Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) joined members of the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council, including Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, and Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, among others, to unveil the National...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today during a speech on the floor of the United States Senate, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that the American dream starts with a job, and the most important thing the federal government can do to allow for greater job growth is get...

FLOOR SPEECH OF SENATOR MICHAEL B. ENZI June 15, 2011 Mr. President, I come to the floor this afternoon to talk about jobs.  There is no more important issue for American families today than jobs.  For three long years, we have been waiting for the economy to get back in gear and start creating the jobs necessary to keep America...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said a new report released today from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) shows that health care reform is driving up costs for American families and small businesses and has forced millions of Americans...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “Four years ago, America was caught off guard by the sub-prime mortgage crisis.  Fast talking sales people deceived consumers into taking out loans that they knew would never be paid back, and financial speculators hid the risk and passed the debt off to investors. What has become clear over the past year,...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said the final rule on gainful employment issued by the Department of Education (DOE) ignores the larger issues affecting the entire postsecondary education sector such as rising student debt and loan...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and the Appropriations Subcommittee that funds education, released the following statement on the final Gainful Employment rule: “The Department of Education’s Gainful Employment rule is a modest and important first step...

WASHINGTON – Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) today unveiled legislation to reauthorize the Combating Autism Act of 2006. This legislation ensures that the critical programs established under the original law continue for an additional three years, including CDC surveillance programs, HRSA intervention and training...

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) reintroduced the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act, legislation that builds on the work of Mrs. Shriver by reauthorizing the Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act, whose programs support people with disabilities through health, education, and initiatives around the world. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO)...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today wrote to Vice President Joe Biden to request that he take immediate action to formally transmit regulations implementing part of the new health care law from the Department of Health and Human Services...

WASHINGTON—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the Senate floor today to reveal strategies that for-profit education companies use to enroll veterans and active-duty service members in order to profit off their Post 9/11 G.I. Bill education benefits.  An...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today pressed Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on the Administration’s failure to submit the final rule on medical loss ratio requirements to Congress.  Enzi noted the Secretary...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Mike Enzi (R-WY) announced Wednesday that they are introducing legislation to help ensure that retirement savings in defined contribution plans last throughout retirement. Because of the difficult economic times, more and more Americans are treating their retirement accounts as rainy day...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on strengthening medical and public health preparedness and response, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that the while great progress has been made, America must continue to improve its response to public health...

*As Prepared for Delivery* "I am pleased to convene this hearing today on a very important issue—defending our Nation against public health threats.  "Such threats are diverse in origin and include exposure to chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents.  Sometimes these threats occur naturally—the 2009 H1N1 pandemic...

WASHINGTON – At a hearing this morning to examine the shrinking American middle class, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) challenged a Boeing Company executive to justify why his own compensation increased by 34% in one year while the average Boeing employee’s compensation has increased by...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “As I have traveled through Iowa and across the country, I have heard from more and more hardworking middle class families who feel that the American Dream is slipping away. I recently received a letter from one of my constituents, who wrote: My own disposable income has disappeared, and I am not alone. Where I once...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on middle class employment, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that the Obama Administration’s policies are costing America good, middle class jobs and that the Boeing complaint by the NLRB is “not the way...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on middle class employment, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that the Obama Administration’s policies are costing America good, middle class jobs. “Central to achieving the American Dream is one element...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the Senate floor to address recent attacks on the National Labor Relations Board regarding its handling of a complaint against Boeing. Below are his full remarks as prepared for delivery: "Mr. President, recently, the...