[Senate Document 113-30]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
TRIBUTES TO HON. TOM HARKIN
Tom Harkin
U.S. SENATOR FROM IOWA
TRIBUTES
IN THE CONGRESS OF
THE UNITED STATES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
S. Doc. 113-30
Tributes
Delivered in Congress
Tom Harkin
United States Congressman
1975-1985
United States Senator
1985-2015
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2015
Compiled under the direction
of the
Joint Committee on Printing
CONTENTS
Biography.............................................
v
Farewell Address......................................
ix
Proceedings in the Senate:
Tributes by Senators:
Alexander, Lamar, of Tennessee.................
21
Bennet, Michael F., of Colorado................
16
Boxer, Barbara, of California..................
40
Brown, Sherrod, of Ohio........................
26
Carper, Thomas R., of Delaware.................
28
Casey, Robert P., Jr., of Pennsylvania.........
35
Coons, Christopher A., of Delaware.............
14
Durbin, Richard J., of Illinois................
12, 30
Enzi, Michael B., of Wyoming...................
14
Franken, Al, of Minnesota......................
22
Grassley, Chuck, of Iowa
...............................................
..........
3, 8, 17
Harkin, Tom, of Iowa...........................
5, 19
Hatch, Orrin G., of Utah.......................
33, 37
Hirono, Mazie K., of Hawaii....................
38
Inhofe, James M., of Oklahoma..................
34
Klobuchar, Amy, of Minnesota...................
23
Leahy, Patrick J., of Vermont..................
36
Levin, Carl, of Michigan.......................
17
Merkley, Jeff, of Oregon.......................
27
Murphy, Christopher, of Connecticut............
14, 25
Reed, Jack, of Rhode Island....................
11
Reid, Harry, of Nevada.........................
8
Sanders, Bernard, of Vermont...................
31
Shaheen, Jeanne, of New Hampshire..............
37
Stabenow, Debbie, of Michigan..................
18
BIOGRAPHY
A Modest Beginning
Tom Harkin was born in Cumming, IA (population 150) on
November 19, 1939, the son of an Iowa coal miner father
and a Slovenian immigrant mother. To this day, he still
lives in the house in Cumming where he was born.
Growing up in a close-knit family of modest means, Tom
and his five siblings learned early in life the importance
of hard work and responsibility. During his youth, he
worked in a variety of jobs--on farms and construction
sites, as a paperboy and at a Des Moines bottling plant.
After graduating from Dowling High School in Des Moines,
he attended Iowa State University on a Navy ROTC
scholarship, earning a degree in government and economics.
Following graduation, Tom served in the Navy as a jet
pilot on active duty from 1962 to 1967. Later, he
continued to fly in the Naval Reserves. He is an active
member of American Legion Post 562 in Cumming and the
Commander of the Congressional Squadron of the Civil Air
Patrol.
In 1968, Tom married Ruth Raduenz, the daughter of a
farmer and a school teacher from Minnesota. Tom and Ruth
have two daughters, Amy and Jenny, and three
grandchildren.
Start in Washington
Tom went to Washington in 1969 to join the staff of Iowa
Congressman Neal Smith. As a staff member accompanying a
congressional delegation to South Vietnam, he
independently investigated and photographed the infamous
``tiger cage'' cells at a secret prison on Con Son Island,
where prisoners--many of them students--were being
tortured and kept in inhumane conditions. Despite pressure
to suppress his findings, Tom made public his photos and
eyewitness accounts, which were subsequently published in
Life magazine. As a result, hundreds of abused prisoners
were released.
In 1972, Tom and Ruth graduated in the same class at
Catholic University of America Law School in Washington,
DC. They returned to Iowa and settled in Ames. Tom worked
with Polk County Legal Aid, assisting low-income Iowans
who could not afford legal help. Ruth won election as
Story County Attorney, becoming the first female elected
to this position.
In 1974, Tom was elected to Congress from Iowa's Fifth
Congressional District. His energetic, person-to-person
campaign carried the day against an incumbent in a long-
standing Republican district.
In 1984, after serving 10 years in the U.S. House of
Representatives, Tom challenged an incumbent Senator and
won. Iowans returned him to the Senate in 1990, 1996, and
again in 2002. In November 2008, Tom made history by
becoming the first Iowa Democrat to win a fifth term in
the U.S. Senate.
During his first term in Congress, Tom became the first
Member to create a mobile office, a specially equipped van
that Harkin staff members used to bring congressional
services to every one of Iowa's 99 counties each year.
A Commitment to the Issues
As a young Senator, Tom was tapped by Senator Ted
Kennedy to craft legislation to protect the civil rights
of millions of Americans with physical and mental
disabilities. Tom knew first hand about the challenges
facing people with disabilities from his late brother,
Frank, who was deaf from an early age. What emerged from
that process would later become Tom's signature
legislative achievement--the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA).
The ADA has become known as the ``Emancipation
Proclamation for people with disabilities.'' The
legislation changed the landscape of America by requiring
buildings and transportation to be wheelchair accessible,
and to provide workplace accommodations for people with
disabilities. To preserve the intent of the ADA after
several court rulings weakened the law, Tom and Senator
Orrin Hatch introduced the ADA amendments bill to ensure
continuing protections from discrimination for all
Americans with disabilities. It was signed into law in
September 2008.
Tom also worked to advance collaborative research in
paralysis and to improve quality of life for those living
with paralysis, including by creating a clinical trials
network to measure the effectiveness of rehabilitation
therapies. His Christopher and Dana Reeve Act, named after
the actor and his wife, became law in March 2009.
Tom also led the fight to lift former President Bush's
restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, which shows
great promise for new treatments of conditions like
Parkinson's, spinal cord injuries, and juvenile diabetes.
On March 9, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an
executive order lifting those restrictions.
Tom has long believed that in America we have a ``sick
care'' system, not a health care system. Rather than
treating people once they get sick, he believes that we
should remove the barriers to a healthy lifestyle, reduce
chronic disease and rein in the high cost of health care,
creating a ``wellness society'' in America.
He did this in two ways--first as chairman of the Senate
panel that funds medical research, he led the effort
between 1998 and 2003 (in tandem with Senator Arlen
Specter) to double funding for research by the National
Institutes of Health into cardiovascular disease, cancer,
Alzheimer's, and other diseases.
Tom helped to lead passage of the most significant
health reform bill in the last 40 years, the Affordable
Care Act, and authored the law's many prevention
provisions. The ACA expanded insurance coverage for
millions of Americans and made prevention and wellness a
national priority. Among its many improvements, the ACA
ensures that all Americans enjoy full coverage for proven
preventive services such as immunizations and cancer
screenings with no copayments or deductibles. Less than 4
years after the ACA's passage, more than 105 million
Americans have already received needed preventative
benefits without cost sharing thanks to this landmark
change.
As the chair of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee
that funds education, Tom fought to improve education in
Iowa and across the country. He worked to reduce class
size, give students better computer and Internet access,
expand school counseling and safety programs, and improve
teacher training. He also led the effort to modernize
America's school infrastructure. Each year he secured
funding that became known as ``Harkin grants'' to help
school districts in Iowa update and repair their
facilities.
Tom's dedication to agriculture dates back to 1975 when
he first came to Congress and became a member of the
Agriculture Committee. At that time, he had the great
privilege of serving as chairman of the Senate Committee
on Agriculture, where he led efforts to enact the 2002 and
2007 farm bills. These bills greatly expanded Federal
support for renewable energy, strengthened the farm income
safety net, preserved millions of acres of land through
agriculture conservation efforts, invested hundreds of
millions of dollars in small towns through rural
development efforts, and ensured tens of millions of
Americans had access to sufficient and healthful food.
In September 2009, following the death of Senator Ted
Kennedy, Tom became chairman of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Tom believed
that serving in this capacity carried on the legacy of
Senator Kennedy, who dedicated his life to ensuring that
our economy works for all Americans, guaranteeing every
child the opportunity to pursue a quality education and,
of course, the cause of Kennedy's life: access to quality,
affordable health care for all Americans.
Farewell to the Senate
Friday, December 12, 2014
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, almost 2 years ago I
announced I was not going to seek a sixth term in the
Senate. That decision and that announcement didn't seem
all that difficult or hard at that time. After all, 2
years was a long time off. Since then, I have been busy
with hearings, meeting constituents, getting legislation
through the HELP Committee, and working on appropriations.
But now, knowing this will be my final formal speech on
the floor of the Senate; knowing that in a few days a
semitruck is going to pull up to the Hart Senate Office
Building and load hundreds of boxes of my records of 40
years--30 in the Senate and 10 in the House--and haul all
of that off to Drake University and the Harkin Institute
on Public Policy and Civic Engagement in Des Moines, IA;
seeing my office at 731 Hart Senate Office Building
stripped almost bare and the shelves cleaned; when I will
soon cast my last vote; when I will no longer be engaged
in legislative battle; when I will no longer be summoned
by the Senate bells; and when I will soon just be No.
1,763 of all of the Senators who have ever served in the
Senate--now the leaving becomes hard and wrenching and
emotional. That is because I love the Senate. I love my
work here.
It has been said by a lot of pundits that the Senate is
broken. No, it is not. The Senate is not broken. Oh, maybe
there are a few dents, a couple of scrapes here and
there--banged up a little bit--but there is still no other
place in America where one person can do big things--for
good or for ill--for our people and our Nation.
I love the people with whom I work. This is a deaf sign.
``I-L-Y'' means ``I love you.''
To the Senators, staff, clerks, Congressional Research
Service, doorkeepers, Cloakroom, police, restaurant
employees, and, yes, the pages--and especially to those
who labor outside the lights, the cameras, and the news
stories--who make this Senate function on a daily basis, I
thank you.
I particularly thank my wonderful, dedicated, hard-
working staff, both present and past, both personal and
committee staff. When I say committee staff, I mean the
Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human
Services, Education, and Related Agencies, which I have
been privileged to chair or be ranking member of since
1989; also the Committee on Agriculture, on which I have
served since 1985 and which I chaired twice for two farm
bills, once in 2001 and 2002 and the second one in 2007
and 2009; and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions, which I have chaired since the untimely
death of Senator Ted Kennedy in 2009.
I first heard Pat Leahy say this, so I always attribute
it to him: ``We Senators are just a constitutional
impediment to the smooth functioning of staff.'' This is
truer than most of us would probably like to admit.
Also in thanking my staff, I don't just mean those who
work in Washington. I would never have been reelected four
times without the hands-on, day in, day out constituent
service of my Iowa staff. The casework they have done in
helping people with problems is every bit as important as
any legislative work done in Washington.
In 2012 our office marked a real milestone--100,000
constituent service cases since 1985. I cannot count the
number of times Iowans have personally thanked me for
something my staff has done to help them.
