Ranking Member's Press
Harkin: September Jobs Report Shows Continued Economic Growth
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today released the following statement on the September employment report showing that the economy added 248,000 jobs last month, with the national unemployment rate continuing to decrease, falling from 6.1 percent to 5.9 percent, its lowest point in six years. "Today's jobs report is a strong reminder that our economy is on the right track. With 55 straight months of j… Continue Reading
09.30.14
Harkin Statement On CDC Announcement of Ebola Case in Texas
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of both the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (the LHHS subcommittee), released the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that an individual who had traveled recently in Liberia has been diagnosed with Ebola in Dallas, Texas, the first Ebola case diagnosed in the Uni… Continue Reading
09.24.14
Democratic House, Senate Leaders Release New Report Identifying Hundreds of Tobacco, E-Cigarette Ads and Images in Magazines with High Teen Readership
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined seven House and Senate Democrats in releasing a new report that found that hundreds of tobacco advertisements and images glorifying smoking and e-cigarettes appear in magazines with large teen readerships. The report finds that "tobacco companies continue to glamorize smoking in advertisements in magazines with large youth readership" and that "magazines freq… Continue Reading
09.19.14
Harkin, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Crack Down on Worthless and Predatory Degree Programs
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released the following statement on legislation they introduced this week that would crack down on worthless degrees peddled by unscrupulous academic institutions, many of which arefor-profit colleges. The legislation would ensure that students are not lured into investing time and money in degrees that leave them saddled with debt but… Continue Reading
09.19.14
Harkin Applauds Senate Passage of Bipartisan Muscular Dystrophy Bill, Which Now Heads to President’s Desk
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement applauding Senate passage of the Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research and Education (MD-CARE) Amendments of 2014. In July, this bill was passed by the HELP Committee and the companion bill was passed by the House. When the MD-CARE Act and the Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act ar… Continue Reading
09.18.14
Harkin Introduces Three Bills As Part of “Access for All” Agenda for Americans with Disabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), as Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a new report on an investigation he called for regarding the barriers that people with disabilities face as they seek to rise out of poverty and enter the middle class. To implement the recommendations made by the report, Harkin today also introduced three new bills as part of his "Access for All" agenda to help Americans with disabilities achieve economi… Continue Reading
09.18.14
Harkin, Alexander, Reed, Isakson Applaud Senate Passage of Bipartisan Bill to Help Prevent Skin Cancer
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), and Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Sunscreen Innovation Act just hours after it was passed by the HELP Committee. "I am pleased that the Senate took swift action to approve the bipartisan and critically important Sunscreen Innovation Act," said Harkin (D-IA). "… Continue Reading
09.18.14
Harkin Investigation Finds Persistent Barriers to Economic Success for Americans with Disabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C.-At the Senate HELP Committee hearing "Fulfilling the Promise: Overcoming Persistent Barriers to Economic Self-Sufficiency for People with Disabilities," Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, unveiled a report that he instructed his HELP Committee staff to investigate the barriers that people with disabilities face as they seek to rise out of poverty and enter the middle class. The findings of the Harkin HELP Co… Continue Reading
09.17.14
Harkin, Alexander Praise HELP Committee Passage of Education Research Bill
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) praised the HELP Committee's passage of the Strengthening Education through Research Act, a bill that would reauthorize the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA). This legislation authorizes funding for the research activities of the U.S. Department of Education, including the Institute for Education Sciences, and will help t… Continue Reading
09.17.14
HELP Committee Approves NLRB Nominee Sharon Block
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement after the HELP Committee approved the nomination of Sharon Block to serve as Member of the National Labor Relations Board with bipartisan support. "Today, the HELP Committee took action to approve the nomination of Sharon Block to serve as a member of the National Labor Relations Board." Harkin said. "A strong economy starts with fair … Continue Reading
09.17.14
Harkin Statement on Senate Failure to Vote on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) released the following statement today following the objection of a Republican Senator to proceed to a vote and ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CPRD) - a treaty that builds upon the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to create a framework for disability rights laws in other countries. Harkin is the Senate author of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and has led the fight in the Senate to ratify the CRPD.… Continue Reading
