Press Releases

Washington, D.C.  –  In the fourth of a series of hearings that have singled out for-profit schools to face charges of improper student recruitment practices, excessive profit taking, and poor student outcomes, U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today called...

Harkin Fights Efforts to Dismantle Health Care Law WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, submitted testimony to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s hearing, titled “Setting Fiscal Priorities in Health Care Funding.” As the first...

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyo), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, spearheaded a letter of 42 Senators to President Obama today urging him to withdraw the nomination of Dr. Donald Berwick to head the Center...

Harkin Convenes Hearing on Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today convened the first in a series of hearings to examine how to improve employment opportunities for people with intellectual...

Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to President Obama’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2012: “More spending, more taxes and more borrowing...

Harkin Praises HHS for Commitment to Prevention and Wellness WASHINGTON— Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) welcomed today’s announcement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of a $750 million investment in disease prevention and wellness, funded through the Prevention and Public Health Fund established by the Affordable...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK), issued the following statement on the new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the state of federal workforce and training programs. Senator Coburn and Senator Enzi...

WASHINGTON – Late yesterday, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate to discuss his ongoing investigation into the for-profit education sector and the cynical and misleading tactics used to enroll students in for-profit schools. Citing documents produced to the HELP...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), a longtime champion of disability rights, this week urged New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to select a wheelchair accessible taxi in the city’s “Taxi of Tomorrow” competition with the goal of making taxis and the city itself friendlier to people with disabilities.  New...

“I want to welcome everyone to the latest in our series of hearings focusing on retirement security.  This is our first hearing looking specifically at how to make retirement plans work better.  “There is no question that it is getting harder and harder for the average person to retire.  Families are facing unprecedented...

Washington, D.C. – Tonight Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee voted in support of repealing the burdensome health law. Enzi also voted in support of repealing the harmful tax provision included in the health care law. He was pleased that Senators joined together in...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, sent a letter to President Obama calling for the withdrawal of the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)....

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) today made the following comments on the Senate floor about the importance of health reform and the consequences of repealing the law. The Senate is expected to vote on a Republican amendment that would repeal the Affordable Care Act, the health reform bill that was signed into law last year. Repeal...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced the Committee will meet on Thursday at 2:00 P.M. for the next hearing in a series on the growing retirement security crisis.  The hearing will focus on what can be done to help Americans save more for retirement and...

Washington, D.C. – Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), voiced his support for the decision made today by U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson declaring the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act unconstitutional: “Today, twenty-six states took the nation one...

WASHINGTON – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the following statement on today’s ruling by Florida U.S. District Court judge Roger Vinson on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act:  “Since the Affordable Care Act passed, opponents of reform have filed...

Washington, D.C. – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) released the following statement regarding the new report from the Department of Health and Human Services that ignores data about premium increases that will result from the new health law: “This is simple math.  According...

WASHINGTON – Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), tonight released the following joint statement after President Obama called for education reform in his State of the Union address:“Tonight President Obama renewed his pledge...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – At this morning’s hearing, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and other members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) heard testimony from Americans who are already experiencing benefits of the Affordable Care Act.  One witness, a 21 year old named Emily Schlichting who suffers from a...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, made the following remarks on the benefits of health reform at the Families USA’s 16th Annual Health Action Conference in Washington, D.C. today.  Harkin was the first speaker at the conference, which is expected to...