There is a story out our way that I have heard for a
long time. If you are driving down a country road and see
a turtle--see that image of a turtle--sitting on a
fencepost, you can be sure of one thing: It didn't get
there by itself.
I can relate to that turtle. I didn't get here by
myself. My staff helped. I thank my staff, both past and
present, who so strongly supported me when I was right and
so diplomatically corrected me when I was wrong and who
all labored in a shared commitment to provide a hand up, a
ladder of opportunity to those who had been dealt a bad
hand in the lottery of life.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to have printed
in the Record a list of the names of my current staff so
they will be forever enshrined in the history of the
Senate.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
My personal office staff: Brian Ahlberg, Elizabeth
Stein, Lindsay Jones, Lilly Hunt, Sonja Hoover, Mandy
McClure, Kate Waters, Susannah Cernojevich, Jim Whitmire,
Richard Vickers, Katharine Jones, Jayme Wiebold, Joseph
Petrzelka, Eric Jones, Elizabeth Messerly, Lauren Scott,
Mark Halverson, Eldon Boes, Tom Buttry, Michele Reilly
Hall, and Richard Bender.
Those staffers serving me in Iowa: Robert Barron, Amy
Beller, Alexander Lynch, Pamela Ringleb, John Moreland,
Jule Reynolds, Omar Padilla, Robert Hamill, Ryan Helling,
Kimberly Taylor, Tamara Milton, Tom Larkin, Alison Hart,
Jessica Gordon, Suellen Flynn, and Sandi O'Brien.
My LHHS Subcommittee on Appropriations staff: Adrienne
Hallett, Kelly Brown, Lisa Bernhardt, Mark Laisch, Mike
Gentile, Robin Juliano, and Teri Curtin.
Last, my HELP Committee staff: Derek Miller, Lauren
McFerran, Molly Click, Abraham White, Jenelle
Krishnamoorthy, Wade Ackerman, Andi Fristedt, Brian Massa,
Colin Goldfinch, Caitlin Boon, Mildred Otero, Aissa
Canchola, Amanda Beaumont, Brit Moller, Leanne Hotek,
Libby Masiuk, Mario Cardona, Liz Weiss, Michael Kreps,
Sarah Cupp, Zachary Schechter Steinberg, Kia Hamadanchy,
and Lee Perselay.
Mr. HARKIN. Most of all, I thank my wife, Ruth, the love
of my life, my wife of 46 years. You have been my constant
companion, my soulmate, my strongest supporter, and my
most honest critic. You have been my joy in happy times
and my solace when things just didn't go right. So I am
looking forward to more adventures, love, and excitement
with her in the years ahead.
To our two beautiful, smart, caring, and compassionate
daughters, Amy and Jenny, I thank you for always being
there for your dad, for giving me such wondrous joy in
being a part of your growing up. I am so proud of both of
you.
To my son-in-law Steve and to my grandkids, McQuaid,
Daisy, and Luke: Look out, because here comes Grandpa!
There is so much I want to say, but I want to be
respectful of those who have come to share this moment
with me--my staff, here and there, my family, friends, and
fellow Senators.
I want to state as briefly as I can why I am here, what
has propelled me, and what has been my guiding philosophy
for all these years.
It has to do with that ladder of opportunity I just
mentioned. You see, there is nothing wrong in America with
being a success. There is nothing wrong with having more
money, a nicer home, a nicer car, sending your kids to
good schools, having nice vacations, and a great
retirement. That is a big part of the American dream.
But I believe when you make it to the top, and I made it
to the top, one of the primary responsibilities of our
free government is to make sure we leave the ladder down
for others to climb. Now, mind you, I said a ladder. I
didn't say an escalator. An escalator is a free ride. I
don't believe in that.
If you follow my analogy a little bit more, with a
ladder you still have to exert energy, effort, and
initiative to get up. But, in order to do that, there must
be rungs on that ladder. That is where government comes
in, to put some rungs there--the bottom rungs--everything
from maternal and child health care programs, Head Start,
the best public schools, the best teachers, affordable and
accessible college, job training.
Sometimes people fall off that ladder. Sometimes,
through no fault of their own, they have an illness, they
have an accident. That is why we have a safety net, to
catch them--programs like disability insurance, workers'
compensation, and job retraining programs to get them back
up on that ladder once again.
Thirty-five years ago we looked around America and we
saw millions of people who, no matter how hard they tried,
could never climb that ladder of success. No matter how
hard they tried, they could never do it.
These were our fellow Americans, our brothers and
sisters with disabilities. So what did government do? We
built them a ramp and we called it the Americans with
Disabilities Act.
Again, we didn't build a moving walkway, did we? See,
with a ramp, people still had to show energy and
initiative to get up. I have often said there is not one
dime, not one nickel in the Americans with Disabilities
Act given to a person with a disability.
What we did is we broke down the barriers. We opened the
doors of accessibility and accommodation, and we said to
people with disabilities: Now, go on, follow your dreams,
and in the words of the Army motto, be all you can be.
I can remember standing on the floor and leading the
charge on the Americans with Disabilities Act. Once again,
I felt a lot like that turtle, with a lot of people
helping. When I think of the Americans with Disabilities
Act, I think of people in the Senate such as Senator
Lowell Weicker, Senator Bob Dole, and Senator Ted Kennedy;
in the House, Tony Coelho, Steve Bartlett, and Steny
Hoyer; and in the executive branch, at the head of it all,
President George Herbert Walker Bush, Attorney General
Dick Thornburgh, and Boyden Gray. On the outside, there
are people like Ed Roberts, Marca Bristo, Bob Kafka, and
the indomitable Justin Dart.
Here, the one person who worked his heart out to bring
it together--it is that staff again I tell you about--is
Bobby Silverstein. It would have never happened without
him.
So I believe government must not be just an observant
bystander to life. It must be a force for good, for
lifting people up, for giving hope to the hopeless.
I have never had an ``I love me'' wall in the office.
What I did have were two items by my door when I walk out
to vote or go to a committee meeting or whatever. One is a
drawing of a house in which my mother was born and lived
in until she was 25 years of age when she immigrated to
America. That little house was in Suha, Yugoslavia, and is
now Suha, Slovenia. That little house had a dirt floor and
no running water. That was my mother's house.
The second item on my wall is my father's WPA card. It
says: Notice to Report for Work on Project, WPA Form 402,
to Patrick F. Harkin, Cumming, IA. You are asked to report
for work at once on a project as a laborer for $40.30 per
month. There is a signature by a supervisor. It is dated
7/19/1939, 4 months to the day before I was born.
My father was then 53 years old. He had worked most of
the time in a coal mine in southern Iowa, and was not in
the best of health. There were no jobs. Life looked pretty
bleak. Things looked hopeless. Then my father--who only
had a sixth-grade education--as he told me later got a
letter from Franklin Roosevelt. He always thought Franklin
Roosevelt sent this to him personally. He always said, ``I
got that letter from Franklin Roosevelt, and I got a
job.''
That was important for a lot of reasons, not only for
the money and the dignity of work. It gave my father
hope--hope that tomorrow would be better than today and
that our family would stay together. You see, there were
five kids and a sixth one on the way--me. It gave him hope
that his kids would have a better future.
The project he worked on is called Lake Ahquabi. My
friend Senator Grassley knows about Lake Ahquabi. It is
right south of Des Moines. It is a State park now, with a
lake and recreation, and people still use it today.
Every Federal judge who is sworn in takes an oath to
``do equal right to the poor and to the rich.'' Let me
repeat that: to ``do equal right to the poor and to the
rich.'' Can we here in Congress say we do that, that we
provide equal right to the poor and the rich alike? Our
growing inequality proves we do not. Maybe we should be
taking that oath.
There are four overriding issues I hope this Senate will
address in this coming session and in the years ahead:
First, as I mentioned, the growing economic inequality
in America. It is destructive of lives, it slows our
progress as a nation, and it will doom broad support for
representative government. When people at the bottom of
the economic ladder feel the government is not helping
them and, in fact, may be stacked against them, they will
cease to vote or they will turn to the siren song of
extreme elements in our society. History proves this to be
true.
I don't have a cookie-cutter answer or a solution, but
it must include more fair tax laws and trade laws, more
job training and retraining, rebuilding our physical
infrastructure, and manufacturing. I believe it must
include some things seemingly unrelated, such as quality,
free, early education for every child in America.
The answer to closing the inequality gap must include
rebuilding labor unions and collective bargaining. If you
traced the line over the last 40 years of the growing
economic inequality in America and also put that over
another line showing the loss in the number of union
workers, they are almost identical. I do not believe it is
a stretch to say that organized labor--unions--built the
middle class in America, and they are a part of the answer
in strengthening and rebuilding our middle class.
I believe another part of the answer is raising the
minimum wage to above the poverty line and indexing it for
inflation in the future.
We need more flextime laws, especially for women in our
workforce.
We need to strengthen Social Security--not by cutting,
not by raising the retirement age, but by strengthening
Social Security (as in Senator Brown's bill).
We need a new retirement system for all workers in
America--not another 401(k) but a system in which
employers and employees contribute and which can only be
withdrawn as an annuity for life after one retires. I ask
you to look at what the Netherlands has, that type of
retirement system. Lack of a reliable retirement is one of
the most underreported, unexamined crises on our national
horizon, and it is a big part of our growing inequality.
Finally, we must continue to build on the Affordable
Care Act. The cost and availability of good health care
has in the past widened that inequality gap, and we are
now starting to close that element of the inequality. I
believe we need to add a public option to the exchange as
another choice for people. We must continue support for
prevention and public health, moving us more and more from
sick care to real health care.
I believe that the second overriding issue confronting
us is the destruction of the family of man's only home--
our planet Earth--through the continued use of fossil
fuels. We know what is happening. The science is
irrefutable, the data are clear, and the warning signs are
flashing in neon bright red: Stop what you are doing with
fossil fuels. We must shift massively and quickly to
renewable energy, a new smart electric grid, retrofitting
our buildings for energy efficiency, and moving rapidly to
a hydrogen-based energy cycle.
The third issue I commend to the Senate for further
development and changes in existing laws is the
underemployment of people with disabilities. As you all
know, ensuring the equal rights and opportunities for
people with disabilities has been a major part of my work
in the Senate for the past 30 years.
We have made significant strides forward in changing
America to fulfill two of the four goals of the Americans
with Disabilities Act; those two are full participation
and equal opportunity. We have done all right on those.
The other two goals--independent living and economic self-
sufficiency--need more development.
