Tom Harkin

I look forward to working with you and to, hopefully, making the Department of Labor a true department of labor.

I would be remiss if I left this room and didn't bring up with you the area concerning people with disabilities in our healthcare system.

Again, this has been a great hearing and the kind of attitude, the philosophy you are bringing to this job is just refreshing.

It is going to be a lot of hard work, but there are some really great things I think that we can accomplish.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) are currently implementing legislation that Senator Kennedy and I worked on to help make sure…

I intend to support you. I think you will make a great Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Senators Durbin, Gregg, and I will be re-introducing our food safety bill early this year, and I hope you can support us in this bipartisan effort.

Senate Chair of the committee of jurisdiction over swaps, Senator Harkin, has argued that trading in these instruments should be moved back onto regulated exchanges.

Senator Harkin has argued that trading in these instruments should be moved back onto regulated exchanges.

It's dangerous that McCain looks at everything through his military experience.

Section 8107 of the bill contains a ``savings'' provision that explicitly states that nothing in this legislation ``alters, abridges, diminishes, repeals, or affects any agreement between the Forest Service and an Indian tribe''. Section…

I thank them for their diligence and interest in and so many of them for their efforts in bringing us to this point. It truly is a bipartisan bill. A lot of times while I am traveling around Iowa and other States, people will come up to me…

This is a strong, bipartisan farm bill. It benefits every American from my hometown of Cumming, IA, population 162, to New York City, population 8 million. This bill provides a strong farm income safety net, so it is good for our farmers…

I actually chaired those hearings out there, and those guys--both brothers were sent to jail.

But, certainly, Mr. Pacelle, you would also agree that if a cow is going down a chute and trips...

I'm not certain about this. That's something we've got to think about.

We need a 'no downer' policy--as you said, Mr. Chairman, that's a bright-line policy that doesn't allow any of these animals into the food system, because we're being penny-wise, and pound-foolish.

The idea that somehow you can detect an acute physical injury by a broken leg, and say that's the sole reason that the animal is down--

I think there's some confusion.

I think we have to be careful that everything on that video doesn't show animals that went into the food supply.

The animals I saw in that video were approved by the inspector before that, is that what you're saying?

I think that's a very poor requirement.

We can't just rely upon the company.

I think the public requires it.

But the company would have been shut down during this period of time, the line would have been shut down, Mr. Secretary, is that right?