Ranking Member's Press

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...

*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,...

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...

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)...

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...

*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...

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...

*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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

*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,...

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...

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...

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 – 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...