I ask you all in the next Congress to do two things to
advance these two goals of independent living and economic
self-sufficiency: First, help States implement the Supreme
Court's decision in the Olmstead case to more rapidly
deinstitutionalize people with disabilities and provide
true independent living with support services. This will
save money, and the lives of people with disabilities will
be better and more truly independent. Second, we must do
more on employment of people with disabilities in
competitive integrated employment.
We all get the monthly unemployment figures every month.
Last month unemployment held steady at 5.8 percent
officially. My friend Leo Hindery has better calculations
to show the real rate is probably about twice that figure.
Also, we know the unemployment rate among African
Americans is about twice that--11.1 percent. How many of
us know, though, that the unemployment rate among adult
Americans with disabilities who can work and want to work
is over 60 percent? Yes, you heard me right, almost two
out of every three Americans with a disability who want to
work and who can work cannot find a job. That is a blot on
our national character.
Thankfully, some enlightened employers have affirmative
action plans to hire more people with disabilities.
Employers are finding many times that these become their
best employees; they are more productive, and they are the
hardest working, most reliable workers.
I ask you to meet with Greg Wasson, the CEO of
Walgreens, and Randy Lewis, who was the senior vice
president there and is now retired. Walgreens has hired
many people with disabilities in their distribution
centers, and now Mr. Wasson has set a goal of 10 percent
of all of their store employees will be people with
disabilities. This needs to be emulated by businesses all
over America. There are others making strides in this
area. I will mention a few: Best Buy, Lowe's, Home Depot,
IBM, Marriott. These are some of the other large companies
that are moving forward, hiring people with disabilities.
We need to learn from them what we, the Federal and, yes,
maybe the State government can do to help in this area. We
also need to implement policies to help small businesses
employ more people with disabilities.
I dwell on this perhaps because I feel I haven't done
enough on this issue of employment for people with
disabilities, and we have to do better. I will say,
however, that our HELP Committee passed this year and
President Obama signed into law a new reauthorization of
the old Workforce Investment Act, now named the Workforce
Investment and Opportunity Act. In this law there is a new
provision I worked on with others to get more intervention
in high school for kids with disabilities to prepare them
for the workplace through things such as summer jobs, job
coaching, and internships. However, this is just starting
and funding is tight, but it will do much for young people
with disabilities to enter competitive integrated
employment. I thank all members of the HELP Committee for
their support of this bill but especially Senator Murray
and Senator Isakson for taking the lead to get this bill
done, along with Senator Enzi, Senator Alexander, and me.
While I am mentioning the HELP Committee, let me thank
all members of the HELP Committee for a very productive
last 2 years, during which we passed 24 bills signed into
law by the President. These are important bills dealing
with things such as the ability to track prescription
medication from manufacturer to patient, safer compound
drugs, the Workforce Investment Act that I just mentioned,
the Child Care and Development Block Grant Newborn
Screening Act, and many more.
I would like to publicly again thank Senator Lamar
Alexander for being such a great partner in all these
efforts. Senator Alexander will be taking the helm of this
great committee in the next Congress. Senator Alexander
certainly has the background to lead this committee, but
he also combines that background with a keen mind and a
good heart, and I wish him continued success as the new
chairman of the HELP Committee.
The fourth issue I hope future Senates will take care of
concerns the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons With
Disabilities. I don't think anything has saddened me more
in my 30 years here in the Senate than the failure of this
body to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons
With Disabilities, or the CRPD, as it is known. It has
been ratified by 150 nations. It is modeled after our own
Americans with Disabilities Act. It has broad and deep
support throughout our country--supported by the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, veterans
groups, every disability organization, every former living
President, every former Republican leader of this Senate:
Senator Dole, Senator Lott, Senator Frist. In November we
received a letter from the National Association of
Evangelicals supporting it.
I would also point out that Senator Dole has worked his
heart out on this. If you remember, he was here on the
floor 2 years ago this month, right before we brought it
up. I thought we had the votes for it. Under our
Constitution it takes two-thirds, and we failed by six
votes. But Bob Dole has never given up on this--never.
Well, I hope the next Senate will take this up and join
with the rest of the world in helping to make changes
globally for people with disabilities.
I came to Congress--the House--in 1974 as one of the
Watergate babies. But with my retirement and the
retirement in the House of Congressman George Miller and
Congressman Henry Waxman, we are the last of the so-called
Watergate babies, with two exceptions. Among all of the
Democrats elected in that landslide year of 1974, there
were a few Republicans, and one is left--my senior
colleague from the State of Iowa, Senator Chuck Grassley.
I have the greatest respect for and friendship with
Chuck. Several weeks ago, here on the floor, he said some
very gracious things about me, and I thank him for that. I
especially appreciated his observation that even though he
and I are like night and day when it comes to political
views, there is no light between us when it comes to Iowa.
We have collaborated on so many important initiatives for
the people of Iowa, and I think we made a heck of a good
tag team on behalf of our State. So, again, I salute and
thank my friend and colleague of nearly 40 years, Chuck
Grassley. Carry on, Chuck.
The other exception I mentioned is again my lifelong
dear friend, Rick Nolan, who was in the 1974 class who
voluntarily left Congress after three terms, returned to
the House in 2012, and was recently reelected.
So 40 years later, this Watergate baby has grown up,
gray.
I came to the Senate 30 years ago as a proud
progressive, determined to get things done. As I depart
the Senate, I can say in good conscience that I have
remained true to my progressiveness.
I have worked faithfully to leave behind a more vibrant
Iowa, a more just and inclusive America, and a stronger
ladder and ramp of opportunity for the disadvantaged in
our communities.
You might say that my career in Congress is the story of
a poor kid from Cumming, IA--population 150--trying his
best to pay it forward, saying thank you for the
opportunities I was given by leaving that ladder and ramp
of opportunity stronger for those who follow.
If I have accomplished this in any small way--if any
Americans are able to lead better lives because of my
work, I leave office a satisfied person.
So I am retiring from the Senate, but I am not retiring
from the fight. I will never retire from the fight to
ensure equal opportunity, full participation, independent
living, and economic self-sufficiency for every disabled
person in America. I will never retire from the fight to
give a hand up and hope to those who have experienced
disadvantage and adversity. I will never retire from the
fight to make this a land of social and economic justice
for all Americans.
Let me close with a single word from American Sign
Language.
On July 13, 1990, I stood here and gave an entire speech
in sign language. It confused Senator Kerry who was
sitting in the Chair. He didn't know what to do. The
recording clerks didn't know what to do, either. But then
I had to give it verbally. Well, I didn't want to do that
today.
But there is one sign I want to leave with you. It says
something powerful. One of the most beautiful signs in
American Sign Language. Might I teach it to you?
Take your hands and put them together like this, put
your fingers together, put your hands together like that.
You kind of close them, and it looks like an A when you do
that. Now move it in a circle in front of your body.
That is it, pages, you have got it.
This is the sign for America.
Think about it. All of us interconnected, bound together
in a single circle of inclusion--no one left out. This is
the ideal America toward which we must always aspire.
With that, Mr. President, for the last time, I yield the
floor.
(Applause, Senators rising.)
?
TRIBUTES
TO
TOM HARKIN
Proceedings in the Senate
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate
the 75th birthday of my friend and longtime colleague from
our home State of Iowa, Senator Tom Harkin.
As the Presiding Officer knows, Senator Harkin will be
retiring from public office in a few weeks. At the end of
the 113th Congress, Senator Harkin will then close a
chapter on public service that spans more than a half
century, including four decades in Congress. He served 27
years in the U.S. Navy and U.S. Naval Reserves, 10 years
in the House of Representatives, and 30 years here in the
U.S. Senate.
Now, I think anybody looking at that would say that is a
remarkable and distinguished record of public service.
After 40 years of representing Iowans in Congress, my
friend Tom soon will leave behind the Halls of the U.S.
Capitol. He also will leave behind a legacy of fiery floor
speeches, passionately delivered on behalf of individuals
with disabilities, also for Iowa farmers, also for the
elderly, also for child laborers, and for many causes that
he championed such as early childhood education, nutrition
and wellness, conservation, renewable energy and the
environment, and probably lots of others. But those are
things everybody knows that he has worked hard on.
Throughout the years Tom and I have served side by side
in Washington for the good of our home State. For three
terms we worked together in the U.S. House of
Representatives. It was here in the Senate our shared
commitment to give rural America a voice at the
policymaking table was sown, and for many years we worked
together on the Senate Agriculture Committee, looking out
for the millions of Americans who choose to work and earn
a living in rural America. We worked together to advocate
for rural infrastructure and investment, access to health
care, housing, technology, and transportation.
For the last three decades we have served alongside one
another in this distinguished body, the U.S. Senate, an
institution that both of us hold near and dear to our
hearts. Although some of our silver-tongued critics over
the years may have ascribed Tom's views as those of a
bleeding-heart liberal or mine mischaracterized as that of
a coldhearted conservative, we both, Tom and I, know that
our hearts have always been in the right place.
Neither of us was born with a silver spoon in our mouths
and we learned early on to appreciate the work ethic of
our parents and grandparents. Each of us raised our
families with the hopes that our children and
grandchildren would achieve the promise of America's
prosperity and grow up to enjoy the pursuits of happiness.
As Iowa's U.S. Senators, we have worked to keep alive
the dream of hard-working Iowan families.
Now of course it is true that we have vastly different
views on the government's influence on America's ladder of
opportunity. However, we do wholeheartedly agree it is an
honor and a privilege to serve the people of our State.
For some reason our respective reelections every 6 years
have actually confounded political observers. Many
couldn't seem to square the notion that Iowans would
continue to elect two U.S. Senators from opposite sides of
the political spectrum for the last three decades.
So to explain--or perhaps I don't have to because it is
widely understood--Iowans are not casual political
observers. Our electorate takes pride in retail
politicking and it is first in the Nation's political
caucuses. We certainly have given Iowan voters a night-
and-day choice between these two U.S. Senators. So while
we may not see eye to eye on politics and ideology, we do
see eye to eye when it comes to working for Iowa's best
interests. Although our voting records may reflect night-
and-day positions on some public policy, you wouldn't see
the light of day between us when we worked together on
matters that are of most importance to Iowans, including
but not limited to natural disasters such as the
tremendous floods of 1993 and 2008, Iowa farmers and
agriculture, notably recovering from the farm crisis.
Renewable energy and rural infrastructure have been our
mutual interest. We have also enjoyed welcoming economic
development leaders and constituents to the Nation's
Capital.
Between the famous Siouxland steak dinner in Washington
and the Harkin steak fry in Indianola, there is no doubt
Tom will miss staking out Iowans to discuss politics and
policy. However, I have no doubt my home State colleague
will continue to champion the causes for which he has
devoted a lifetime of service. In fact, I have read in
news media about his retirement of what he intends to
pursue, and so I have no doubt he is going to pursue out
of the Senate what he has pursued in the Senate.
