Press Releases

WASHINGTON--Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that strikes down President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB): "Today's Circuit...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 – At a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the chief executive officer of Centerstone in Tennessee testified that an initiative Ranking Member Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) launched in Tennessee as governor 30 years ago was an example of how education and mental health systems...

Washington, D.C., January 31 – At a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on retirement savings, Ranking Member U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), asked four expert witnesses to “start from scratch” and offer the committee a simple plan for voluntary savings that employers would be more...

Washington, D.C., January 22 – Senate Republicans today voted to elect U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) as the top Republican, or Ranking Member, of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “I am honored that my Republican colleagues elected me as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education,...

WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation, the American Liberty Restoration Act, repealing the individual insurance mandate that is a central tenet of the President’s...

Legislation Includes Provisions to Fight Chronic Disease, Encourage Healthier Communities, Schools and Workplaces, and Improve Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities WASHINGTON, D.C.  — Legislation introduced today by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement after the White House announced recommendations from Vice President Joe Biden's gun task force.  “Like all Americans, I was deeply saddened by the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  What added to our grief as a...

WASHINGTON--Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the following statement in response to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis' resignation: “Secretary Solis has been an exemplary public servant and a fierce champion for workers’ rights. She served as a strong voice at the Department of Labor during a particularly challenging time for our...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement: “Earlier today, I informed Majority Leader Reid of my intention to remain Chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.   I made this decision based on where my passion lies.  This is my work, it is who I...

Consider for a moment how many of us have benefited from U.S. research universities’ advances in antibiotics, X-rays or transistors — and how many more sit on pins and needles in anticipation of the next innovations in cancer treatment, spinal cord repair or drought-resistant seeds. Now imagine a world where these American institutions...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  In advance of World AIDS Day on December 1, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, noted that although great progress has been made in the global fight against HIV/AIDS, there is still much to be done to overcome one of the world’s greatest public health...

WASHINGTON—Today, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY) and members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee sent letters to all fifty state boards of pharmacy, the entities responsible for maintaining registries of pharmacies operating within their state. The HELP Committee is investigating the New...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today examining the recent meningitis outbreak, Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said the catastrophic failure by regulatory agencies charged with protecting patients from unsafe drugs is unacceptable.  Enzi said it is important to...

“We are meeting here today to better understand what caused one of the worst public health crises this country has experienced in recent years: the meningitis outbreak that has claimed the lives of 32 Americans and sickened at least 461 people.              “While those...

WASHINGTON—Today, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-WY) and members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions issued letters requesting documents to aid in the committee’s investigation into the recent fungal meningitis outbreak, which has sickened more than 300 Americans. The Committee sent...

Policy Options Draft for Stakeholder Discussion This discussion draft reflects an ongoing effort to develop consensus policy on drug distribution security. This draft contains brackets and a menu of policy options for some issues around which developing consensus is most challenging. Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi of the HELP...

The President’s decision to circumvent the American people by installing his appointees at a powerful federal agency while the Senate was continuing to hold sessions, and without obtaining the advice and consent of the Senate, is an unprecedented power grab,” Sen. McConnell said. “We will demonstrate to the Court how the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing on pensions today, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, encouraged small business participation in the pension system to help improve and expand retirement savings in the country. “There is little doubt about the power of...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “I want to welcome everyone to the extraordinary roundtable we are holding today.  We have brought together a number of very experienced and thoughtful participants to talk about an issue that is critically important for the middle class –rebuilding the pension system.  “Defined benefit pension...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on addressing the challenges in paying for college education, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said while reauthorizing the Higher Education Act and looking for ways that the federal government can better serve American...