Chair's Press

*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...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Yesterday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a voluntary recall of certain sterile products supplied by Specialty Medicine Compounding Pharmacy in South Lyon, Michigan because “unidentified particulate matter was found floating in a sterile product from the same lot as products that may have been...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A broad range of stakeholders has endorsed the Drug Quality and Security Act, legislation introduced by Senate and House health policy leaders this week to address high-risk drug compounding practices and secure the pharmaceutical supply chain. The bill would improve drug safety and help prevent a future public health crisis...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A bipartisan group of Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee senators—Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)—today applauded the House passage of...

Use of new nicotine delivery devices is on the rise among children and teens WASHINGTON, D.C.—Following new information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing a dramatic increase in the use of e-cigarettes among children and youth, twelve members of Congress—including Senate Health, Education, Labor, and...

Harkin Report Shines Spotlight on Barriers to Employment, Sets High Goal for Increasing Workforce Participation of the ‘ADA Generation’ WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today released a report on the ‘ADA...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A bipartisan group of Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee senators—Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Al Franken (D-MN), Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS), Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC)—today announced that they have...

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Leaders from the Senate and House committees overseeing health policy today announced that they have reached an agreement on legislation to help ensure the safety of compounded drugs and our nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain. This legislation, the Drug Quality and Security Act, reflects a bipartisan, bicameral...

Congressional Republicans propose to reduce the deficit by – increasing deficits?  WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the debate over funding of the government continues, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today took to the floor of the U.S. Senate to make a strong defense...

Iowa’s Marketplace Will Offer Residents an Average of 39 Qualified Health Plan Choices WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today released the following statement in response to a new report from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) showing that Iowa’s soon-to-open health insurance marketplace,...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “In the late 1970s, a group of researchers began to examine reports of patient deaths and injuries caused by anesthesia.  They found wide variation in quality, and a disturbing incidence of medical errors, leading to 6,000 deaths or serious injuries annually.  ABC’s “20/20” news program...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today applauded news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s second 2013 "Tips From Former Smokers" campaign, which produced more than 150,000 additional calls to a central tobacco quitline and generated almost 2.8 million additional visitors to the campaign website....