To his credit, my colleague's legacy reflects the
priorities he set out to achieve decades ago, to make a
difference for those on the downside of advantage.
My wife Barbara and this Senator extend our warmest
wishes to Tom and his wife Ruth, and of course to the
entire Harkin family, as he starts life's next chapter. I
see my colleague on the floor, so I can look at him.
As you start life's next chapter, may you enjoy the
blessings of hearth and home, health and happiness.
Although Tom is retiring from public office, I am
confident he is not retiring from serving the public
interest. From one constituent to another, I thank you for
your lifetime of public service and I wish you good luck
and Godspeed.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, first let me thank my friend
and colleague for his lifetime characteristic which is
being very gracious and very generous in his remarks.
Chuck Grassley and I have served together since 1974. I
like to tell people that in 1974, there was a big wave of
Democrats who came in. They called us the Watergate
babies. We won a lot of elections. In fact in Iowa that
year they elected a Democratic U.S. Senator and every
House seat--I think there were six at that time--six House
seats all went Democratic except one, and that was the
seat that Chuck Grassley won that year, bucking the
trend--the tide--in 1974.
So it is kind of a funny thing, Chuck--I speak to my
friend across the aisle here--that a lot of times people,
this year, have said, ``All you Watergate babies are gone
now, you and Max Baucus, and Chris Dodd, and on the House
side George Miller and Henry Waxman. So this is the last
of the Watergate babies.''
I said, ``No, there is one left.''
``Well, who is that,'' they say.
I say, ``It is a Republican.''
``A Republican? Who is that?''
I say, ``My colleague from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, is the
last man standing from that class of 1974.''
Again, it is a tribute to Senator Grassley that through
all these years he has won the hearts and minds of the
people of Iowa, been elected and reelected. Of course he
came to the Senate before I did. He came in 1981 and I
came in 1984. So I like to think we at least share in
common bucking the trend a little bit--the tide--because
in 1984 someone said, ``Harkin ought to run for the Senate
in 1984 because there will be a big Democratic
landslide,'' and so I ran. The tide was just the opposite.
There was a Reagan landslide here. But I was fortunate
enough to win the election. So I think the two of us share
the bucking of the tide, so to speak, getting into office
when we ran. But it has been a great association all these
years.
As I stand here today on my 75th birthday, I think I
have two kinds of emotions. One, I wonder where the heck
did all the years go and how did they go by so fast.
Sometimes I say, gosh, I wish I could turn the clock back
and do it all again. The other emotion is the Irish side
of me. The Irish have a saying that any time you are on
this side of the grass is a good day. So I am sure happy
that I made it this far.
I again want to say that since the time we took our oath
of office on January 4, 1975, we have served together both
in the House and in the Senate. A lot of the time we were
on the same committee, the Agriculture Committee, working
on a lot of different agriculture bills. I remember back
in the 1980s working on the credit bill at that time when
so many farmers were underwater. As the Senator said, it
has been a great honor and a privilege to represent the
people of Iowa.
We belong to different parties, we have different
philosophies of government, but I like to think we share a
commonsense Iowa way of looking at the world. We are not
monolithic out in Iowa. We are not all one philosophy.
Sometimes I find very conservative friends of mine and I
may have a liberal view of one thing and I find liberals
and I may have a more conservative view of something else.
So the people of Iowa, as my friend has said, think a lot
about these things, and they take these things into
consideration.
I say to my friend, I value his friendship and his
counsel through all these years, even though, again, as my
friend said, we approach things maybe from a different
philosophical standpoint. That is fine. But we have never
let a disagreement on philosophy ever be the last word
between us or the final word. It is always, well, that is
that. What is next? The one thing I really appreciate that
my friend said is that when it comes to Iowa, you don't
find any daylight when it comes to a disaster on what we
can do for Iowa and Iowans. We have had a wonderful
relationship through all these years and it is one that I
have cherished very much.
I heard my friend, in making some notes, say that
sometimes they say he is a coldhearted conservative and I
am a bleeding-heart liberal. I am going to set the record
straight. He is not a coldhearted conservative, he is a
caring conservative. He cares deeply about people. He
cares deeply about the people of Iowa, too. I hope I am
not a bleeding-heart liberal. I hope I am a liberal who
believes in individual responsibility.
My friend has been a very caring conservative through
all these years. I think together we have achieved
important things for our State: economic development,
rural development, agriculture, energy, all these things
we worked together on for Iowa. I am proud of the fact
that in Iowa right now 25 percent of our energy comes from
wind energy in Iowa. We produce the blades and turbines
and everything in Iowa and all the jobs there. That is
something we have worked together on through all these
years.
People have asked me why I am leaving the Senate. Well,
it was my decision. At the time--almost 2 years ago--I
said, I love the Senate. This is a wonderful institution.
Yes, we hit a few bumps in the road once in a while, but
that is to be expected in a legislative process that
represents 300 million people in this country. But working
together you form friendships and alliances.
I have often said that as a progressive, I want to go
this far this fast and the conservatives want to go this
far this slow, but by working together, you can make
progress. You can make progress, and that is what I think
both Senator Grassley and I have worked on together. We
try to make progress, especially for the people of Iowa.
I thank the Senator for his kind words. I know we are
not supposed to say this on the Senate floor; we are
always supposed to speak in the third person. But I never
wanted to follow all of the rules anyway. So I wish to
speak directly and say: Thank you very much, Chuck
Grassley, for your friendship, your counsel, and for
working together through all these years. I will miss that
relationship--working on the Senate floor.
I will be in Iowa. I will be working with the Harkin
Institute at Drake University. I will be spending a lot of
time on the disability policies and advancing the cause of
people with disabilities in some way, shape or form.
I ask that my friend come and speak--and perhaps lead a
discussion at some time--at the institute at Drake
University. I would be honored if my friend would do that
sometime down the road. I know my friend will be well
received, and I think the young people at Drake need to
hear the conservative side of the story as well as the
liberal side of the story. They need to have that kind of
input.
I know in the future my friend and his wonderful wife
Barbara, a great and wonderful person, and Ruth and I will
maintain friendships and our connections as we move into
the future. If there is any way we can work together for
the benefit of Iowans, just let me know, and I will be
glad to be the Senator's lieutenant in the field out there
in Iowa sometime.
I thank my friend so much for so many years of counsel
and friendship and working together. Thank you, Chuck.
I yield the floor.
Mr. GRASSLEY. I thank my colleague for his kind remarks
and for being here and for serving the people of Iowa.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Mr. REID. Mr. President, Abraham Lincoln once said, ``I
want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I
always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I
thought a flower would grow.''
Today I stand for just a few minutes to honor a man by
the name of Tom Harkin. Throughout his time in the Senate
he has planted many flowers--so many we can't count them
all. Tom Harkin's legacy of fighting for all Americans,
particularly those who are disadvantaged, will never be
forgotten. In fact, no one in the history of this
institution has done more for people who have a physical
disadvantage, an emotional disadvantage, a mental
disadvantage, and disadvantages generally, than Tom
Harkin.
Tom's life wasn't easy. His father was a miner. His
mother, a Slovenian immigrant, died when Tom was 10 years
old. He and his family pushed forward, living in a house
without hot water or a furnace.
Not one to use his difficult upbringing as an excuse,
Tom Harkin pushed himself very hard. He attended Iowa
State University. He came there on a Navy ROTC
scholarship. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the Navy and
became an Active Duty pilot--a naval pilot.
I have such admiration for naval pilots, for all pilots,
really, but thinking of landing on an aircraft carrier out
in the middle of the ocean, that postage stamp size you
have to try to find and land out there is something Navy
pilots do, and Tom Harkin did this.
In 1974 he was elected to represent Iowa's Fifth
Congressional District, a seat he held for 10 years. When
he came to the Senate in 1984, Tom, similar to President
Lincoln before him, encountered many thistles.
He was especially motivated to help millions of
Americans with disabilities, as I have already said. Here
is what Tom Harkin said once:
I heard stories from individuals who had to crawl on
their hands and knees to go up a flight of stairs, who
couldn't ride a bus because there wasn't a lift or
couldn't cross a street in a wheelchair because there were
no curb cuts. Millions of Americans were denied access to
their own communities and to the American dream.
Tom did a lot to make sure people did have the ability
to dream. What did he do? He encountered the injustice
faced by millions of disabled Americans and responded by
authoring the Americans with Disabilities Act.
People don't realize now what those disabled people had
to go through. There was a big dispute here in the Senate
and in the House as to whether Members of Congress should
vote for this. It created a lot of issues for businesses.
A former Member of the House of Representatives, James
Bilbray of Nevada, was getting a lot of pressure not to
vote for this, but he voted for this, and here is why he
voted for it:
Just like Tom Harkin saw this long before many of us
did, James Bilbray had a friend whose daughter was
confined to a wheelchair. This man wanted to visit
Congressman Bilbray and his family here in Washington, DC.
What an ordeal it was. They couldn't find a place with a
hotel room. They had trouble getting airline reservations.
It was extremely difficult. So Jimmy Bilbray said, ``That
is enough for me. I am voting for this.''
This landmark legislation that was pushed by Tom Harkin
has helped to move areas of employment, public services,
transportation, and telecommunications for people with
disabilities. Tom Harkin's work to protect the
disadvantaged hasn't been just reactive, it has been
preventative.
Tom has lost four siblings to cancer. In response to
that heartbreak, what has he done? Senator Harkin fought
to double the funding for groundbreaking medical research
at the National Institutes of Health. He had a partner in
this for many years, Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania. They
worked together as members of the Appropriations
Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education. Some will
remember that this was an unbelievable thing he did to
force us to spend more money on medical research. But in
hindsight, what a blessing this was for America and for
Members of the Senate who voted for this. It was good for
us, and it was good for the country. It was good for our
constituents. With the extra money NIH got, they have
engaged in a landmark effort to cure cancer, heart
disease, and a myriad of other diseases.
We have a long way to go. Funding hasn't been adequate
the last 6 years. The only boost we got in NIH funding was
in the stimulus, the first few months of the Obama
administration where we got additional money. That was
done as a result of the work by Tom Harkin and Arlen
Specter, and that money now is not there. We need to do
more for the National Institutes of Health.
Tom Harkin has been tireless. He worked to triple the
funding for the Centers for Disease Control. In fact, in
Obamacare he is the one who was responsible for the
prevention title in that bill.
He has spent his career coming to the defense of the
defenseless. A longtime defender of human rights, Tom has
worked to fight child labor, both domestically and abroad.
His tireless efforts gave him the U.S. Labor Department's
Award for the Elimination of Child Labor.
I have spent much of my Senate life on the Senate floor.
