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Tom Harkin

Tom Harkin

Overview
Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is the junior United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...

 from Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of...

 and a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...

. First elected to the Senate in 1984,
Harkin was a candidate for his party's presidential nomination in 1992
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1992
-Candidates:During the aftermath of the Gulf War, then President Bush's approval ratings were extremely high. During one point after the successful performance by U.S forces in Kuwait, President Bush's approval ratings were 89% As a result, several high profile candidates such as Mario Cuomo...

, and is currently chairman
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest office of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...

 of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Harkin was born in Cumming, Iowa
Cumming, Iowa
Cumming is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 162 at the 2000 census. It is the hometown of Senator Tom Harkin.A part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area, Cumming is considered one of the smallest incorporated suburbs of the metro area...

. His father, Patrick Harkin, an Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,495,800 Americans reported Irish ancestry in the 2006 American Community Survey. The only self-reported ancestral group larger than Irish Americans are German Americans...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0825/is_n2_v56/ai_9257255 was a coal miner
Coal mining
Coal mining is the extraction or removal of coal from the earth by mining. When coal is used for fuel in power generation it is referred to as steaming or thermal coal. Coal that is used to create coke for steel manufacturing is referred to as coking or metallurgical coal...

 and his mother, Frances, was a Slovene immigrant who died when he was ten.
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Encyclopedia
Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is the junior United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators,...

 from Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland." It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of...

 and a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...

. First elected to the Senate in 1984,
Harkin was a candidate for his party's presidential nomination in 1992
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 1992
-Candidates:During the aftermath of the Gulf War, then President Bush's approval ratings were extremely high. During one point after the successful performance by U.S forces in Kuwait, President Bush's approval ratings were 89% As a result, several high profile candidates such as Mario Cuomo...

, and is currently chairman
Chair (official)
The chairman is the highest office of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office is typically elected or appointed by the members of the group. The chairman presides over meetings of the assembled group and conducts its business in an...

 of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Life before Congress


Harkin was born in Cumming, Iowa
Cumming, Iowa
Cumming is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 162 at the 2000 census. It is the hometown of Senator Tom Harkin.A part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area, Cumming is considered one of the smallest incorporated suburbs of the metro area...

. His father, Patrick Harkin, an Irish American
Irish American
Irish Americans are citizens of the United States who trace their ancestry to Ireland. A total of 36,495,800 Americans reported Irish ancestry in the 2006 American Community Survey. The only self-reported ancestral group larger than Irish Americans are German Americans...

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0825/is_n2_v56/ai_9257255 was a coal miner
Coal mining
Coal mining is the extraction or removal of coal from the earth by mining. When coal is used for fuel in power generation it is referred to as steaming or thermal coal. Coal that is used to create coke for steel manufacturing is referred to as coking or metallurgical coal...

 and his mother, Frances, was a Slovene immigrant who died when he was ten. He attended Dowling Catholic High School
Dowling Catholic High School
Dowling Catholic High School is a Catholic secondary school in West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines.-Background:...

 which is currently located in West Des Moines, Iowa
West Des Moines, Iowa
West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 46,403; a special census taken in the spring of 2005 counted 51,744 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 55,426 residents lived there in...

. Harkin attended Iowa State University
Iowa State University
The Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced a number of astronauts, scientists, Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners,...

 and was a member of Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Sigma Phi
Delta Sigma Phi is a fraternity established at the City College of New York in 1899 and is a charter member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference. The headquarters of the fraternity is the Taggart Mansion located in Indianapolis, Indiana...

 Fraternity. He graduated from there in 1962 and served in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the sea branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 283 ships in active service and more than...

 from 1962 to 1967. Harkin was stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi
Naval Air Facility Atsugi
is a naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy air base in the Pacific Ocean and houses the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 5, which deploys with the aircraft carrier USS George Washington...

 in Japan, where he ferried aircraft to and from the airbase that had been damaged in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...

 and in operational and training accidents. He was also stationed for a time at Guantanamo Bay
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base is located on 45 square miles of land and water at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba which the United States leased for use as a coaling station following on the Cuban-American Treaty of 1903. The base is located on the shore of Guantánamo Bay at the southeastern end of Cuba. It is...

