Tom Harkin

Harkin speaks during the first night of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, opening his speech using American Sign Language in reference to his involvement with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 1984, Harkin won the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate and defeated freshman Republican Roger Jepsen by a surprisingly wide 11.8-point margin.[9] He was re-elected in 1990, 1996, 2002, and 2008.[10]

Harkin served in the Senate longer than any Democrat in Iowa's history. In 2009, he passed Neal Edward Smith as the longest-serving Democrat in either chamber from Iowa.[11] Notably, he spent his entire tenure as Iowa's junior Senator, due to his colleague Chuck Grassley having served in the chamber since 1981. He and Grassley had a fairly good relationship, despite their ideological differences, and their seniority made Iowa influential in national politics. Indeed, during his tribute to Harkin shortly before his departure, Grassley got notably choked up as Harkin entered the chamber.[12]

Harkin and Barbara Boxer were the only Senate Democrats to support Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold's 2006 resolution to censure President George W. Bush.[13]

Harkin (in addition to U.S. Senators Dick Lugar, Tim Johnson, Byron Dorgan, Joe Biden and Norm Coleman), introduced the BioFuels Security Act (S. 2817/109th) on March 16, 2006.[14]

Harkin came out in favor of the Fairness Doctrine during an interview with Bill Press. (February 11, 2009)[15]

Harkin has been influential in increasing research funding for alternative medicine. He was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Office of Alternative Medicine in 1992, which later became the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. His efforts and the center's results, however, have been criticized.[16][17]

On July 16, 2013, Harkin introduced the Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act (S. 1302; 113th Congress) into the Senate.[18] The bill would make changes to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to alter the funding requirements of certain private pension plans that are maintained by more than one employer where the employers are either cooperatives or charities.[19] The bill would make permanent an existing exemption from the Pension Protection Act of 2006 for a few small groups.[20]

On November 19, 2013, Harkin introduced the Minimum Wage Fairness Act (S. 1737; 113th Congress).[21] The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period.[22] The bill was strongly supported by President Barack Obama and many of the Democratic Senators, but strongly opposed by Republicans in the Senate and House.[23][24][25]

Harkin introduced the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into the Senate. Harkin delivered part of a speech in sign language so his deaf brother could understand.[26]

Sen. Tom Harkin speaks at a rally held by the Coalition for the Advancement of Stem Cell Research.

Harkin has taken issue with the Supreme Court's handling of a number of cases related to ADA, concerned that the judgments severely limited the scope of the legislation's effectiveness:

"Together, these cases, as handled by the nation's highest court, have created a supreme absurdity: The more successful a person is at coping with a disability, the more likely it is for a court to find that he or she is no longer sufficiently disabled to be protected by the ADA. If that is the ruling, then these individuals may find that their requests for reasonable accommodations at work can be denied. Or that they can be fired—without recourse."[27]

In order to address these issues Harkin proposed the ADA Amendments Act, which in his words "will restore the proper balance and application of the ADA by clarifying and broadening the definition of disability, while increasing eligibility for ADA protections."[27]

Harkin has also been a vocal critic of what he describes as the biased nature of the Medicaid program: "The current Medicaid system is unacceptably biased in favor of institutional care. Two-thirds of Medicaid long-term care dollars are spent on institutional services, with only one-third going to community-based care. It's time to rebalance the system."[28]

During his political career, Harkin has generally supported the Supreme Court ruling Roe v. Wade, which decided that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion. He has opposed most efforts to place legal restrictions on Roe v. Wade, including voting against a ban on late term abortion, while supporting contraception and education to reduce teen pregnancy. As of 2003, Harkin received a 100 percent rating from NARAL, the pro-choice advocacy organization.[29] He was very critical of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which places limits on taxpayer-funded abortions in the context of the November 2009 Affordable Health Care for America Act.[30]

Sen. Tom Harkin holds a press conference regarding legislation to improve healthy eating habits.

