Ranking Member's Press
Harkin: “Social contract has disappeared” for American Middle Class
WASHINGTON-Today, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee heard testimony from Americans who are struggling to make ends meet and those who are studying the decline of the middle class. After delivering a speech on the Senate floor yesterday decrying Washington's focus on cutting the deficit at the expense of needed investments in job creation, Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) shared his view that middle class families are the backbone of the American economy, but are being largely… Continue Reading
06.22.11
Harkin Floor Statement on NLRB’s Proposed Voting Rules
WASHINGTON-Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the Senate floor in support of modernized elections rules proposed yesterday by the National Labor Relations Board. Below are his full remarks as prepared for delivery: "In 1912, women went on strike at a textile plant in Lawrence, Massachusetts. They inspired the nation when they walked the picket line with signs that said: "We want bread, but we want roses too." Tho… Continue Reading
06.21.11
Harkin Praises NLRB's Proposed Voting Rules
WASHINGTON-Today , Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement in response to the National Labor Relations Board's proposal of modernized election rules, which will clear the way for workers to vote on unionization by streamlining regulatory processes: "To ensure a strong economic recovery, America needs a strong middle class," Harkin said. "A key part of rebuilding the middle class is ensuring that every Am… Continue Reading
06.20.11
Harkin Statement on Supreme Court Decision to Block Wal-Mart Sex Discrimination Suit
WASHINGTON - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled that a sex discrimination class-action suit against Wal-Mart cannot move forward: "At a time when women make only 77 cents for every dollar a man makes, I am disappointed that the Supreme Court has made it more difficult for Betty Dukes and the other women who have been victims of sex discrimination to have their day in c… Continue Reading
06.16.11
Harkin Welcomes National Prevention Strategy
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 Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy. Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, authored the provision that establish… Continue Reading
06.07.11
Harkin Statement the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Hearing "Drowning in Debt: Financial Outcomes of Students at For-Profit Colleges"
*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, through this Committee's investigation, is that there is a class of subprime colleges within the for-profit sector that are doing the exact same thing. Instead of … Continue Reading
06.02.11
Harkin Statement on Gainful Employment Rule
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 to protect students and taxpayers from subprime academic programs that have a demonstrated track record of failure. At a time when Congress is concerned about the gro… Continue Reading
05.26.11
Harkin Introduces Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act
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) joined Harkin in sponsoring the bill. The bill would continue grants for classroom programs and activities designed to support schools that encourage acceptanc… Continue Reading
05.19.11
Harkin Reveals Deceptive Marketing Employed by For-Profit Colleges to Profit Off Veterans and Servicemembers
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 investigation of the for-profit education industry by Chairman Harkin has revealed that on average, 55 percent of students who attend many of these schools drop out within a… Continue Reading
05.17.11
Statement of Chairman Tom Harkin at the HELP Committee Hearing: “A Nation Prepared: Strengthening Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response”
*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 influenza, for example-or they can be the result of malicious intent-such as the intentional release of anthrax in 2001. A recent and very challenging example is t… Continue Reading
05.12.11
Fairness for Employees? Harkin Questions Huge Pay Gap between Employees and Executives
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 only 3% in the last twenty years. To illustrate this trend of growing income inequality in America, Harkin questioned Boeing General Counsel Michael Luttig if it… Continue Reading
05.12.11
Statement of Chairman Tom Harkin at Committee Hearing to Examine Shrinking of America's Middle Class
*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 joined friends occasionally for a lunch 'out,' that no longer happens. I don't buy new clothes. I don't travel. My friends and neighbors, formerl… Continue Reading
05.11.11
Harkin Floor Statement on Attacks on National Labor Relations Board
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 National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against the Boeing Company alleging that the company violated the National Labor Relations Act. This r… Continue Reading
05.10.11
HELP Committee to Examine Why the Middle Class is Shrinking
WASHINGTON - Thursday at 9:15 A.M., Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, will convene the first in a series of events to examine why the middle class is increasingly slipping out of reach for Americans. As corporate profits reach record levels, and the gulf between workers' wages and their bosses' salaries is larger than ever before, the Committee will discuss the policy decisions that have played a role in the erosion of the middle … Continue Reading
04.12.11
Harkin: Americans with Disabilities Leaving Labor Force at Alarming Rate
WASHINGTON - This morning, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) gave the keynote address at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Corporate Disability Employment Summit. A longtime champion for people with disabilities, Harkin sponsored the Americans with Disabilities Act, and as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, he recently held a hearing to identify barriers to employment for people with intellectual disabilities and strategies that have successfully improved employment… Continue Reading
04.01.11
Harkin, DeLauro Respond to Proposed Menu Labeling Rules
WASHINGTON - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) released the following statements responding to the proposed rules for calorie labeling on menus in chain restaurants and vending machines announced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today. Harkin and DeLauro sponsored the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) Act, legislation to enable Americans to make informed choices about their fo… Continue Reading
03.30.11
Harkin Calls on Drug Manufacturer to Lower Price of Makena
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 Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the FDA for their decision to exercise enforcement discretion to allow pharmacists to compound affordabl… Continue Reading
03.22.11
Harkin: “The choice is to go forward, or be dragged backward”
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 beside the President as he signed it into law on March 23, 2010. "It's been just one year since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, and already, milli… Continue Reading
03.10.11
Statement of Chairman Tom Harkin
*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, including recruiting practices, placement, accreditation issues, student outcomes, and, most recently, the for-profit industry's targeting of veterans and GI educational benefits… Continue Reading
03.09.11
Harkin Fights Efforts to Dismantle Health Care Law
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 anniversary of the Affordable Care Act nears, Harkin emphasized both the budgetary and consumer benefits that the law provides, making the case for protecting and implementing the new… Continue Reading
