Press Releases

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...

Washington, DC – Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) today touted recent progress in Medicare Advantage (MA) reining in costs, increasing coverage and maintaining high-quality care for seniors.  A new report from the Government...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Dr. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), urging swift action to set limits for total arsenic and lead in fruit juices. A study released yesterday by Consumer Reports showed...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, joined with Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Richard Burr (R-NC), and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) to send a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius with a call to...

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 response to news of a settlement between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists. Below are his full remarks, as prepared for delivery: "I rise today to congratulate the President...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent letters today to Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, and White House Chief of Staff William Daley expressing concerns about why the President has not submitted a nomination for the commissioner of the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today appointed Nicholas C. Geale as the director of Oversight and Investigations for HELP Committee Republicans.  “Nick has been a valuable member of my staff for more than two years and I am pleased...

The purpose of today’s hearing is to evaluate the performance of FDA’s device center. There are two main premarket pathways for medical devices. Premarket approval applications – or PMA’s – are for high risk devices. Few devices go through PMA.  The vast majority of devices go through a different pathway, known as...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on today’s announcement that the United States Supreme Court will review the challenges to the Affordable Care Act:  “I’m pleased that the Supreme Court has decided to promptly...

WASHINGTON – Three members of the Senate Finance Committee are concerned that the new Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) within the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will place unnecessary financial strains on the nation’s health care entitlement programs, further threatening their future solvency. Ranking...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) along with Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization of 2011, a bipartisan effort to ensure that our nation is prepared to respond to a wide range of medical and public health emergencies,...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to discuss his ongoing efforts to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and in doing so, move beyond the law’s most recent iteration, the No Child Left Behind Act.  Last month,...