Harkin has come out in favor of embryonic stem cell research.[31] In July 2006, Harkin made a speech from the Senate floor in response to George W. Bush's veto of the embryonic stem cell research federal funding bill.[32]

In May 2009, Harkin announced he opposed any effort to overturn an Iowa Supreme Court decision in April 2009 that legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa. "We all grow as we get older; we learn things, we become more sensitive to people and people's lives," said Harkin. "The more I've looked at that, I've grown to think differently about how we should live. I guess I've got to the point of live and let live."[33]

On December 18, 2010, Harkin voted in favor of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010.[34][35]

In September 2014, Harkin was one of 69 members of the US House and Senate to sign a letter to then-FDA commissioner Sylvia Burwell requesting that the FDA revise its policy banning donation of corneas and other tissues by men who have had sex with another man in the preceding 5 years.[36]

Harkin has also been active in combating the worst forms of child labor. The Trade Development Act of 2000 "contains important child labor protections authored by Senator Harkin."[37] After reports of child trafficking and child slavery associated with cocoa plantations in West Africa surfaced in the media,[38][39][40] Harkin, along with U.S. Representative Eliot Engel and with the support of U.S. Senator Herbert Kohl, sponsored a voluntary agreement by major players in the cocoa and chocolate industry signed in 2001 and often referred to as the Harkin-Engel Protocol.[41] The purpose of this "Protocol for the growing and processing of cocoa beans and their derivative products" was to bring practices in West Africa into line with Convention 182 of the International Labour Organization concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor.[41] (Some difficulties in meeting the deadlines set in this Protocol have been encountered.[42][43][44]) Harkin has worked in other ways to combat the import of child labor-made products.[45]

Harkin believes America faces a retirement crisis, saying "Pensions have gone by the wayside. Savings are down as people are just scraping by, so the only thing left is Social Security."[46]

Harkin supported President Barack Obama's health reform legislation; he voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in December 2009,[47] and he voted for the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010.[48] PolitiFact rated Harkin's 2009 claim regarding the number of Americans losing health insurance coverage "false."[49]

However, in 2014 Harkin expressed some second thoughts. He criticized health reform as being too complex and convoluted. "All the prevention stuff is good but it's just really complicated. It doesn't have to be that complicated," he said of the Affordable Care Act. He also believes the new legislation rewards the insurance industry. He said important reforms such as preventing insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions and keeping young adults on their parents' health insurance plans until age 26 were laudable, but he believed that Democrats should not have settled for a solution he believed was inferior to government-provided health insurance. In retrospect he believes the Democratic-controlled Senate and House should have enacted a single-payer healthcare system or a public option to give the uninsured access to government-run health plans that compete with private insurance companies.[50]

His comments about Cuban healthcare have been criticized as misrepresenting the availability of quality care.[51]

Harkin has been a staunch supporter of Israel as a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, which appropriates about $2 billion annually for military financing for Israel. As of 2010 he was the third-largest career recipient of pro-Israel Political Action Committee contributions in the Senate.[52]

In May 2006 Harkin voted in favor of Senate Bill 2611, also known as the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. Among the bill's many provisions, it would increase the number of H1B visas, increase security along the southern United States border with Mexico, allow long-time illegal immigrants to gain citizenship with some restrictions, and increase the number of guest workers over and above those already present in the U.S. through a new "blue card" visa program.[53] The bill ultimately failed to pass.

• Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition, and Family Farms
  • Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
  • Subcommittee on Rural Revitalization, Conservation, Forestry and Credit
• Committee on Appropriations
  • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
  • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
  • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (Chairman)
  • As Chair of the full committee, Harkin may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.
• Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship

Harkin ran for President in 1992 as a populist with labor union support. He criticized George H. W. Bush for being out of touch with working-class Americans.[54] Harkin was an early favorite in a small field of five candidates. Harkin won the Iowa caucus and those in Idaho and Minnesota (with help from Senator Paul Wellstone), but he ran poorly in New Hampshire and other primaries and ultimately lost the Democratic Party nomination to Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas. Harkin was the first Democratic primary contender to drop out and throw his support behind Clinton — a favor that led to a close relationship throughout the Clinton presidency.

Endorsements

• Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota)[55]
• Commissioner of Agriculture Jim Hightower (D-Texas)[55]
• Representative Lane Evans (D-Illinois)[56]

Harkin figured in running mate searches multiple times after his 1992 presidential campaign. Clinton considered Harkin in 1992 because of his ties to labor and strong support for Clinton after withdrawing from the presidential race.[57] In 2000, Harkin was considered by Al Gore before Gore selected Joe Lieberman.[58] In 2004, presidential nominee John Kerry considered Harkin as a running mate, though Harkin worked to promote the candidacy of then-Governor Tom Vilsack.[59] In 2008, Barack Obama considered Harkin for vice president because of his senior statesman status within the party and his personal closeness to both Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Harkin endorsed Obama's choice of Joe Biden for the nomination, and campaigned for the Obama-Biden ticket.[60]