WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today unveiled a new website documenting his record of legislative achievements and work on behalf of Iowans over a 40-year Congressional career. Since the day he entered Congress in 1975, Harkin has worked tirelessly to create a ladder of opportunity for Iowans, Americans, and millions more around the world.
Harkin has led the passage of some of the landmark laws of the past quarter-century. He has transformed the landscape for people with disabilities and created farm and renewable energy policy to ensure Iowa has one of the most vibrant economies and highest quality of life in the country. With the enactment of the Affordable Care Act, Harkin's leadership has made, for the first time, keeping Americans healthy and preventing illness a key part of the health care system.
The new website also looks at Harkin's 27 years of outstanding bipartisan leadership as Chairman of three Senate committees. As chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, Harkin has overseen the spending priorities for half of all non-security discretionary spending. His leadership has advanced issues from innovative scientific and medical research, to job training and early childhood education. As Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, he led two farm bills to enactment - each with overwhelming bipartisan votes. Similarly, the website documents the Harkin record as chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, passing 18 bills into law in the current Congress. Harkin's HELP Committee has been the most productive Senate committee during the least productive Congress in 60 years.
Harkin's many priorities over his career are united by the common goal of helping to make our country, and the world, more fair and just, and to ensure that every American has the chance to reach his or her potential. His work has ranged from distinctive achievements in the realm of international human rights, to the creation of new economic opportunities for Iowans. Harkin's leadership ensures that Iowa's workforce is healthy and well-educated, that quality infrastructure promotes a high quality of life, and that businesses and farmers have the infrastructure necessary to move their products quickly, safely, and affordably to markets.
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