, where he flew missions in support of U-2
Lockheed U-2
The Lockheed U-2, nicknamed "Dragon Lady", is a single-engine, very high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft operated by the United States Air Force and previously flown by the Central Intelligence Agency. It provides day and night, very high-altitude , all-weather surveillance...

 planes reconnoitering Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...

. He received his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a first professional degree.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century as a degree similar to the old European doctor of law degree...

 (J.D.) degree from The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America , located in Northeast Washington, D.C., is the national university of the Roman Catholic Church and the only higher education institution founded by U.S. Roman Catholic bishops...

's Columbus School of Law
Columbus School of Law
The Columbus School of Law is the law school of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1897. Its name comes from ties to The Knights of Columbus. The law school was ranked 88th in the US News & World Report's annual "Best Graduate Schools" edition for...

 in 1972.

Harkin was an aide to Democratic Congressman Neal Smith, when he accompanied a congressional delegation that went to South Vietnam in 1970. Harkin published photographs he took during the trip and a detailed account of the "tiger cages" at Con Son Island prison in Life Magazine on July 17, 1970. The account exposed shocking, inhumane conditions and treatment to which prisoners were subjected.

In 1972, the same year that he graduated from law school, Harkin returned to Iowa and immediately ran against an incumbent Republican Congressman, William J. Scherle
William J. Scherle
William Joseph Scherle was a four-term Republican U.S. Representative from southwestern Iowa.Born in Little Falls, New York, Scherle graduated from St...

. Scherle represented the southwestern portion of Iowa, which (with one brief exception) had not elected a Democrat to Congress since the end of the Great Depression. While winning a higher percentage of votes than any of Scherle's previous opponents, Harkin nevertheless lost the race.

Congressional career


After his 1972 defeat, Harkin practiced law in Ames before seeking a rematch against Scherle in 1974. In what was generally a bad year for Republicans due to the Watergate scandal
Watergate scandal
The Watergate scandal was a political scandal in the United States in the 1970s. Named for the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., effects of the scandal ultimately led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, President of the United States, on August 9, 1974...

, Harkin defeated Scherle by only 3,500 votes. He was reelected four more times from without serious difficulty.

In 1984, Harkin won the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate and defeated freshman Republican Roger Jepsen
Roger Jepsen
Roger William Jepsen is an American politician from the state of Iowa. A Republican, he served in the United States Senate....

 by a surprisingly wide 11-point margin. He was reelected in 1990, 1996, 2002 and 2008. He has served in the Senate longer than any Democrat in Iowa's history, and only Neal Smith has served in Congress longer among Iowa Democrats.

Committee assignments

  • Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
  • Committee on Appropriations
    United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
    The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over all discretionary spending legislation in the Senate....
    • Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
    • Subcommittee on Defense
      United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense
      The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense is one of twelve subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations. Military defense spending is the largest individual component of federal discretionary spending, making the Defense Subcommittee one of the more powerful...

    • Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
      United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development
      The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development is one of twelve subcommittees of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations.-Jurisdiction:...

    • Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Chairman)
    • Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
      United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
      United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs is one of twelve subcommittees of the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations.-Jurisdiction:...

    • Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
  • Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
    United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
    The United States Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions generally considers matters relating to health, education, labor, and pensions...

     (Chairman)
    • Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
      United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
      The Senate Health Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:...

    • Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging
      United States Senate Health Subcommittee on Retirement and Aging
      The Senate Health Subcommittee on Retirement & Aging is one of the three subcommittees within the Senate Committee on Health-Jurisdiction:The Subcommittee has oversight over many issues including: Pensions, the Older Americans Act; elder abuse, neglect, and scams affecting seniors; long-term care...

    • As Chair of the full committee, Harkin may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.
  • Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
    United States Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
    The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration and is also charged with researching and investigating all problems of American small business enterprises.-History:The...


