I thank the Senator for his kindness. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa. International Disability Rights Day
Tom Harkin
The Public Record
Tom Harkin is a former U.S. Senator from Iowa who served from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, Harkin was known for his advocacy on disability rights and health care reform. He played a significant role in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act and was a strong proponent of mental health services and education initiatives. Throughout his tenure, Harkin focused on issues affecting working families and rural communities in Iowa.
I thank my friend. I remember Dr. Andrew Weil, who is very well known in this country and a good friend of mine, once made the statement sometime ago in a hearing that the default state of the human body is to be healthy. The body wants to…
If my friend will yield, I think that is absolutely true. First of all, it is true that a lot of times low-income people don't have access to a more healthy environment. The food deserts we call them in our inner cities, where they do not…
I thank the Senator for those kind remarks. Let me say again what a pleasure it has been to work with the Senator from Tennessee for the last few years. In the last couple of years, we brought a lot of meaningful legislation through our…
I thank the Presiding Officer. I thank my friend and colleague from Connecticut for his very excellent, profound statement and for taking a leadership position on this very crucial issue. It is obviously well known I am retiring in 3…
I support the nomination of Charlotte Burrows to be a commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, and David Lopez to continue to serve as the agency's general counsel. These are two eminently qualified nominees…
I am proud to introduce my comprehensive proposal to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, the main law governing institutions of higher education in this country. My bill, the Higher Education Affordability Act, is the product of…
Mr. Presidet, this morning we convened a hearing to consider the President's nomination of Lauren McFerran to fill an impending vacancy on the National Labor Relations Board. Ms. McFerran is well known to most of us as a senior staffer on…
I wish to pay tribute and to extend my thanks to an extraordinary individual, Jenelle Krishnamoorthy, who has served on my staff, with one small interruption of service, for a decade. Jenelle came to my staff in the summer of 2003 as a…
first let me thank my friend and colleague for his lifetime characteristic which is being very gracious and very generous in his remarks. Chuck Grassley and I have served together since 1974. I like to tell people that in 1974, that was a…
I thank my dear friend and colleague, long-standing in the Senate and in the House before, and to thank the Senator for her intellectual and energetic leadership on all issues concerning the environment and the health of our people and the…
I ask unanimous consent that Leela Baggett, Vincent Brown, and Naomi Pitkin, interns with the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of today's session. The PRESIDING OFFICER…
To get our good neighbors, the Canadians, to the north to start moving away from the development of the tar sands, both for their good and for the good of our planet. I don't want to keep digging the grave for our grandkids. I cannot vote…
I oppose this legislation to approve the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline. Again, I believe it is one more step in the wrong direction, one more capitulation to our fossil fuel habit, one more accelerant to global warming that…
Just 1 more minute to finish. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
I ask unanimous consent I be allowed to speak for up to 5 minutes in opposition of the bill presently on the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
I wish to announce that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will to meet on November 20, 2014, at 1 p.m., in room SD-430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Why Are Some Generic Drugs…
I thank the Senator for her important question. Her understanding is correct. The definition of homeless children and youth found at 42 U.S.C. Sec. 11434A is the definition we intend to apply to homeless children and families where those…
I wish to announce that the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will to meet on November 20, 2014, at 10 a.m. in room SD-430 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, to conduct a hearing entitled ``Hearing on the nomination…
again, I thank the Senator for this clarifying question. Under this bill, State plans must include a certification that there are in effect in the State requirements that include the establishment of a grace period that allows homeless…
I want to speak in support of the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, the bill that is before us. It has taken us a long time to get to this point. I cannot be more pleased that we are on the verge of sending this…
first, I ask unanimous consent that Mark Summerside, Marcha Chaudry, and Zack Decker, the interns with my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of today's session. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered…
I would like to recognize the outstanding career of a dedicated civil servant, Iowan Dr. Nancy Cox, who will retire in November 2014 after 37 years of distinguished Federal service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
on behalf of Senator Alexander and myself, I do object to the unanimous consent request. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Objection is heard.





