People in the news

Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)

U.S. Senator (since 1985)

(Chip Somodevilla/
Getty Images)

Why He Matters

It looks like Harkin, who is well into his fourth decade on Capitol Hill, is ready for a fight.

As he begins his fifth Senate term-that's after another five terms in the House-the Iowan and chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee was one of the key players in some of the biggest and most controversial items on President Obama's agenda.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. Representative (1975 to 1985); Attorney for Polk County Iowa (1973); United States Navy (1962 to 1967)
Birthday: November 19, 1939
Hometown: Cumming, Iowa
Alma Mater: Iowa State University, B.A. (government and economics) 1962; Catholic University Law School, J.D., 1972
Spouse: Ruth
Committees: Chairman , Health, Education, Labor and Pensions ; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Appropriations; Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee
DC Office: 731 Hart Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510(202) 224-3254

State/District Office: CEDAR RAPIDS:150 First Avenue, NESuite 370Cedar Rapids, IA 52401(319) 365-4504
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Path to Power

Harkin still lives in the house in Cumming, Iowa, where he was born. It's where his father, a coal miner, and mother, an immigrant from Slovenia, raised Harkin and his five siblings, without hot running water or a furnace.

Harkin attended Iowa State University on a Navy ROTC scholarship and graduated with a degree in government and economics in 1962. After graduating, Harkin served in the Navy as an active-duty jet pilot for five years and was stationed on bases in Japan and Cuba. He left active duty in 1967, spent three years in the Ready Reserves, and transitioned into the Naval Reserves in 1970. He retired in 1989 with the rank of commander.

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In 1968, Harkin married Minnesota farmer's daughter Ruth Raduenz, a school teacher. The couple now has two daughters, Amy and Jenny.

In 1969, Harkin moved to Washington, D.C., to work for Iowa Rep. Neal Smith (D). On a congressional delegation trip to South Vietnam with Smith, Harkin took photos of political prisoners being held in "tiger cages" under inhumane conditions. Harkin sold the photos to LIFE magazine, and after they were published in July 1970 hundreds of the prisoners were released.

Tom and Ruth Harkin went to law school together at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.,(before the kids were born). Both graduated in 1972, and the couple returned to Ames, Iowa, where Ruth became the first woman elected as Story County attorney.

Harkin also ran for office that year, challenging incumbent Republican Rep. William J. Scherle for his seat representing Iowa's 5th Congressional District, which covers the vast Western region of the state. Harkin failed to win the seat that had traditionally been a Republican stronghold.

Instead, he went to work for the non-profit group Legal Aid, which provides legal services to low-income people.

Congressional Career

In 1974, Harkin challenged Scherle once again. In the wake of the Watergate scandal that tarred Republicans and an anti-incumbent mood among voters, he won. After ten years in the House, Harkin challenged incumbent Sen. Roger Jepsen in 1984, and defeated the one-term Republican by an 11-point margin.

At the end of his first Senate term, Harkin spearheaded what he calls his signature legislative achievement, The Americans with Disabilities Act. "The law has literally changed the landscape of America by requiring accessible buildings and transportation, and workplace accommodations for people with disabilities," his official biography says.

Harkin was re-elected in 1990, becoming the only Democrat from Iowa to earn two consecutive Senate terms. He has since been re-elected three more times.

1992 Presidential Race

Harkin ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992. His message was "the old Democratic Party gospel with a Midwestern twang," The New York Times wrote. "He portrays himself as the champion of 'the little guy,' of 'the average working man and woman,' battling against 'the fat cats' who use their influence to grab an unfair share of the nation's goodies for themselves and their friends."

Though organized labor lined up to support Harkin, he withdrew from the race on March 9, 1992, just before the Michigan primary. He has remained in the Senate ever since.

The Issues

Throughout his long career, Harkin's message has been a liberal, and decidedly populist, one. He has fought for unions and workers' rights and against capital punishment. Although as a Catholic he is personally opposed to abortion, he is ideologically in favor of abortion rights. The New York Times described him as "a man of liberal principle."

Labor

Harkin grew up in a working-class family and is a staunch supporter of organized labor.

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In March 2009, he introduced the controversial Employee Free Choice Act. If passed, the law would make it easier for workers to unionize by introducing the biggest changes to America's labor laws since 1935.

The bill included a controversial "card-check" provision, allowing workers to choose to forgo a secret ballot and instead unionize as soon as a majority of employees in a workplace have signed cards stating they are in favor of it.

Harkin argued that the bill will strengthen the middle- class in dire economic times. "There is a sense, a growing sense, that the situation we have now is not tenable. It's got to change," Harkin told the Des Moines Register. "Right now, management can decide between a secret ballot and a majority sign-up. Why should only management get to decide that?"

But "card-check" launched an epic battle between unions and corporate America. Business and industry organizations lined up to fight "card check," arguing that the provision would strip workers of their rights to a secret ballot and makes it easier for unions to pressure individuals to sign the cards.

In July 2009, Democrats considered withdrawing the "card-check" provision from the bill. They said the remaining bill would still make it easier for workers to unionize by shortening the union elections.

Health Care and Wellness

Harkin has positioned himself as a key lawmaker in President Obama's attempt to pass meaningful health-reform legislation. He took over the chairmanship of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, after the death of former Chairman Kennedy.

The committee had already passed progressive health-reform legislation, which included a publicly-run health insurance option. Harkin took the helm of the committee as Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) tried to merge the HELP bill with the more conservative bill from Sen. Max Baucus's (D-Mont.) Finance Committee to send a single bill to the full Senate.

Harkin also chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, which funds health care initiatives.

Harkin's name was even floated to replace former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) as Obama's choice for secretary of Health and Human Services, though outgoing Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) got the nod.

Harkin worked with then-Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) to increase funding for medical research and fought George W. Bush's ban on stem-cell research, which Obama lifted in March 2009. The two senators re-introduced a bill in support of stem cell research in March 2009.

Harkin is an advocate of wellness, meaning a focus on preventing diseases through early screening, good nutrition and healthy lifestyles.

The Iowan also co-chairs the Senate Rural Health Caucus, and has pushed legislation to improve rural health-care facilities and lure more doctors to underserved areas.

Agriculture

Harkin, who represent the farming state of Iowa, chairs the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.

Though the Iowan has repeatedly asserted his support for farmers, Harkin is also in favor of limiting government subsidies to wealthy farmers and large corporate farms, which some economists argue distort the market and inhibit global trade.

In 2001, he joined Republican Sen. Richard Lugar (Ind.) to argue that the money from subsidies should instead be spent on promoting global trade and environmental protection and rural development efforts.

In 2009, Harkin said he supported President Obama's budget proposal to decrease subsidies to farmers who report sales of more than $500,000 per year, which would save about a billion dollars a year. However, Obama's plan would cut subsidies to farms with high revenues, but Harkin would rather cuts be based on adjusted gross income, which would reflect the higher overhead costs of large farms. Many don't expect the cuts to make it though the 111th Congress.

Harkin has also partnered with Sen. Lugar to promote ethanol made from corn (a big crop in Iowa and Indiana, where Lugar is from), but the biofuel has been criticized as inefficient and costly.

The Network

Despite his liberal bent, Harkin has friends in the Senate on both sides of the aisle. He has teamed up with his fellow Iowan, Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R), most often to support corn-based ethanol production.

Harkin and centrist Republican Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.) have previously joined forces to introduce legislation in favor of stem-cell research.

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Additional Resources