Press Releases

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, delivered an address at the Center for American Progress outlining his vision for how to rebuild America’s middle class.  In the coming months, Harkin plans to introduce sweeping legislation that will rebuild...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate in support of President Obama’s recent appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Below are his full remarks, as prepared for...

Washington, D.C. – Creating jobs and getting energy from our friends should have been an easy decision, according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., who has long supported the Keystone XL Pipeline.  Enzi sees it as a way to put people back to work and to help end our dependence on foreign oil. Enzi issued the following statement after...

WASHINGTON – Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), released the following statement welcoming today’s announcement that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached agreement with the prescription drug, generic drug,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is sidestepping several important disclosure requirements with the new health care law and is preventing Congress and the American public from being able to assess the true costs associated with the so-called “essential health benefits,” according to a letter...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined with several other senators today to request that the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) be able to transfer additional funds to avoid a shutdown of the Office of Inspector General (IG)...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, recently wrote to the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Jacqueline Berrien to encourage the agency to use a fair and open process if they revise their guidance on the use of credit and criminal...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said he was extremely disappointed to see President Obama recess appoint new members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and avoid the Constitutionally mandated Senate confirmation process. Two of the...

WASHINGTON – Following revelations that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley may have dictated the findings of a nonpartisan health care panel funded by taxpayer dollars, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) today called for a federal investigation into whether Governor Haley exploited...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, applauded an agreement announced last night between New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to create 2,000 more wheelchair-accessible cabs.  Harkin, a longtime champion of disability rights,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said today he would use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to challenge the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent rush decision to issue “ambush election” rules that make it more...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, released the following statement welcoming the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) decision to finalize modernized election rules, which will clear the way for workers to vote on unionization by streamlining regulatory...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, introduced the Keeping All Students Safe Act, a bill to protect students from ineffective and dangerous seclusion and restraint practices in schools. “Every child should be educated in a supportive, caring, stimulating...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a committee hearing on prescription drug shortages today, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that it was essential to move quickly to get lifesaving drugs to patients in need. He also said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee today passed S. 1855, the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) Reauthorization of 2011, cosponsored by Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).  The bill, sponsored by Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), will help ensure that our nation is prepared for...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement after Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis proposed a new rule requiring federal contractors to set a hiring goal of having 7 percent of their workforces be people with disabilities.  Harkin, chief...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said Congress should encourage job creation instead of new regulations that threaten the nation’s fragile economy. “The biggest barrier to getting a job for most unemployed people is the lack of...

*As Prepared for Delivery* WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today delivered a statement on the floor of the U.S. Senate calling for Congress to extend unemployment benefits.  On Thursday, Harkin will convene a HELP Committee hearing to hear from...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration issued their final report on the tragedy at the Upper Big Branch mine, citing an irresponsible corporate culture as the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said the Medical Loss Ratio rule finalized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will do nothing to address skyrocketing health care costs and will instead cost thousands of...