Chair's Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today released the following statement on the September employment report showing that the economy added 248,000 jobs last month, with the national unemployment rate continuing to decrease, falling from 6.1 percent to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of both the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (the LHHS subcommittee), released the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined seven House and Senate Democrats in releasing a new report that found that hundreds of tobacco advertisements and images glorifying smoking and e-cigarettes appear in magazines with large teen...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement on legislation they introduced this week that would crack down on worthless degrees peddled by unscrupulous academic institutions, many of which...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement applauding Senate passage of the Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education (MD-CARE) Amendments of 2014. In July, this bill was passed...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), as Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a new report on an investigation he called for regarding the barriers that people with disabilities face as they seek to rise out of poverty and enter the middle class. To implement the recommendations...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Sunscreen Innovation Act just hours after it was passed by the HELP...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—At the Senate HELP Committee hearing “Fulfilling the Promise: Overcoming Persistent Barriers to Economic Self-Sufficiency for People with Disabilities,” Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, unveiled a report that he instructed his HELP Committee...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) praised the HELP Committee’s passage of the Strengthening Education through Research Act, a bill that would reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act...

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 the nomination of Sharon Block to serve as Member of the National Labor Relations Board with bipartisan support. “Today, the HELP Committee...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the following statement today following the objection of a Republican Senator to proceed to a vote and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) – a treaty that builds upon the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to create a framework for disability...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today applauded approval of three bipartisan HELP Committee bills. The Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act of 2014 and S.2511, a bill to amend the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, were both...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “In March of this year, public health officials reported an outbreak of Ebola virus in the West African country of Guinea. Unlike past Ebola outbreaks that have been efficiently and effectively stopped, this outbreak has spread in ways that are potentially catastrophic for the world. Due to the gravity of the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—A bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders today announced a legislative agreement to improve and reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. Negotiated by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Representative John Kline (R-MN), Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Representatives George Miller (D-CA), Todd Rokita (R-IN),...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2014. The bill would continue the 30 years of care provided through the Emergency Medical Services for...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced two bills that seek to fulfill the promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that ensures access to a free, high-quality public education for children with disabilities. The IDEA...

“We are holding this hearing today because at the end of the year there will be a vacancy at the National Labor Relations Board resulting from the departure of Member Nancy Schiffer. I would like to take a moment to thank Ms. Schiffer for her service. The President has nominated an exceptionally well-qualified and dedicated public...

WASHINGTON, DC— Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) led a group of Congressional Democrats today in calling for the Obama Administration to strengthen its oversight of food and beverage companies and ensure that they are making progress on reducing unhealthy food marketing to children. In a letter sent to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—With e-cigarette use among middle and high schoolers still on the rise, nine Members of Congress responded to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that adolescents who had used e-cigarettes were more likely to express intentions to smoke conventional cigarettes than those who...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the HELP Committee, announced the release of a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY)...