Press Releases

*** “Before the Internet, RCA knew how many records Elvis was selling, Ford knew how many cars it was selling and McDonald’s knew how many hamburgers it was selling. It would be laughable in the Internet age that the Obama administration still can’t tell us how many Americans have actually enrolled in Obamacare, if the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA), Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT), and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today highlighted a report released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that found seniors who had continuous health insurance coverage prior...

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a statement submitted this week to the Congressional Record, U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, marked the 50th anniversary of the landmark Surgeon General report on smoking and health. “This 50th anniversary gives us an opportunity to...

“Today’s roundtable will focus on our main federal college access programs — TRIO and GEAR UP—and how they’re performing in helping low-income students access and persist through postsecondary education.  This roundtable marks our fifth event in a series to examine issues we plan to address in the upcoming...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Another bipartisan Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee bill is headed to President Obama’s desk following unanimous Senate passage last night. The Poison Center Network Act cleared the Committee in December and passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week. The legislation is the eleventh...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—At an event held today at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA joined Rep. George Miller (D-CA) and Jason Furman, Chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, to call on Congress to pass legislation Harkin and Miller have introduced to raise the minimum wage to $10.10.  Harkin is...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Tom Carper (D-DE) wrote to the Department of Defense (DOD) requesting that it take steps to address inaccuracies and information gaps in the “higher...

*As prepared for delivery* WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a floor speech Monday, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, expressed his support for extending federal unemployment insurance.  He also voiced concerns about the impact of proposed offsets, which include cuts to programs...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement after learning that Congressman George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, would retire at the end of his term.  Harkin and Miller were both elected to the U.S. House in 1974 and have worked together on numerous...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) applauded the historic and continued success of anti-smoking efforts ahead of the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health. The most recent evidence of the extraordinary progress made over the last five decades comes from a new study in the Journal of...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, welcomed the announcement by the Administration that a final rule issued today will help ensure that Medicaid’s home and community-based services programs provide full access to the benefits of community...

*** “One of the Senate’s most important roles in our system of checks and balances is its constitutional power of advice and consent on presidential nominees, and the Senate decides when it is in session – not the president.”– Lamar Alexander WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee welcomed the announcement this week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving forward with implementation of the Drug Quality and Security Act, which Harkin led to Senate passage in November 2013 and...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today welcomed the announcement from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that under provisions he authored in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), women will be able to gain access to medications that will...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) today expressed concern over a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Inspector General (IG) report finding insufficient oversight by the Centers for Medicare &...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, after the U.S. Senate voted to start debate on the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) said Congress was one step closer to passing the bill. Harkin, as Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has been a strong advocate for the millions of...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a statement submitted today to the Congressional Record, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, said that Congress has a duty to restore federal unemployment insurance for the 1.3 million Americans who lost those benefits when they expired on December...

MARYVILLE, Jan. 5 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the U.S. Senate’s upcoming vote  on Monday to consider legislation to extend long-term unemployment benefits: “I will not vote to bring this legislation to the floor unless senators have an opportunity to debate and vote on...

*** “Tennesseans deserve to know that the FDA and other regulators are properly implementing this new law, which makes clear who is on the flagpole to prevent another nightmare like the deadly meningitis outbreak of 2012.” – Lamar Alexander MARYVILLE, Jan. 3 – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the lead Republican on...

*** “Individuals, families and businesses aren’t the only ones facing financial challenges because of Obamacare – Tennessee schools are also being hit hard by higher health insurance costs that are forcing districts to cut jobs or hours. Obamacare has forced schools to save costs by creating more part-time employees, from...