I can remember when I would look and see one of his staff
come to the floor, and I thought: Oh, no. I knew we were
in for some trouble. His name was Richard Bender. I really
have such admiration for Senator Harkin's staff, but it
was epitomized when Richard Bender walked in this door
because I knew Harkin was going to do something we had not
planned. Sometimes it took a lot longer to get things done
because of Bender and Harkin, but in the end it was always
better for our country.
So after a lifetime of service, Tom will finally be able
to spend his post-Senate time in another direction, still
involved in a form of public service. I have such great
admiration for Ruth, whom I know extremely well. I don't
know Amy and Jenny, his daughters, but I do know they are
going to be able to spend a little more time with their
dad and her husband.
On a side note, Tom Harkin is one of the few Senators
who has been to my home in Searchlight. I was there one
day, and I got a call. He said, ``Are you going to be
home?''
``Yes.''
``Do you mind if we drop by?''
``No, I don't mind if you drop by.''
So within an hour he was at my home in Searchlight.
So as Tom Harkin closes a chapter of service to the
American people, I salute him on a job very well done. He
has become the longest serving Democratic Senator in
Iowa's history, and he will be greatly missed.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I would like to take a few
minutes to salute my colleagues who are departing the
Senate at the end of this year with the conclusion of the
113th Congress: Mark Begich of Alaska, Saxby Chambliss of
Georgia, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Kay Hagan of North
Carolina, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Mike Johanns of Nebraska,
Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana,
Carl Levin of Michigan, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jay
Rockefeller of West Virginia, Mark Udall of Colorado, and
John Walsh of Montana.
They have all worked hard, ceaselessly giving their
energy and considerable time and service to their
constituents, to their home States and to our country. I
want to thank them for their service and for their
kindness to me over many years in so many cases. In
particular, I want to say a few words about these
colleagues. ...
Tom Harkin has been a great friend, a longtime advocate
for students, for workers, for individuals with
disabilities. As chairman of the Health, Education, Labor,
and Pensions Committee, he has worked to end the logjam
and pass reauthorizations of our childcare programs and
the workforce investment system, and he recently worked
with me to pass a bipartisan bill I helped author to
ensure consumers have access to the safest, most effective
sunscreens available.
He has been a steadfast advocate for increasing our
investment in medical research at the NIH. An
extraordinary Senator, we have so much to thank him for on
behalf of every American. His legacy is going to be so
profound. It is hard to pick one. But his efforts, along
with Arlen Specter's, to double NIH funding was a landmark
in terms of not only successful investment in programs
that matter to Americans and the world but bipartisan
efforts to lead the country forward. ...
Along with all of my other colleagues who are leaving us
at the conclusion of the 113th Congress, let me thank them
for their service, their dedication to improving the lives
of Americans, and on a very personal level for their
friendship. I wish them all well.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Mr. DURBIN. I have some tributes here for my colleagues
who are retiring, leaving the Senate. It is a lengthy list
of tributes.
To Senator Tom Harkin, neighboring State of Iowa, whom I
worked with over many years on so many important topics, I
want to salute him for his service. The highlights of his
service include the Americans with Disabilities Act and,
of course, the Affordable Care Act. His work on education
and medical research is legendary. There was a time when
Tom Harkin and Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania
at that time, set out to double the medical research
budget at the National Institutes of Health and they did
it. Lives have been saved, people have been spared
suffering because they had the political determination and
courage to achieve it. I am going to miss Tom Harkin.
I have served in Congress for a number of years and I
have heard an awful lot of speeches. One of the most
powerful speeches I ever witnessed in this Senate was
delivered by Tom Harkin in 1990. He gave his speech
without uttering a single word. He delivered it entirely
in American Sign Language--a language he knows from years
of communicating with his brother Frank, who was deaf. In
that historic speech in sign language--a first for this
body--Tom Harkin was urging the U.S. Senate to pass the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
The ADA is one of the great civil rights laws of the
20th century. It is often called the ``Emancipation
Proclamation for Americans with disabilities.'' It is a
landmark achievement in America's ongoing efforts to
create a more perfect union. No one worked harder for its
passage than the senior Senator from Iowa, Tom Harkin. He
is often and rightly referred to as ``the father of the
ADA.''
That speech in 1990 was unique in its use of sign
language. In another way, however, it was like nearly
every speech Tom Harkin has given because he was speaking
for people whose voices too often are not heard in
Congress.
In his 40 years in Congress, Tom Harkin has been a
passionate, often fiery and relentless voice for good
people who have often been dealt a bad hand by life. He
has been a champion for men like his father, a coal miner
with black lung disease, and others who desperately need
health care. He has been a champion for people with
disabilities--in America and around the world. He has been
a champion of children in foreign lands who are trapped in
the worst forms of forced labor.
Tom Harkin has been a champion of working men and women
in this country--and of their constitutionally protected
right to organize and bargain for decent pay and safe
working conditions.
Tom Harkin has been a leader in safeguarding Medicare
and Social Security, and moving people from welfare to
work.
The senior Senator from Iowa and I were both very lucky.
We are first-generation Americans. Senator Harkin's mother
came to this country from Slovenia; my mother came from
Lithuania.
He knows from his own family's experience the love and
gratitude that so many immigrants feel for the freedoms
and opportunities America has given them and their
children. So he has fought for immigration laws that
protect America's security at the same time they honor our
heritage as a nation of immigrants.
I want him to know that we will continue our efforts to
pass such laws until we succeed--just as we will continue
to push for adoption by this Senate of the Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities until we pass that
important treaty.
As are so many others, Tom Harkin was inspired to public
service by the example of President John Kennedy. After
working his way through college, Senator Harkin spent 5
years as a Navy pilot in the 1960s. He had applied to
become a pilot for a commercial airline when he received a
more compelling offer. In 1969, an Iowa Congressman
invited Tom Harkin to join his Washington, DC, staff. He
said yes. He also used his GI bill benefits to earn a law
degree from Catholic University.
Tom went back home to Iowa--and then he returned to
Washington in 1974, not as a staffer, but as a Member of
the House of Representatives. A decade later, Iowa voters
elected him to the U.S. Senate. In 1990 he became the
first Democrat ever to be reelected to the U.S. Senate by
Iowa voters. They must have thought that was a good idea
because they reelected him three more times after that.
Today, 40 years after his first election, Tom Harkin is
grayer and wiser. But he has never forgotten where he came
from. He is a proud Midwestern progressive who has never
forgotten the hope and dignity that smart, compassionate
government gave his family when they needed it. He has
never tired of working to make sure that other families
have the same chances his family had.
I wish Tom and Ruth, their daughters, and grandchildren
all the best.
Tom Harkin leaves a legacy of achievement and
compassion. I will miss his presence in this Senate but he
and Ruth will always be a part of our Senate family.
Mr. COONS. ... As I close, I would also like to thank
those of our colleagues who will be leaving the Senate
after the New Year.
It is an incredible privilege to work in this Chamber
and to represent the people. Every day I am awed by the
dedication and talent of many of my colleagues, public
servants who come to work to fight for their States and
their government.
To those who are ending their service in the Senate,
know that I value your friendship and partnership. It has
been an honor to work with you, and I thank you for all
you have done for our Nation.
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, I add my congratulations to
Senator Chambliss. It is strange, coming here in the last
2 years and getting to serve only 2 years with giants in
the Senate like Saxby, like Tom Harkin, and like Senator
Rockefeller, whose legacies will live on. ...
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, it is hard to believe how
quickly this session of Congress has come to an end.
Before that final gavel brings it to a close, however, it
is good to have this time to express our appreciation for
the service of those Members who will be retiring at the
end of the year. They all have a lot to be proud of--from
their first speech here on the floor to their
representation of their State over the years.
Those words cannot help but bring to mind Tom Harkin. I
have had a chance to come to know him and work with him as
the chairman of the Health Committee. I have been very
impressed with his dedication to his work and his
determination to make a difference for the people who
voted to hire him on for the job--and all Americans in all
of the States.
I think one of the reasons why we were able to work
together has to do with his Wyoming background. Tom spent
some of the best years of his life in Rock Springs and I
cannot help but think that his time there made a big
difference in his life.
Tom has quite a remarkable record of service to the
people of Iowa and it is clear they feel the same about
him. They have sent him back to the Senate to serve as
their representative for five terms in the House and five
terms in the Senate. During his service in the Senate I
appreciated having the opportunity to work with him as the
ranking member of the committee. In addition, the
leadership he has provided the committee as chairman has
enabled him to take an active role on issues that will
have an impact on his home State and the rest of the
country for many years to come.
If I were to name just a few of the issues on which Tom
has made a difference I would begin with his work on
behalf of those living with disabilities that resulted in
the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Tom's
groundbreaking legislation was written to help ensure all
Americans would have an opportunity to lead more
fulfilling and productive lives. In the days to come, his
work on this issue will continue to provide the support
that will help those living with disabilities to work
toward their goals in life--and achieve them.
I also wanted to point out his work with our education
system. Tom understands the importance of a good education
and the difference it makes in young lives--today and
tomorrow. Thanks to his hard work and determination
students of all ages have a new appreciation for the fact
that an education consists of more than just a few years
in a classroom--it is a lifelong adventure, a journey that
never ends because there is always something new to learn,
some new skill that will make someone a more valuable
member of the workforce.
I am sure he has heard it before but it is pretty clear
that Tom Harkin is Iowa, through and through. He has
devoted so many years of his life to the people of his
State and they are greatly appreciative of his efforts--
and the results he has been able to achieve.
Now, as Tom has made clear, it is time for someone else
to step up to the plate and continue the work he has begun
on so many issues. There is no question that you will be a
difficult act to follow. For all those years Tom's heart
and soul has been in Iowa while his mind and his focus has
been in the Nation's Capital, working to make Iowa a
better place to live.
Now Tom's remarkable career in the House and the Senate
has come to a close and this chapter of his great
adventure of serving the people of Iowa here in Congress
has concluded. While we did not always agree on the best
way to get things done we always agreed that we needed to
focus on what we could do to have the greatest impact on
the lives of Americans all across the country.
Fortunately, I think we succeeded in many ways and Tom
will be remembered for those positive results--and so many
more.
One last Tom Harkin memory has to do with his popcorn
tradition. I know I am not the only one who hopes it will
continue. I do not think a single visitor to your office
or that section of the building will ever forget the
wonderful aroma your Iowa popcorn sent all around the
area. For visitors from back home it must have been a
touch that made them feel right at home. It was just more
proof that you never lost sight of the people back home
and they loved you for that.
Thank you, Tom Harkin, for all you have brought to the
House and the Senate over the years. You have made it
clear what the people of Iowa expect from their government
and what you were working so hard to achieve for them.
