Political Quotes

“I rise today to celebrate the 75th birthday of my friend and longtime colleague from our home State of Iowa, Senator Tom Harkin. As the Presiding Officer knows, Senator Harkin will be retiring from public office in a few weeks. At the end of the 113th Congress, Senator Harkin will then close a chapter on public service that spans more than a half century, including four decades in Congress. He also served 27 years in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Reserves, 10 years in the House of Representatives, and 30 years here in the U.S. Senate. Now, I think anybody looking at that would say that is a remarkable and distinguished record of public service. After 40 years of representing Iowans in Congress, my friend Tom soon will leave behind the Halls of the U.S. Capitol. He also will leave behind a legacy of fiery floor speeches, passionately delivered on behalf of individuals with disabilities, also for Iowa farmers, also for the elderly, also for child laborers, and for many causes that he championed such as early childhood education, nutrition and wellness, conservation, renewable energy and the environment, and probably lots of others. But those are things everybody knows that he has worked hard on. Throughout the years Tom and I have served side-by-side in Washington for the good of our home State. For three terms we worked together in the U.S. House of Representatives.…”