09.17.14
Harkin Applauds Passage of Bipartisan HELP Bills to Strengthen Health Care, Improve Pensions
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today applauded approval of three bipartisan HELP Committee bills. The Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act of 2014 and S.2511, a bill to amend the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, were both approved by the Senate and the Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2014 was approved by the House. Led by Harkin as Chairman, all thr… Continue Reading
09.16.14
Statement of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) In Dual Role as Chair, Harkin will lead a Joint Hearing of the Senate HELP Committee and LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee:
*As Prepared for Delivery* "In March of this year, public health officials reported an outbreak of Ebola virus in the West African country of Guinea. Unlike past Ebola outbreaks that have been efficiently and effectively stopped, this outbreak has spread in ways that are potentially catastrophic for the world. Due to the gravity of the situation and the danger it poses not only to the affected region but also to the United States, I have taken the unusual step of calling together this joint hea… Continue Reading
09.12.14
Bipartisan, Bicameral Agreement Reached to Reform Child Care & Development Block Grant Program
WASHINGTON, D.C.-A bipartisan group of House and Senate leaders today announced a legislative agreement to improve and reauthorize the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act. Negotiated by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Representative John Kline (R-MN), Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Representatives George Miller (D-CA), Todd Rokita (R-IN), and David Loebsack (D-IA), and Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Richard Burr (R-NC), the agreement will enhance transparency, strengthen health and safe… Continue Reading
09.12.14
Harkin Applauds Senate Passage of Bipartisan HELP Committee Bill to Strengthen Emergency Medical Services for Children
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, applauded Senate passage of the bipartisan Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2014. The bill would continue the 30 years of care provided through the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program and ensure that the entire spectrum of emergency medical services (EMS) can be provided to children and adolescents no matter where they… Continue Reading
09.10.14
Harkin Introduces Bills to Support High-Quality Education for Children with Disabilities
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, introduced two bills that seek to fulfill the promise of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that ensures access to a free, high-quality public education for children with disabilities. The IDEA Full Funding Act and the IDEA Fairness Restoration Act seek to achieve this goal by strengthening the financial support to schools and parents to ensure st… Continue Reading
09.09.14
Statement of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) At the HELP Committee Hearing: “Hearing on the Nomination of Sharon Block to Serve as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board”
"We are holding this hearing today because at the end of the year there will be a vacancy at the National Labor Relations Board resulting from the departure of Member Nancy Schiffer. I would like to take a moment to thank Ms. Schiffer for her service. The President has nominated an exceptionally well-qualified and dedicated public servant-Sharon Block-to fill the opening, and I look forward to her speedy confirmation. "A little over a year ago, for the first time in over a decade, we were able… Continue Reading
09.03.14
Congressional Democrats Call on FTC to Strengthen Oversight of Food Marketing to Children
WASHINGTON, DC- Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) led a group of Congressional Democrats today in calling for the Obama Administration to strengthen its oversight of food and beverage companies and ensure that they are making progress on reducing unhealthy food marketing to children. In a letter sent to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the lawmakers urged the FTC to make this issue a top priority, calling on the agency to complete a follow-u… Continue Reading
08.29.14
Congressional Authors Of E-Cigarette Marketing Report Call New CDC Data “the Sound Of An Alarm”
WASHINGTON, D.C.-With e-cigarette use among middle and high schoolers still on the rise, nine Members of Congress responded to a new study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that adolescents who had used e-cigarettes were more likely to express intentions to smoke conventional cigarettes than those who had not. Previous scientific studies have shown that intent to smoke cigarettes is a valid predictor of future tobacco use. Earlier this week, the World Healt… Continue Reading
08.22.14
Harkin, Murray Announce Release of New GAO Report on Education for Homeless Children and Youth Program
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Today, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the HELP Committee, announced the release of a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on the Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program, which provides resources for states and school districts to identify homeless children and youth, helping to ensure they can attend and succeed in school… Continue Reading