Thank you for your service, thank you for your dedication
to making our Nation a better place to live and most of
all, thank you for your friendship. You have not only been
a witness to the history of your State and our country,
you have helped to write each chapter over the years. In
the days to come your achievements will continue to
inspire the next generation of our leaders who will want
to do what you have done. I am sure they can count on you
for your insights, suggestions, and advice. Diana joins in
sending our best wishes to you.
ORDER FOR PRINTING OF SENATE DOCUMENT
Mr. BENNET. I ask unanimous consent that the tributes to
retiring Senators be printed as a Senate document and that
Senators be permitted to submit tributes until December
23, 2014.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so
ordered.
Friday, December 12, 2014
Mr. LEVIN. I know that Senator Harkin is waiting to
speak. Senator Harkin is truly one of the greatest
Senators I have ever served with and Senator Harkin is one
of the greatest people I have ever known. He, Ruth, Barb,
and I have spent quality time, which is not always true
for many of us in the Senate to have that opportunity. ...
I am going to join my family now. I know Tom will
forgive me for not listening, but I will be reading what
you say. You, Ruth, Barb, and I will have some more
quality time together--perhaps not as much fun as being in
the Senate, but we will make the best of it.
Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, my colleagues are waiting
to speak to honor Senator Harkin. I am not going to take
the amount of time I did on his birthday. I want to tell
my colleagues that what I said on his birthday, on
November 19, I probably should have waited and said today.
I want to speak about our working relationship, and I
want Senator Harkin to know that I have enjoyed my working
relationship with him, together working for Iowa. I
compliment him on the many accomplishments he has made. I
consider him a friend. As he goes back to Iowa, we will
maintain that friendship, I am sure.
I would ask my colleagues if they would think about
looking at what I said before on his birthday, because I
am not going to repeat that here. But I think we ought to
recognize that Senator Harkin worked hard up to his last
day in the U.S. Senate, because one of his works over the
last 25 years was on inhumane labor issues around the
world, and he traveled to Oslo very recently to honor a
person who received the Nobel Peace Prize for that
crusade, as well as all the good work that Senator Harkin
has done on it. Probably that person received the award
because of Senator Harkin so long suggesting that the
individual deserved that attention.
I am going to be very brief today, since my prior
remarks outlined our friendship and his record in some
detail. It is in the Congressional Record for posterity.
Senator Harkin and I have been a duo from our home State
of Iowa for a long period of time. His voice is familiar.
So is his point of view, so is his work ethic for the
people of Iowa.
He has been a champion for individuals with disability,
for the elderly, for early childhood education, nutrition,
and wellness; for conservation, renewable energy, and the
environment. We could go on and on about his passion for
these causes, and many others.
Senator Harkin's legislative accomplishments are
numerous. He leaves a lasting body of work that improves
the quality of life for people who don't always have a
high profile in the Halls of Congress.
One of Senator Harkin's greatest legacies is his ability
to translate his drive and passion into legislative
accomplishments. As the saying goes: He doesn't just talk
the talk, he walks the walk.
Senator Tom Harkin lives and breathes the causes
important to him, and the United States and Americans have
a better quality of life because of it.
It will be a new era when the Senate doesn't see him
rising to speak in his characteristic fiery delivery. It
may not have been so fiery today, but he did speak with
emotion about the things he believes in.
I am grateful for his friendship and his long service to
the people of Iowa and the Nation. While I will miss him
around the Capitol, I am confident I will see him at home
in Iowa. Senator Harkin is not one to turn off his
enthusiasm for important issues, and I feel sure--and he
has already told us today--he will continue his
contribution to public service wherever and whenever the
spirit moves him. We know by his statement today it is
already moving him. He has plans for the future to
continue these crusades.
With that in mind, I will say so long rather than
goodbye. Thank you.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, I start by saying that as
Senator Harkin was so eloquently speaking today, it
reminded me of a story of those going by the casket of
President Roosevelt.
A reporter stopped someone and said, ``Did you know
President Roosevelt?''
And he said, ``No, but he knew me.''
There are people across this country--people with
disabilities, workers, folks trying hard to get up that
ladder--who want to know there are rungs on it, or want to
be able to stay in the middle class, who may not be able
to say they know Senator Tom Harkin personally, but he
knows them.
We are so grateful, and I am personally grateful, for
your friendship and your leadership and mentorship.
I want to speak for a moment as chair of the
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, where I
had to follow the tough act of Senator Tom Harkin writing
the previous two farm bills.
He has shaped agriculture and food and nutrition policy
in the House and Senate for 40 years, having a tremendous
impact, more than we can even imagine, in terms of not
only advocating for Iowa farmers--and I knew every day
what Iowa needed; that is for sure--and having both
Senator Harkin and Senator Grassley on the committee gave
the one-two punch for Iowa. But I have to remind all of my
colleagues that Senator Harkin really is the father of
modern conservation, of protecting our water and our soil
and our air, our wildlife habitat, our forests.
Senator Harkin is the father of modern conservation. He
wrote the conservation stewardship program that he created
in 2002 and expanded on in 2008, and we protected it in
the last farm bill.
Mr. HARKIN. Thank you.
Ms. STABENOW. And he gave new strength to the farm
safety net for all of our growers. He has been at the
forefront of an energy future that he talked about today,
driven by renewable energy and moving forward to get us to
cleaner sources of energy. That creates jobs, as I know
has happened in Iowa because of his leadership. So we
thank you.
There are so many things--the fresh fruit and vegetable
program in schools where children in low-income schools
have an opportunity to eat an apple rather than something
out of the vending machine that isn't good for them, the
opportunities for children to have healthier choices.
Senator Harkin has led over and over again. I can go over
every part of our agriculture and food policy improvements
that have been made that have been led by Senator Tom
Harkin, and we are so grateful.
Senator Tom Harkin has been a personal mentor for me. In
the toughest times of getting this last farm bill done,
Senator Harkin gave me words of advice and wisdom--and
many times encouragement--and for that I am very grateful,
and have learned so much.
I want to thank Senator Harkin for being a hero for
generations of people with disabilities, including people
in my own family, who have had doors opened because of
what he has done. The Americans with Disabilities Act
revolutionized the possibilities and the opportunities for
people. It is about opportunity; it is not about giving
people something for free, but opening doors which they
still have to walk through. Senator Harkin has done that
in a way that will be with us forever, when we look at
building structures and opportunities in workplaces for
people who want to work but just need a little different
kind of opportunity and now have that available.
It was clear when Senator Harkin spoke about his family
how it shaped his sensibilities and passions. I remember
his speaking about growing up in a two-bedroom house in
Cumming, IA, that he shared with his parents and five
siblings. That is pretty challenging. Growing up with his
brother Frank who was born deaf gave him an understanding
of the obstacles to those with disabilities and a
commitment came from his heart and soul about making life
better--and he has. You have.
I recall also when he talked about his father losing his
40-acre farm, and the New Deal giving him a chance to
support you and to support your family despite the fact
that he had a sixth grade education. He had the
opportunity to move ahead and work hard because somebody
out there, who didn't know his name, gave him an
opportunity to do so, which is what is our job to do.
I know Senator Harkin's crusades to protect workers on
the job was influenced by witnessing his father struggle
with black lung disease, looking at him as a coal miner
and what he went through.
I believe Senator Harkin is the definition of a self-
made man. He grew up taking advantage of opportunities as
well as enduring the challenges and the circumstances of
his life, transforming and using that experience to create
better opportunities for everyone across the country.
He is a patriot, having served in the Navy. He gained
his education through the GI bill and understands that is
an important part of creating opportunity and giving back
to people who serve for us and lay their lives on the line
for us.
I know you are totally committed in your heart and soul
to education starting at birth right on through for the
rest of our lives.
So I want to thank you, finally, for your leadership on
the HELP Committee, your hard work and your passion in
health care, your support working with me on mental health
care, your efforts on education, your efforts in
pensions--which, by the way, are promises we need to keep.
All of the things you have done through the HELP Committee
are things that will last for a long time to come.
I know in Iowa, thanks to you, there are eight times
more community health centers than there were 25 years
ago--wow--so somebody can see a doctor and they can take
their children to a doctor, which will live on in their
lives.
I want to thank you for being someone who knows how to
make laws, somebody who wants to solve problems, who in
his heart and soul is passionately, lovingly concerned
about our country. I know that you and Ruth and your
daughters and your grandchildren will have many more
opportunities to enjoy each other's lives but know there
are people in this country who are enjoying opportunities
because of you, and we salute you.
Thank you, Mr. President.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Tennessee.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Senator Harkin's legacy is he stands as a
champion of Americans with disabilities. It will be a long
time before there is a greater champion of Americans with
disabilities in this body and I salute him for that.
I salute him also for his leadership and style of
leadership. I had the privilege of the last 2 years being
ranking member of the HELP Committee. Senator Kennedy used
to say that we have 30 percent of the jurisdiction of the
Senate, and it seems like it sometimes. If you know our
committee, down one row is the murderers' row of liberals
or progressives who are of the Democratic persuasion; and
down the other side is a pretty good row of conservatives
of the Republican persuasion--12 on this side, 10 on this
side. So we have plenty of differences of opinions and we
don't hesitate to express them. Yet during these 2 years,
Senator Harkin and his leadership style have found a way
for there to be 24 pieces of legislation, signed by the
President of the United States, many of them very
significant, some of which took several years to do,
whether it was the compounding pharmacy, which was so
important in our State, the tragedy of meningitis from
unsterile products; whether it was the track-and-trace
legislation or the changes in workforce development that
gave more discretion to Governors and the citizens in
their communities. His style of leadership permitted that
to happen and I am grateful to him for that. I would
suggest to the Senate as we look forward to a time when
the Senate might be more functional and more productive
that one way to earn the respect of the people of this
country for this body, which is supposed to be the one
authentic piece of genius of the American political
system, is to look at the way the Health, Education,
Labor, and Pensions Committee has operated over the last 3
years under the leadership of Senator Harkin. I salute him
for his service and I thank him for that.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Mr. FRANKEN. I rise to talk about Senator Harkin. As the
soon-to-be chairman of the HELP Committee, Senator
Alexander is right about the HELP Committee, it is an
important committee. Sometimes I say it is not that
important unless you care about your health, your kids'
health, your parents' health, your kids' education or your
education, if you want to work sometime in your life, and
you plan to retire. Other than that, it is not very
important.
But I want to talk a little bit about Tom Harkin, not as
a Senator but as a staffer. We have seen today when the
Senators give their final speeches, they talk about their
staff. Tom came in 1969 as a staffer for Neal Smith from
Iowa. The staffers, as much as we treasure our staffers,
they love this work for their Member and they love working
in this institution, and they love working in Congress--at
that point he was in the House. So at this point he is, I
believe, 29 or 30 years old. This was during the Vietnam
war, and there was something called Vietnamization.
