Ranking Member's Press

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement today after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit against ITT Educational Services alleging predatory lending tactics. The high-interest rate ITT private...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Last evening, U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) co-hosted the first in a series of monthly lectures for senators and their staff on the deaf community and its culture.  The lectures will take place over the next five months and are intended to help senators and their staffers expand their...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) today in introducing the Protecting Children from Electronic Cigarette Advertising Act to prohibit...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “Today, our Committee will examine treatment options and trends for mental health conditions. We held a successful hearing on mental health issues last year, and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to continue the dialogue on this important topic with my colleagues and our panel of expert...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) issued the following statement today following the release of a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report regarding the minimum wage and its impact on the economy.  Harkin is Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the author, along with Congressman...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Democratic leadership and the chairs of the committees involved in drafting the Affordable Care Act have joined a brief defending the use of tax credits on federally-run health insurance Marketplaces in the case of Halbig v. Sebelius in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The brief, submitted by...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Following last week’s announcement that CVS Caremark would begin removing tobacco products from its more than 7,600 U.S. stores, seven United States Senators today urged Walmart – the number one retailer of cigarettes in the country – to do the same, and stop selling tobacco products in its...

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Congressman George Miller (D-CA) called for action to better protect students and increase transparency around debit and prepaid card agreements between schools and financial firms.  The lawmakers’ action follows the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released new enrollment figures for the federal marketplaces showing that nearly 3.3 million people enrolled in the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA), and Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) sent a letter to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, and Vermont Attorney General William H. Sorrell. The...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—At a news conference in Washington today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, unveiled the findings of an investigation into the use of seclusion and restraints.  Harkin’s investigation found that under current law, a family whose child has been...

Click the link below to watch a livestream of the event "Senate HELP Committee Chairman Harkin To Unveil New Report on Students Left in Isolation or Physically Restrained in Schools." http://www.senate.gov/isvp/?type=live&comm=help&filename=help021214

“The nominations that we are here to discuss are critically important, both for the Department of Labor and for the countless working families across the country who depend on the programs, services, and protections provided by the Department.  “As I have said on more than one occasion, of all the Executive Agencies, it may be the...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a floor speech today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, talked about the growing retirement crisis Americans face and the need to act now to solve it. Many Americans are vastly unprepared for retirement, with the retirement income deficit—the...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On the heels of an announcement from CVS Caremark that the company plans to pull tobacco products from its more than 7,600 U.S. stores, eight senators—led by Senate HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA)—urged other chain drug stores to follow CVS’ example, remove tobacco products from their shelves, and...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked a restoration of federal unemployment insurance (UI) from moving forward. The proposal, which was fully paid-for, would have restored federal unemployment...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “There truly is nothing more important than what we as a society do to support our youngest children, and I look forward to a robust discussion on that topic today. I would also like to say, at the outset, that I do not believe there is disagreement about ensuring that children who benefit from federal programs...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement today in support of the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) proposal to reform and modernize the union representation process. “I applaud the NLRB’s continued efforts to...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today welcomed the announcement that CVS Caremark will stop selling tobacco products at its more than 7,600 stores nationwide. In 1998, Harkin introduced the first comprehensive, bipartisan bill to give the FDA...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—To ensure that visitors and staff are protected from the potential dangers posed by electronic cigarettes and their vapor, U.S. Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), and U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman (D-CA)...