Chair's Press

WASHINGTON--Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate about the Rebuild America Act, a bill he introduced to create good jobs, strengthen the economy, and rebuild America's middle class. Below is the full text of the speech, as prepared for...

WASHINGTON – Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today announced the release of the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act Committee Print that will be considered at next Wednesday’s Committee...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on Equal Pay Day, which falls on April 17th to mark the extra days a woman would have to work beyond 2011 and into 2012 to match the average wages of a man in 2011 alone. “When women earn...

Today, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi release a bipartisan Drug Approval and Patient Access Draft: Click here to view the pdf. This discussion draft reflects bipartisan efforts to develop consensus policy proposals to accompany the FDA human medical product user fee legislation. Our goal is to solicit feedback on the policy merits,...

Today, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi release a bipartisan Drug Approval and Patient Access Draft: Click here to view the pdf. This discussion draft reflects bipartisan efforts to develop consensus policy proposals to accompany the FDA human medical product user fee legislation. Our goal is to solicit feedback on the policy merits,...

Today, Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Enzi release a bipartisan Drug Approval and Patient Access Draft: Click here to view the pdf. This discussion draft reflects bipartisan efforts to develop consensus policy proposals to accompany the FDA human medical product user fee legislation. Our goal is to solicit feedback on the policy merits,...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Terence Flynn, asking him to release information and documents relating to findings by the NLRB Inspector General that Flynn committed ethics misconduct. “With...

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the Rebuild America Act, a far-reaching bill that will create jobs, restore fairness to the tax code, and rebuild America's middle class through investments in areas like education and workforce training, our nation's infrastructure, manufacturing jobs, and retirement security. After a...

*As Prepared for Delivery* “Our topic today is ‘Stay-at-work and Return-to-work Strategies:  Lessons from the Private Sector.’  This is the latest in a series of hearings we have convened since last March to explore issues that impact the employment of people with disabilities in America.  Of course, our goal is to...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate to commemorate the second anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, the health reform law that he helped to craft.  Harkin cited the real world impact of the law for...

WASHINGTON—Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) lauded last night’s Senate approval of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act Reauthorization (PAHPA).  As Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Harkin has led this bipartisan effort to ensure that our nation is prepared to respond to a wide range of...

WASHINGTON – Today, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Re-empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) Act. This legislation would modify present law to ensure workers are not stripped of their union protection. “I have always believed...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) cited new data released today by Secretary of Education Arne Duncan as further evidence that civil rights are still a struggle in many of America’s schools.  The results of the Civil Rights Data Collection just released for the 2009-2010 school year reveal disparities in access to courses...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today announced that he has named Mildred Otero as the Majority’s new Chief Education Counsel. “With her extensive experience advancing education initiatives that benefit children from cradle to career, Mildred is...

WASHINGTON – Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) today expressed disappointment that the Republicans on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce pushed through two partisan bills to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act despite concerns raised by all Committee...

WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today released the following statement responding to President Obama’s announcement that ten states have been granted waivers from some requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law.  Last fall, the HELP...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, delivered an address at the Center for American Progress outlining his vision for how to rebuild America’s middle class.  In the coming months, Harkin plans to introduce sweeping legislation that will rebuild...

WASHINGTON – Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), released the following statement welcoming today’s announcement that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached agreement with the medical device manufacturing...

WASHINGTON—Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, spoke on the floor of the Senate in support of President Obama’s recent appointments to the National Labor Relations Board and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Below are his full remarks, as prepared for...

WASHINGTON – Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), released the following statement welcoming today’s announcement that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has reached agreement with the prescription drug, generic drug,...