Presidential candidate in 1992 election


Harkin ran for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...

 in 1992
United States presidential election, 1992
The United States presidential election of 1992 had three major candidates: Incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush; Democrat Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot....

 as a populist
Populism
Populism is a political discourse that juxtaposes "the people" with "the elites." Populism may comprise an ideology urging social and political system changes and/or a rhetorical style deployed by members of political or social movements...

 with labor union support. He criticized George H.W. Bush for being out of touch with working class Americans. Harkin was an early favorite in a small field of five candidates. Harkin won the Iowa caucus
Iowa Democratic caucuses, 1992
In the 1992 Iowa Democratic caucuses, most candidates for the Democratic nomination did not campaign in Iowa because of the presence of Tom Harkin, a longtime Senator representing Iowa....

 and those in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on 3 July 1890 as the 43rd state....

 and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...

 (with help from Senator Paul Wellstone
Paul Wellstone
Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...

), but he ran poorly in New Hampshire
New Hampshire Democratic primary, 1992
The 1992 New Hampshire Democratic primary was won by Paul Tsongas, but is known for the insurgent campaign of Bill Clinton, who managed a surprising second place finish.The Iowa caucus, the first contest of the 1992 Democratic primaries, was not contested...

 and other primaries and ultimately lost the Democratic Party nomination to Governor Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He was the third-youngest president; only Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy were younger when entering office...

 of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquin name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares a border with six states, with its eastern border largely defined by the Mississippi River. Its diverse geography ranges from the mountainous regions of the...

. 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
    Paul Wellstone
    Paul David Wellstone was a two-term U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota and member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which is affiliated with the national Democratic Party. Before being elected to the Senate in 1990, he was a professor of political science at Carleton College...

     (D-Minnesota
    Minnesota
    Minnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...

    )
  • Commissioner of Agriculture Jim Hightower
    Jim Hightower
    James Allen "Jim" Hightower is a syndicated columnist, liberal commentator, populist activist and author.-Life and career:Born in Denison, Texas, Hightower came from a working class background...

     (D-Texas
    Texas
    Texas is the second-largest U.S. state in both area and population, and the largest state in the contiguous United States.The name had wide usage among native Americans, meaning "friends" or "allies"...

    )
  • Representative Lane Evans
    Lane Evans
    Lane Allen Evans was a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007, representing the 17th District of Illinois...

     (D-Illinois
    Illinois
    Illinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...

    )

Vice presidential speculation


In 1992 Harkin was on the short list of running mates for Bill Clinton, alongside Senator Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. is an American environmental activist and former politician who served as the 45th Vice President of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He is an author, businessperson, former U.S. Senator and former journalist...

, Congressman Lee Hamilton, Senators Bob Graham
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...

, Bob Kerrey
Bob Kerrey
Joseph Robert "Bob" Kerrey is a former Democratic Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and a U.S. Senator from Nebraska . He was also an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992...

, and Harris Wofford
Harris Wofford
Harris Llewellyn Wofford served as a Democratic U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995, as the fifth president of Bryn Mawr College, and is a well recognized advocate of national service and volunteering. Sen. Wofford served as a surrogate for Senator Barack Obama's campaign for...

. Gore was ultimately chosen. In 2000, he was frequently mentioned as a candidate Gore was considering for his running-mate, alongside House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt
Dick Gephardt
Richard Andrew "Dick" Gephardt is a former prominent American politician of the Democratic Party. Gephardt served as a U.S. Representative from Missouri from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 2005, serving as House Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995, and as Minority Leader from 1995 to 2003...

, Senators Bob Graham
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...

, Evan Bayh
Evan Bayh
Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III is an American Democratic politician who has served as the junior U.S. Senator from Indiana since 1999 and earlier served as Governor of Indiana....

, John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, and is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee....

, and John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician who served one term as U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth...

. Gore ultimately selected Senator Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the junior United States Senator from Connecticut. First elected to the Senate in 1988, Lieberman was elected to a fourth term on November 7, 2006...

 of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....

.

