Press Releases

WASHINGTON—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today called for bipartisan support for a measure that will keep interest rates on federal student loans from doubling in July, from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent.  Harkin helped develop and is one of the lead cosponsors of the Stop...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a debate today on addressing rising student loan interest rates, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said he was disappointed that President Obama and Senate Democrats would keep rates low by taxing small businesses and reducing job...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement calling for the resignation of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Terence Flynn after the NLRB Inspector General revealed additional evidence that Flynn violated ethics rules by...

WASHINGTON, DC –In an effort to prevent the cost of college loans from doubling for millions of students, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI), Tom Harkin (D-IA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have teamed up to introduce the Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act, a short-term remedy that will freeze the interest rates on subsidized federal...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Ranking  Member Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) today said the Committee’s markup of FDA user fee reauthorization reflected a strong  bipartisan effort.  “Today’s markup of the user fee agreement...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said he was disappointed that the Senate turned its back on America’s small businesses and employees, and chose to support the bureaucrats at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  Senator...

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  During a debate on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ambush elections rule today, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that the agency’s reckless actions are threatening America’s small businesses. “It is...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Senate will debate the legislative challenge to the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) “ambush elections” rule early next week. The resolution of disapproval sponsored by Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee,...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Representative George Miller (D-CA), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) reacted to a new Government Accountability Office report  on workplace safety, released at a HELP Committee...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on workplace safety and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that while workplace injuries and illness have declined, the nation must continue to do...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “We are here today to discuss the important issue of workplace safety and, specifically, why it takes so long for OSHA to issue a new safety standard.  We are going to hear from GAO about a new study finding that there are alarming delays in this process.  But before I get into what the report says, I...

WASHINGTON--Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate about the Rebuild America Act, a bill he introduced to create good jobs, strengthen the economy, and rebuild America's middle class. Below is the full text of the speech, as prepared for...

WASHINGTON – Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today announced the release of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act Committee Print that will be considered at next Wednesday’s Committee...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on Equal Pay Day, which falls on April 17th to mark the extra days a woman would have to work beyond 2011 and into 2012 to match the average wages of a man in 2011 alone. “When women earn...

Washington Times ENZI: Halting union attack on employee privacy Labor board’s new rules sneak through unionization drives At the turn of the 20th century, the nation’s unions played an important role in improving labor conditions for hard-working Americans by voicing valid concerns over long hours and unsafe working...

Today, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi release a bipartisan Drug Approval and Patient Access Draft: Click here to view the pdf. This discussion draft reflects bipartisan efforts to develop consensus policy proposals to accompany the FDA human medical product user fee legislation. Our goal is to solicit feedback on the policy merits,...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Terence Flynn, asking him to release information and documents relating to findings by the NLRB Inspector General that Flynn committed ethics misconduct. “With...

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the Rebuild America Act, a far-reaching bill that will create jobs, restore fairness to the tax code, and rebuild America's middle class through investments in areas like education and workforce training, our nation's infrastructure, manufacturing jobs, and retirement security. After a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) user fee programs, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, emphasized the importance of timely authorization of user fee agreements covering drugs, medical devices, generic drugs,...

Enzi: Health Care Law’s Legacy Is Broken Promises, Missed Opportunities By Sen. Mike Enzi Special to Roll Call March 23, 2012, 1:25 p.m In the history of our great nation, every major legislative initiative that has helped transform our country was forged in the spirit of compromise and cooperation. These qualities were essential to the...