agriculture, immigration, and employment. It was through his involvement in these issues before Congress that I got to know Jim and gained a tremendous respect for his wealth of knowledge and integrity--and especially his unwavering commitment to finding policy solutions that were correct, even if that meant they were also uncomfortable or difficult. Jim Holt received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the Pennsylvania State University in 1965, and then served 16 years on the Penn State faculty as a professor of agricultural economics and farm management. From 1978 until the present, Dr. Holt headed his own consulting firm, as well as serving as senior economist to a Washington, DC, law firm, where his responsibilities included research, policy analysis, and government relations in matters related to labor, agriculture, immigration and animal welfare. Dr. Holt authored more than 70 publications and served agricultural clients in more than 30 States. Jim was a recognized expert with unique knowledge of the H-2A program and served as a consultant to national organizations such as the National Council of Agricultural Employers and the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform during his involvement in the major immigration and H-2A reform efforts in Congress during the past 30 years. I first became aware of Jim's expertise when he helped farmers in my own State of Idaho to establish the Snake River Farmers Association an organization that helps obtain legally authorized workers through the H-2A temporary and seasonal foreign agricultural worker program. Earlier this year in Idaho, at a meeting of the association, Jim and I teamed up again to address the grave labor situation facing Idaho farmers. I had the pleasure of working with Jim in the development of the AgJOBS legislation that I coauthored with Senators Feinstein and Kennedy. As my colleagues know, this bill has enjoyed broad bipartisan support and even passed the Senate in 2006. Jim brought his unique knowledge to the process of developing this historic legislation that brought together farm worker advocates and growers in an effort to provide a legal and stable agricultural workforce. During the past decade, Dr. Holt testified numerous times in both Chambers of Congress before the Committees on Agriculture, Judiciary, and Education and Labor in an effort to educate members on the importance of reforming our farm labor system and the severe economic consequences if we fail to do so. When we succeed in enacting the AgJOBS legislation and I am convinced that will ultimately happen--it will be in no small part because [[Page 10444]] of the immeasurable effort Dr. Holt devoted to that cause over the past decade. On behalf of the policymakers who have worked with Jim Holt and benefited from his wise counsel over the years, I would like to express profound regret at his passing. He will be sorely missed. Let me extend my deepest sympathies to Jim's many friends and colleagues, and to the family he leaves behind. ____________________