Tom Harkin

No. Obviously, if someone came in with the purpose of working for me and doing a good job for constituents that I represent in the State of Iowa and is willing to do the job, is dedicated to that job but also wanted, for example, to…

I agree with the Senator, this is a matter of accountability. Senators should have the right to speak, but they should also have the right to cast their vote one way or the other, up or down, on the amendment. So I am hopeful that there…

Farmers continue to suffer huge losses through absolutely no fault of their own. No other business has less control of the price they can receive for what they produce, the cost of the inputs. Farmers cannot control the weather. They…

I know a lot of us were out in our States during the August recess. I was too. I had a series of meetings around the State with farm families and people in small towns and communities and rural areas. Quite frankly, what I found was more…

I rise to share some of my reasons for voting in favor of the Specter-Biden amendment that restored the Comprehensive Test Ban ``prepcom'' funding. I strongly supported the Specter-Biden amendment to restore the $28 million for the U.S…

I believe we will be able to work this out in a manner that will be, I hope, conducive to getting the money that we need immediately--just the basic requirements that we want for the National Institutes of Health, that we want for LIHEAP…

during the deliberations over the fiscal year 1999 Defense Authorization bill, I offered an amendment to increase spending for our nation's veterans medical needs. The amendment, offered on June 25th and numbered as 2982 would have allowed…

Now, why am I taking the time here late at night to talk about this? Because we are about to go out on a break. We are going to go out for the month of August. In the first week of September when we come back, the chairman of the Labor…

I thank the chairman. I know of his great interest in this area. And I know of his great support for our law enforcement agencies to crack down on the methamphetamine labs. I know your chairman is having the same experience out in his…

Again, you might ask, well, why should they have to look for this? Why should procurement officers have to be concerned about this? Under 48 CFR 9.406-2, ``Causes for Debarment,'' there is a whole list of things that they should look for…

there is a plague sweeping across our Nation. It is ruining an untold number of lives, claiming countless numbers of our children. It is in our streets as well as our classrooms. Drugs have become more abundant. But there is a new drug…

this provision is not unconstitutional and does not interfere with the Constitution, and it does not interfere with the exercise of any fourth amendment right a Government contractor might have. The provision makes it possible for the…

The Thompson amendment, which is the pending amendment, seeks to strike from the bill a provision that was incorporated at the committee level--subcommittee level and committee level--by unanimous consent. I don't know of any votes that…

I believe that the Iowa Communications Network (ICN), a state run and owned communications network, as well as similarly situated entities, should be able to fully participate in the E-rate program. If the ICN is denied that opportunity by…

I believe that the voucher and certificate 811 program would be more beneficial to those with significant disabilities if non-profit organizations with significant experience providing such services would be fully engaged, working with…

As my colleague, the distinguished Chairman of the Subcommittee may know, I have been advised that the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 (FDAMA) authorized a new streamlined pre-market notification system for food…

I acknowledge the doubts the Chairman has about the accuracy of the WIC budget request. Also, as the Chairman knows, I share his strong support for the School Lunch Program and for supplying commodities to it. I do have a letter from…

I sympathize with the majority leader and minority leader on the issue of moving ahead with the legislation. There are some very important issues here on agriculture. We have a crisis looming for our farmers, ranchers, and our rural…

This amendment doesn't start anything new. It takes an existing program at the FDA and expends the money. That is what an appropriations bill does. We are not legislating on an appropriations bill. There is no legislation here, I say to my…

the amendment that I just offered would restore $66 million for the President's Food Safety Initiative, the funding of which I believe should be a national priority. I understand the constraints faced here on this subcommittee on spending…

You are right about E. coli. I counted up in June of this year, this last month, and we had six E. coli outbreaks of food poisoning in this country, of a strain of E. coli that didn't exist 20 years ago. It wasn't there. And now it is…

I just point out again that these outbreaks are growing with rapidity and showing up in the oddest of places. For example, last month, dozens of children got sick--again, with this E. coli 0157H7--in Atlanta after swimming in a public…

I wonder how many consumers know that only 2 percent of all the produce they eat that comes from outside this country is ever inspected--2 percent. The rest of it, who knows what is on that stuff when it comes to this country. The…

I respond again to the Senator from Kentucky that there are other assessments and user fees in this bill. So why should the tobacco companies be exempt from an assessment? There are, I point out, a number of other assessments on industry…

It simply says that the laws we have that make it illegal to sell tobacco products to kids should be adequately enforced. To do that, the amendment I have just sent to the desk provides full funding for the ongoing anti teen smoking…