In the 2004 election Harkin was not on Kerry's vice presidential consideration list, while Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack
Tom Vilsack
Thomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...

 was. In 2008, there were reports that Harkin was vetted by Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...

 to be a running mate. He neither confirmed nor denied the rumors.

Persons with Disabilities


Harkin is perhaps best known as an advocate for people with disabilities. In 1990, he wrote and was the chief sponsor of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the nation's first comprehensive civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....

 law for people with disabilities. Signed into law by President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush was the 41st President of the United States . He was also Ronald Reagan's Vice President , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence....

, the sweeping legislation prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, in public services, and in public accommodations.

Abortion


During his political career, Harkin has generally supported legalized abortion
Abortion
An abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...

. He has opposed most efforts to place legal restrictions on abortion, including voting against a ban on late term abortion, while supporting contraception and education to reduce teen pregnancy. , Harkin received a 100 percent rating from NARAL, the pro-choice
Pro-choice
Pro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and the choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy. This entails the guarantee of reproductive rights, which includes access to sexual education; access to safe and legal abortion,...

 advocacy organization.

Same-sex marriage


In May 2009, Harkin announced he opposed any effort to overturn an Iowa Supreme Court decision
Varnum v. Brien
Varnum v. Brien, 763 N.W.2d 862, is an Iowa court case in which six same-sex couples filed suit against Timothy Brien, Polk County Recorder, for refusing to grant marriage licenses to them...

 in April 2009 that legalized same-sex unions in Iowa
Same-sex marriage in Iowa
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Iowa became legal on April 27, 2009.Iowa's first dealings with same-sex marriage came in 1998, after recent court cases starting in Hawaii found that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples was incompatible with the Equal Protection Clause of the state...

. “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.”

Child labor


Harkin has also been active in combatting the worst forms of child labor
Child labor
Child labour refers to the employment of children at regular and sustained labour. This practice is considered exploitative by many international organizations and is illegal in many countries...

. The Trade Development Act of 2000 "contains important child labor protections authored by Senator Harkin." After reports of child trafficking and child slavery associated with cocoa plantations in West Africa surfaced in the media, Harkin, along with U.S. Representative Eliot Engel and with the support of U.S. Senator Herbert Kohl
Herbert Kohl (senator)
Herbert H. "Herb" Kohl is an American politician, business leader and philanthropist. A Democrat, he currently serves as the senior U.S. Senator from Wisconsin and is the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks National Basketball Association team...

, 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
Cocoa Protocol
The Harkin-Engel Protocol, commonly referred to as the Cocoa Protocol is an international agreement aimed at ending child labour in the production of cocoa. It was signed in September 2001.-Background:...

. 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 Labor Organization concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. (Some difficulties in meeting the deadlines set in this Protocol have been encountered.) Harkin has worked in other ways to combat the import of child labor-made products.

Islam



Harkin was a fierce critic of former President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....

's nomination of Middle East scholar Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes
Daniel Pipes is an American academic, author, writer, and political commentator who focuses on the Middle East and Islam....

 to the board of the United States Institute of Peace
United States Institute of Peace
The United States Institute of Peace or USIP, established in 1984, is an independent, nonpartisan, government-funded institution established and funded by the United States Congress...

. Harkin said that he was offended by Pipes's comments on Islam
Islam
Islam Islam Islam ( al-’islām, There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...

, and that while "some people call [Pipes] a scholar... this is not the kind of person you want on the USIP."

Israel


Harkin is also a staunch supporter of Israel
Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...

. He is a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, which appropriates about $2 billion annually for military financing for Israel. In the Senate, he is the third-largest career recipient of pro-Israel Political Action Committee
Political action committee
In the United States , a Political Action Committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a matter of state and federal law...

 (PAC) contributions.

President Bush


Along with California
California
California is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...

 Senator Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is an American Democratic politician and the current junior U.S. Senator from the State of California. She holds the record for the most popular votes in a statewide contested election in California, having received 6,955,728 votes in her 2004 re-election over former Republican...

, Harkin is one of only two Senate Democrats to come out in favor of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...

