Chair's Press

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today issued the following statement upon learning of President Barack Obama’s support for legislation that would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 and index it to inflation. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013,...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today welcomed the final vote by the Senate to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would outlaw employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Harkin, as Chairman of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today welcomed the announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made a preliminary determination to withdraw “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) status for partially hydrogenated oil....

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation in the Senate that would help put an end to the for-profit higher education industry's predatory marketing campaigns and aggressive recruiting of veterans,...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “About five years ago, Richard Streeter, a 47-year-old truck driver from Eugene, Oregon, was frustrated and worried.  As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof described this weekend, Mr. Streeter couldn’t find affordable insurance in the individual market—back in the bad old days, no insurance...

Harkin and Miller ask GAO to more fully examine employer practices and whether they work for employees WASHINGTON, D.C.—Participants of employer-sponsored retirement plans may not be getting access to important plan documents because of confusing and contradictory rules regarding electronic records disclosures, the Government Accountability...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Senate author of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, released the following statement regarding the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s hearing today on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD): “The goal of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, after the successful cloture vote to start debate on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Mark Kirk (R-IL), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), called on the Senate to pass the bill and end LGBT employment discrimination. Harkin is Chairman of the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On the floor of the U.S. Senate this afternoon, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) welcomed a historic Senate vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Harkin, as Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Pat Roberts (R-KS) today released the following statement applauding the news that the 500th drug has been labeled with pediatric information as a result of provisions included in the Food and Drug Administration Safety and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A bill to improve access to emergency epinephrine in schools—unanimously approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee this week—has passed both chambers of Congress and will now go to the President’s desk to be signed into law.  HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “Today’s hearing is the second in our series to examine critical issues in postsecondary education as the Committee looks to reauthorize the Higher Education Act.  The topic we’ll discuss today is of great interest to policymakers and the public: innovation in higher education.  Though...

Senate HELP Committee Passed Legislation Unanimously Earlier Today; Harkin Has Also Supported Policy in His Role as Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Overseeing NIH Funding WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, today hailed the Senate passage of bipartisan legislation that...

Food Allergy Guidelines are Required by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, Which Harkin Helped Author Just Today, Senate HELP Committee Approved Legislation to Improve Access to Emergency Epinephrine in Schools WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today applauded new voluntary guidelines for schools and early care...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement after the HELP Committee approved two nominees—Michael Keith Yudin and James Cole Jr. — to serve at the Department of Education, and one nominee—Chai...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after the Committee approved six bipartisan bills at an executive session today. Two of the bills – the Streamlining Claims Processing for Federal Contractor Employees...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate approved the nomination of Richard Griffin to serve as General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Griffin’s nomination was cleared by the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today issued the following statement after the Senate voted to advance the nomination of Richard Griffin to serve as General Counsel to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Griffin’s nomination was approved...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last night, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee delivered a speech on the floor of the Senate on the nomination of Richard Griffin to serve as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Following is the full text of his remarks, as...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the following statement in response to an announcement by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, would soon come to the full Senate...