President Nixon asked a congressional delegation to go to
Vietnam to look at how Vietnamization was working and what
was going on. While Tom Harkin was there as a staffer, a
couple of Congressmen were told about some conditions on
an island called Con Son where there were prisoners that
the South Vietnamese Government was abusing very badly.
The Congressmen requisitioned a plane to go to Con Son,
about 100 miles off the coast of the mainland of Vietnam,
and I believe the supervisor of the group who was there to
talk about the Vietnam prison system said this was sort of
like a Boy Scout recreational camp--that is exactly what
he said.
So when they landed there, Tom took a couple staffers
and Members, got a map from someone who had told him about
this secret prison, and found it, where there were people
being horribly abused. Tom took pictures. Tom was told to
turn over the film. Tom didn't turn over the film. Tom was
then told that his employment in the Congress depended on
him turning over that film--a 30-year-old staffer at the
beginning of what most staffers hope is a career. That
film showed up in Life magazine and had a profound effect,
and Tom's career was over.
That takes a lot of guts. That takes courage. That takes
the courage of your convictions, and that is what I have
seen in Tom Harkin. I learned about this when Franni and I
went with Ruth and Tom on a codel to Vietnam. I just spoke
about Carl Levin and talked about a codel with him, and I
talked about this codel with Tom. I have got to go on more
codels, I just figured out.
This is what I observed, because this was the chairman
of the HELP Committee, and I got to watch that courage and
that courage of his convictions, as well as what Lamar
talked about, working well across party lines.
I hold the seat that Paul Wellstone formerly held. I
would say that Tom was Paul's best friend. Tom every once
in a while talks about his brother and the experiences
behind Tom's signature achievement, the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Paul Wellstone led on mental health and
mental health parity, and that was because of his brother.
That is the legacy I want to carry on. I have not had Paul
here to be a role model, but I have had Tom Harkin, and it
has been a privilege.
I thank the Senator.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, we are going to continue
with the Minnesota theme, and I think Senator Harkin knows
that our two States, Minnesota and Iowa, share more than
just a border. We share a lot of people with relatives on
either side of the border. I cannot tell you how many of
my friends have their roots in Iowa and how many people in
Iowa have their kids in Minnesota.
We also share citizens who have a strong sense of
involvement. We have some of the highest voter turnouts in
the country. We both have notorious caucus systems where
people like to turn out and make their views known, and
our States have produced politicians such as Tom Harkin
and Hubert Humphrey, who came up through that tradition
and understand that you are there to represent the people
of your State because when you go home, they actually come
up to you in grocery stores, on the street, call you by
your first name, and understand that you are there to
represent them.
We also share farming and we share this enormous belief
in science. We actually share Norman Borlaug. There is a
new statue--the Presiding Officer must go see it--of
Norman Borlaug in Statutory Hall. He was born in Iowa and
studied in Iowa, but also studied at the University of
Minnesota. He created the Green Revolution, which has
helped so many impoverished people in countries all over
the world by reducing hunger.
Tom Harkin has followed in that tradition. He believes
in science, believes in investing in agriculture research,
and believes in investing in NIH.
The other thing about Tom and me that I knew no other
Senator would address is our Slovenian heritage. When Tom
leaves--and I see Senator Brown is here--and with the
former Senator from Ohio, Senator Voinovich, no longer
here, I will remain, I think, as the only Slovenian
Senator here. I am hoping someone will come forward and
tell me they have Slovenian blood. For a while 3 percent
of the U.S. Senate had roots in Slovenia, which is very
interesting given how infinitesimal the population of the
country is compared to the rest of the world.
Tom loves his Slovenian roots. Like Tom, my ancestors
came from Slovenia to America to work in the mines. It is
a big part of our lives and what we believe in.
One time Tom came to my Minnesota Morning Breakfast and
saw that every Thursday I serve potica to my constituents,
and that is unique to Slovenians. It is a rolled dough
with either apples or walnuts in it. My grandma used to
make it. She would literally borrow card tables and roll
the dough throughout her entire kitchen.
I found a number of places on the Iron Range of northern
Minnesota, where my dad grew up, that make this potica,
and we bring it in.
Tom came and tried it and decided that for Christmas he
would send a potica to every Member of the Senate for
Christmas. He called my office and said they don't make it
in Iowa. I said, ``Let me give you the name of a baker on
the Iron Range.'' He personally called this woman and
said, ``This is Tom Harkin. I am the Senator from Iowa. I
am calling to order 100 poticas from you, 1 for every
Member of the Senate for Christmas.'' In very gruff
Slovenian fashion, she said, ``I am sorry, it is
Christmas, and we are booked. We do not have the poticas
to send to Washington, DC.'' Then he said, ``I don't know
if you know who I am. I chair the Agriculture and Forestry
Committee--big forestry area--of the Senate.'' And she
said, ``I know exactly who you are, but we do not have the
poticas to send to Washington.''
So at that moment, he called me. I gave him the names of
a number of other bakers, he found one, and every Senator
got a potica for Christmas.
The last thing I will say about Tom that we share in
common--we both represent States that believe in helping
people who are the most vulnerable. He did that with his
support for small farmers with the farm bill, and he did
that in his support for the disability community.
I was at the House this week talking about the ABLE Act
with some of the Members, and to a tee, every Republican
brought up--because Tom could not be there--Tom's work on
the ABLE Act. They knew we would not have the bill that
Senator Casey worked on without Tom Harkin, and, as you
know, this is just the next step for the disability
community. It will allow parents and grandparents and
friends and neighbors to set up funds so that if they are
not there when this young person grows up, there will be
money set aside for them.
Tom Harkin was Paul Wellstone's best friend in the
Senate. Paul would say, ``Politics is about improving
people's lives.'' That is what Tom has done every day in
the Senate.
Thank you, Tom.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Connecticut.
Mr. MURPHY. Mr. President, in January of last year, I
walked onto the Senate floor for the second time in my
life. The first time that I got to be on the Senate floor
was in 1995 when I was an intern for my Senator, Chris
Dodd. Back then it was a little bit easier for interns to
come here, and he brought me down to the Senate floor one
afternoon.
I knew what I wanted to do. I had a small handful of
people I wanted to meet. I don't know if I ever told this
to Tom, but I wanted to meet Tom Harkin, and I got to do
that. Twenty years ago he was a giant in the Senate. The
one point I wish to make is this--I had the chance to
serve with Tom on the HELP Committee and I have seen his
legislative ability and the respect he commands here, but
I have only known him for 2 years.
Anyway, the point I want to make is that the effect he
has had on the legislative process stands as an
achievement in and of itself. I would argue that I am one
of tens of thousands of public servants who decided to go
into this line of work, decided to care about the kind of
things I care about because I watched Tom Harkin on
television growing up.
I came from a family that was nonpolitical. My parents
were both registered Republicans. There is no genetic
reason why I do this other than seeing people like Tom
fight on behalf of the disabled and the disenfranchised
and the dispossessed. He gave me the idea that there was
some worth to being in this line of work. If you grew up
after Vietnam, you were taught this was crooked or not
worth being a part of, and then there was a handful of
people like Tom Harkin who told you it was worth being a
part of.
The legacy that Senator Harkin will have--whether it is
the farm bill, the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the
Workforce and Investment Act, that is all you need to
leave this place fulfilled. But to think there are tens of
thousands of people who, like me, are doing this kind of
work and trying to keep up the legacy you are going to
leave is something to be proud of as well. I feel lucky to
be a Member of this body in part because I got to meet Tom
Harkin 20 years ago, I was able to follow his lead, and I
was able to be inspired by him.
I yield the floor.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Ohio.
Mr. BROWN. Tom Harkin is my hero. Tom Harkin has never
shied away from a fight when it comes to workers rights
not only for Iowa but for workers all across the country
and workers around the world.
He has come to many of us repeatedly and said, ``Don't
forget what our obligation is to the community of men and
women around the world who labor with their hands, who
fight challenges every day, who are abused in the
workplace, who are abused as children in the workplace.''
Tom Harkin has been the single strongest voice for as long
as I can remember for those workers.
Tom comes from a right-to-work State. It is not always
easy to stand up for labor unions and organized labor. We
have a press and media in this country which is
consistently antilabor.
We have a political class in this country at every
opportunity that tries to undermine organized labor and
undermine the rights of human beings to organize and
bargain collectively, and Tom recognized that is one of
most important rights that human beings have.
Tom Harkin, being from a right-to-work State, knows he
will face a difficult election darn near every 6 years.
One of the little-noted historical facts about Tom
Harkin--and I have not heard anyone else mention--is that
Senator Harkin has defeated more incumbent Members of
Congress than any elected official in U.S. history, and
that is not because of the luck of the draw or some
lottery in Des Moines or Iowa City or Davenport. It is
because Tom Harkin doesn't shy away from his strong
beliefs in the rights of humanity--organizing and
collective bargaining rights. When you are willing to
stand up day after day--not just in quiet groups in the
Democratic caucus--on this floor and you are willing to
stand up in Dubuque and the more conservative parts of
southwest Iowa and argue for labor rights, you are saying
to the other side: Bring them on. Bring on big money,
bring on antilabor forces. He expected to have tough
elections, and that is why Tom Harkin is my hero and
always will be.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oregon.
Mr. MERKLEY. Mr. President, I too rise to share a few
comments about my friend Tom Harkin who has contributed so
much to this fight and to put rungs on the ladder so
ordinary people across America have a fair shot to thrive.
When I first came out here as an intern in 1976, you
were already over on the House side--no, not yet. It was
about 1974, and I was working away, so I didn't get to
meet you then. But there were a series of speeches by
Senators when I was an intern here on the Senate side, and
one of them was by Hubert Humphrey.
Hubert Humphrey was well known for saying that a society
should be judged by how they treat those in the dawn of
their lives, children, the twilight of their lives,
seniors, and those who are in the shadow, the sick and
disabled. When I think of that vision, I see Tom Harkin. I
see Tom Harkin fighting for children who are oppressively
working around the world under unacceptable circumstances.
Tom Harkin carries out the fight for those children and
for children's health care.
I have seen him fight for our seniors, and just this
week he was speaking passionately about the obligations we
have to honor the retirement strategy so people can serve
their senior years in dignity. He fights for those who are
disabled, which we have heard about so much today.
I thank Tom Harkin for taking his years on this planet
and dedicating them to this battle for those in the dawn
of their life, for those in the twilight of their life,
and for those in the shadows. No one has done a better
job.
I also wish to thank Tom for the recent battles I have
had a chance to be a part of--the fight to end
discrimination in the workplace for our LGBT community,
which you shepherded through your committee and got to the
floor for the first time in which this bill has been
enforced since 1996, and proceeded to pass by a 2 to 1
bipartisan majority because of that firm foundation laid
out in the committee.