 Senator Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold
Russell Dana "Russ" Feingold is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He has served as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate and the junior Senator from Wisconsin since 1993. A recipient of the John F...

's resolution to censure
Censure
Censure is a process by which a formal reprimand is issued to an individual by an authoritative body. In a deliberative assembly, a motion to censure is used....

 President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....

, even though he voted in favor of the Iraq War Resolution.

Gun ownership


Harkin has been rated F by Gun Owners of America
Gun Owners of America
Gun Owners of America is a gun rights organization in the United States with over 300,000 members. They make efforts to differentiate themselves from the larger National Rifle Association , and have publicly criticized the NRA on multiple occasions for what the GOA considers to be the selling out...

 and the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association
The National Rifle Association of America, or NRA, is an American non-partisan, non-profit organization which lists as its goals the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights as well as marksmanship, firearm safety, and the...

. He was one of 16 senators who voted against the Vitter Amendment.

Immigration


In May 2006 Harkin voted in favor of Senate Bill 2611
S. 2611
The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act was a United States Senate bill introduced in the 109th Congress by Sen. Arlen Specter [PA] on April 7, 2006. Co-sponsors, who signed on the same day, were Sen. Hagel [NE], Sen. Martinez [FL], Sen. McCain [AZ], Sen. Kennedy [MA], Sen. Graham [SC], and...

, 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
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, 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.

Stem cell research


Harkin has come out in favor of embryo
Embryo
An embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...

nic stem cell research. In July 2006, Harkin made a speech from the Senate floor in response to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....

's veto of the embryonic stem cell research federal funding bill. His remarks were later criticized as "Catholic
Catholic
The word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...

 baiting" by the Catholic League.

Other


Harkin (on behalf of himself, and Senators Dick Lugar
Dick Lugar
Richard Green "Dick" Lugar is the senior United States Senator from Indiana. He is a member of the Republican Party and served as the mayor of Indianapolis from 1968 to 1976 and was elected to the United States Senate in 1976 where he has been the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign...

, Tim Johnson, Byron Dorgan
Byron Dorgan
Byron Leslie Dorgan is the junior United States Senator from North Dakota. He is a member of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, the North Dakota affiliate of the Democratic Party...

, Joe Biden
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. , is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States under the administration of President Barack Obama. He was a United States Senator from Delaware from January 3, 1973 until his resignation on January 15, 2009, following his election to the Vice...

 and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...

), introduced the BioFuels Security Act
BioFuels Security Act
The BioFuels Security Act is a proposed legislative Act of Congress intended to phase out current single-fueled vehicles in favor of flexible-fuel vehicles...

 (S. 2817/109th) on March 16, 2006.

Harkin came out in favor of the Fairness Doctrine
Fairness Doctrine
The Fairness Doctrine was a policy of the United States Federal Communications Commission , introduced in 1949, that required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that was honest, equitable and balanced.The Fairness...

 during an interview with Bill Press. (February 11 2009)

Harkin has been influential in increasing research into alternative medicine
Alternative medicine
In Western culture, alternative medicine is any healing practice "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine", or "that which has been shown consistently to be effective." Alternative medicine is often based on the belief that a particular health regimen has efficacious effects...

. He was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Office of Alternative Medicine in 1992, which later became the NCCAM. His influence and results, however, have been criticized.

Personal life


Senator Harkin married Minnesota native Ruth Raduenz in 1968 and has two daughters: Amy, born in 1976, and Jenny, born in 1981.

Ruth Harkin is an attorney and was one of the first women in the United States to be elected as a prosecutor when, in 1972, she was elected to the office of county attorney of Story County, Iowa
Story County, Iowa
Story County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is part of the 'Ames, Iowa, Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Story County, Iowa and which, when combined with the 'Boone, Iowa Micropolitan Statistical Area' comprises the larger 'Ames-Boone, Iowa Combined Statistical...

. She served as a deputy counsel for the US Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...

 before joining the Washington lobbying firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, in 1983. In 1993, President Bill Clinton named her chairman and chief executive officer of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation
Overseas Private Investment Corporation
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation is an agency of the United States Government established in 1971 that helps U.S. businesses invest overseas and promotes economic development in new and emerging markets....

