Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a hearing today on improving mine safety, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, questioned the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s (MSHA) record of enforcement, after learning that MSHA knew of problems at the Upper Big Branch...

WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) called on KV Pharmaceuticals to lower the price of Makena, a drug recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent premature birth for women who have had at least one prior preterm birth.  He also applauded...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today released the following statement marking tomorrow’s one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, the new health reform law.  As Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Harkin played a central role in shaping and passing the bill, and stood...

Washington, D.C.  –   Marking the one-year anniversary of the most sweeping health care legislation that the federal government has ever produced, Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today said reform is turning out to be an empty promise that...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “This is the Committee’s fourth hearing focusing on the federal investment in for-profit higher education companies, and whether our $26 billion annual investment in this sector is a good value for students and taxpayers.   “We have previously taken a look at specific aspects of this sector,...

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...