 (OPIC). Ruth Harkin left the government and became United Technologies' senior vice president for international affairs and government relations in April 1997, leading their Washington DC office. In 2002, Mrs. Harkin became a director of ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips Company is an international energy corporation with its headquarters located in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas in the United States. It is the fifth largest private sector energy corporation in the world and is one of the six "supermajor" vertically integrated oil...

. Mrs. Harkin currently sits on the Iowa Board of Regents, the body responsible for overseeing the state's public universities.

Their daughter Amy appeared on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...

 daytime reality series Starting Over from 2003 to 2004. Although Harkin never appeared on the show, his voice was heard when his daughter spoke to him on the phone. She is currently a graduate student at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Vietnam combat missions controversy


While running for his Senate seat in 1984, and again while running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, Harkin has faced criticism for claiming that he had flown combat missions over North Vietnam
North Vietnam
North Vietnam, also called the Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976....

. In a 1979 round table discussion with other Congressional military veterans, Harkin said of his service as a Navy pilot: "One year was in Vietnam. I was flying F-4
F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is a tandem two-seat, twin-engined, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor fighter/fighter-bomber originally developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Aircraft. Proving highly adaptable, it became a major part of the air wings of the United States...

s and F-8
F-8 Crusader
The F-8 Crusader was a single-engine aircraft carrier-based air superiority fighter aircraft built by Vought. It replaced the Vought F-7 Cutlass. The first F-8 prototype was ready for flight in February 1955, and was the last American fighter with guns as the primary weapon, principally serving in...

s on combat air patrols and photo-reconnaissance support missions". These comments were later published in a 1981 book by David Broder. After subsequent inquiries by Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. He was also a Major General in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. He was known as "Mr...

 and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an English-language international daily newspaper published by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, in New York City, with Asian and European editions. As of 2007, it has a worldwide daily circulation of more than 2 million, with approximately 931,000...

, Harkin clarified that that he had been stationed in Japan and sometimes flew recently repaired aircraft on test missions over Vietnam. His service flying F-4s and F-8s was later, while he was stationed in Cuba.

Fictionalized portraits


The character of Senator and former Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is one of the fifty U.S. states. Located in the north-central United States, Wisconsin is considered part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the...

 Governor
Governor of Wisconsin
The Governor of Wisconsin is the highest executive authority in the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The position was first filled by Nelson Dewey in June 7, 1848, the year Wisconsin became a state...

 Bart Nilson in the novel and film Primary Colors
Primary Colors
Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics is a 1996 novel by "Anonymous" .-Roman à clef:Primary Colors is a roman à clef inspired by U.S. President Bill Clinton's first presidential campaign in 1992...

 is loosely based on Harkin and his '92 Presidential bid.

Books by Tom Harkin

  • Harkin, Tom and Thomas, C. E. Five Minutes to Midnight: Why the Nuclear Threat Is Growing Faster Than Ever, Carol Publishing Corporation, 1990. ISBN 1-55972-042-5

Electoral history





See also

  • 21st Century Democrats
    21st Century Democrats
    21st Century Democrats is a political organization founded by Senator Tom Harkin, commentator Jim Hightower and Congressman Lane Evans to help elect "progressive" or "populist" candidates in winning elections...



External links


  • Collected news and commentary at The New York Times
    The New York Times
    The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded in 1851 and published in New York City. The largest metropolitan newspaper in the United States, "The Gray Lady"—named for its staid appearance and style—is regarded as a national newspaper of record...

  • Profile at SourceWatch
    SourceWatch
    SourceWatch is an internet site that is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy . It was created by the CMD's research director, Sheldon Rampton...

     Congresspedia
    Congresspedia
    Congresspedia was a wiki that ran from April 2006 to March 2009, designed to hold information on the workings of the U.S. Congress. It was fully contained within SourceWatch, a larger wiki meant to document the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. The Congresspedia portion of...