I wish to thank you for your minimum wage bill and for
saying to America: Here is a vision: No one who works full
time should live in poverty. That is absolutely right. We
didn't win the battle over minimum wage, but we advanced
the conversation--you advanced the conversation. I thank
you for doing so, and for carrying out battle after
battle, and in so many cases, succeeding. In those cases
when the circumstances weren't yet all lined up, you
continued the fight, carried the voice so we would find
that moment in the future when we could secure a victory
for ordinary working people, for those who are disabled,
for our children, and for our seniors.
I thank you for your service in the Senate. Well done.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Delaware.
Mr. CARPER. The Senator from Oregon has thanked Tom for
his service in the Senate. I wish to thank him for his
service before he was in the Senate when he and I were
kids--well, not exactly--but when we served in the U.S.
services. We spent some time in airplanes--not in the same
airplane, but roughly at the same time. A lot of times
people come up to me and thank me for my service in the
Navy--and I am sure they do that with you--and I tell them
that I loved it. I loved the men and women I served with,
I loved the missions, and it was an honor to do that. I
wanted to start off by thanking you for that, and to say
that is one of the bonds which has drawn us together as
friends right from the start.
The Senator from Oregon mentioned your strong effort to
raise the minimum wage, which ultimately was not
successful. I want to mention a couple of issues I have
had the privilege of working on with you that I think have
been very successful. There is a battle that needs to
continue to be fought, and I plan to continue to do that,
and my hope is that you and others will do it too.
As veterans, I know how important the GI bill was for me
and for you as well. I think we got about $250 a month on
the GI bill, and I was happy to have every dime of it. I
moved from California to the University of Delaware when I
got out of the Navy, got an MBA, and I still flew for the
Navy and the Reserves, and it was a huge help for me.
The folks who get the GI bill today come back from
Afghanistan and Iraq or wherever, and if they have served
for 3 years they get the GI bill, as you know, and that
means they get full tuition. If they go to the University
of Iowa, Delaware State, Iowa State, they get free
tuition. They get free books, fees, tutoring. In my State
they get a $1,500-a-month housing allowance. That is the
GI bill today.
There are a bunch of colleges around the country that--
just as they did when my dad came back from World War II
or when my Uncle Ed came back from the Korean war, others
have come back from Vietnam and so forth--there are scam
artists involved with postsecondary training schools,
sometimes colleges, and they see the GI with that benefit,
and they see it as if it were a dollar sign on their back,
and they want to go after the dollar sign and separate the
value from the benefit.
The Senator from Iowa has worked on this so hard, trying
to make sure--there are plenty of for-profit postsecondary
schools and such that do a good job, and there are some
that don't. Nobody has been as active in trying to make
sure that we clean this up as you have been, my friend,
and my friend from Illinois, Dick Durbin, and I am pleased
to be the wingman on this. I promise that Senator Durbin
and I aren't going away. The folks who do this job right,
the for-profits that are doing a good job by veterans and
taxpayers, we salute them; and those who do not, we are
going after them. So I thank you and your staff for
standing up for veterans consistently.
The other thing I wanted to mention is that many people
are having lunch right now across the eastern part of our
country, maybe getting ready, over in Iowa, to have some
lunch. If people go into a chain restaurant where there
are 15 or more restaurants in that chain across the
country--I think it is 15 or 20--they look at the menu to
order, and right there they see the calories. If they want
more information about the fats, trans fats, the amount of
sodium in the food--all kinds of information--they get it.
We are a nation where obesity is a huge problem, a huge
cost driver in health care. I thank the Senator for
leading the charge on menu labeling, which is the reality
in our country, and you should feel good about that. I
feel very good about that.
It has been a blessing knowing you and serving with you,
Tom. There is an old saying: Flattery won't hurt you if
you don't inhale. You are having a lot of flattery thrown
at you here today, so don't breathe too deeply and you
should be OK.
We thank and salute you and your wife Ruth and your
family. In the Navy, when people have done a really good
job, we say words like ``bravo zulu,'' and I say bravo
zulu to you. When people are ready to weigh anchor and
sail off into the sunrise, we say things like ``fair winds
and following seas,'' and I say that to you as well. God
bless you.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Illinois.
Mr. DURBIN. I will speak briefly because I put a
statement in the Record, but I just want to say, Tom, that
next to the State of Illinois, I spend more time
campaigning in your State of Iowa than any other State.
Obviously the Presidential caucus brought me over there,
and I have come to know your home State of Iowa and to
appreciate that even though there is an extraordinary
Iowa-Illinois democratic organization, it is a tough State
and there are elections that are hotly contested.
I recall that when I was running for the Senate in 1996,
you called into our headquarters and spoke to my campaign
manager, who said, ``How is it going, Senator Harkin?''
You said, ``I am besieged.''
It was a tough campaign, but you survived it and many
others. I think it is because of two things: No. 1 is your
dogged determination, and No. 2 is your commitment to
values that you have never given up on.
I think there is an authenticity to Tom Harkin that has
saved him in tough years. People who disagreed with you
respected you because you stood up for what you believed
in. Some of the ideals you and I believe in may not be as
fashionable politically as they once were. There was once
a time when I worked for a man named Paul Douglas who
called himself in the Senate ``a good liberal.'' You don't
hear that word much anymore, do you? But the fact is,
there are moments in our Nation's history and in the lives
of ordinary people--the American family--when our
government needs to step in and help--and you have done
it. You have done it so many times. I won't repeat all
that has been said, but whether you were fighting for
working families, fighting for the poor, fighting for the
disabled, fighting to make sure every family had peace of
mind when it came to food safety--I am not sure that has
been mentioned, but the Senator from Iowa worked on that,
and I thank him for that leadership and inspiration.
Finally, let me say I have been happy to team up with
you on this issue involving for-profit schools.
I will tell my colleagues that the Senator's hearings
set a standard in terms of asking the right questions and
hard questions of an industry that by and large exploits
young people and their families, sinking these kids deep
in debt at the expense of American taxpayers and doing it
many times with the promise of nothing but a worthless
diploma when it is all over.
I know, because I have tried, that the industry--the
for-profit colleges have friends in high places in
Washington, DC. I can promise you this: As long as I can
do it physically, I will continue to wage this battle in
your name and in your memory because of all your
leadership in this area.
Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for being a
neighbor. And thank you for really standing up for the
right causes over the course of your public service.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Vermont.
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I am going to be brief. The
truth is that the Senator we are honoring right now, Tom
Harkin, will go down in history as one of the great
Senators of this particular period in American history.
Not many Senators, if any, have a list of enormous
accomplishments anywhere close to what Senator Harkin has
accomplished.
I would like to tell my colleagues a little story. It
turns out that coincidentally, really, I have traveled
with Senator Harkin to a number of places around the world
as part of congressional delegations. Like most
congressional delegations, we meet with the leadership of
the country, the President and so forth. But what was
interesting in traveling with Senator Harkin is wherever
you go, he gets honored by ordinary people in those
countries.
We went to Vietnam a number of years ago. Many people
will not remember, but the truth is that one of the very
first people ever to expose the terrible prison conditions
that the South Vietnam Government had established was Tom
Harkin. So we go there and we meet people who had been
imprisoned in tiger cages, and they said, ``Senator
Harkin, thank you very much for exposing those conditions
and improving our lives.''
There was a very emotional response.
Then I went with him to Ghana, and it turns out that in
Ghana and in countries in Africa, Tom Harkin had been a
leader in fighting against child labor. There were kids 8
or 9 years of age who should be in school who were out
picking crops. And Tom Harkin, working with people all
over the world, had a real impact on getting those kids
into school.
We went to a school, a beautiful school which is
partially funded by the U.S. Government. We have bright
kids who are in school, and they were so proud of the
assistance we had given them, where they were in school
and not working in fields.
Then we went to Chile. We met with the President of
Chile, all the dignitaries of Chile. Who knew this? We
went to Chile, and Tom Harkin got an award from the
government.
In the very dark days of the Pinochet government, when
the democratically elected President of Chile, Salvador
Allende, was overthrown in a violent coup by Pinochet--
with, unfortunately, the assistance of the U.S.
Government--and people were rounded up and put into prison
camps and tortured and killed, Tom Harkin went knocking on
the door to one of the prison camps. Pretty crazy, but
that is what he did. He was met with soldiers with guns.
But he exposed that particular prison camp and played a
role in facilitating the ending of some of the more
barbaric actions of the Pinochet government.
Those are three trips I made with him. That is about
all. I am sure he has gone on other trips. That is a
pretty good record, internationally.
Then, back home, in terms of disability issues, I can
remember and others can remember that 30, 40, 50 years
ago, families had kids born with disabilities, and often
those kids were institutionalized; they were hidden; they
were an embarrassment to the family. Something bad
happened; there was a child with a disability--Down
syndrome, whatever it may be. Think about the revolution
that has taken place, the mainstreaming of those kids. I
know in Vermont and all over this country, kids with
disabilities who are sitting in classrooms right now,
loved and respected by their fellow students, educating
their fellow students, making them more human, more
compassionate. I think many of us have been to high school
graduations where people with disabilities get their
diploma and people stand up and applaud those kids.
There has been a transformation of the culture in terms
of how we deal with people with disabilities through the
Americans with Disabilities Act. That didn't happen by
accident. Tom Harkin wasn't the only person who did it,
but he helped lead the effort here in the U.S. Congress to
say that people with disabilities are part of the human
community and we are going to treat them with the dignity
they deserve.
Then we have all the other issues that people have
talked about. Probably nobody in the Congress has been a
stronger fighter for working people and organized labor
than Tom Harkin.
I think people come here, regardless of political
persuasion, to try to make a difference and do what they
think is right. We disagree about what is right, but I
think when we look at the list of accomplishments and the
enormously hard work that has gone into those
accomplishments, this man, Tom Harkin, will go down as one
of the great Senators of our period.
Tom, thank you so much for all you have done.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish to recognize a dear
friend, Senator Tom Harkin. Senator Harkin will be
retiring at the end of the month, but his influence will
be felt long after he leaves this Chamber. I speak for all
of my colleagues when I say he will be sorely missed.
I consider myself lucky to have worked with Tom, and
even luckier to call him a friend. Tom has devoted his
life to public service.
Like any good statesman, Tom is humble about his
achievements. Humility is a trait so often lacking in
accomplished men, but Tom is an exception. The allure and
glamour of beltway life never held sway over Tom, and his
years spent in the Nation's Capital have only shown that
he is an Iowa man through and through.
The only thing that runs deeper than Tom's Iowa roots is
the corn that grows there. Tom still lives in the very
same house in the very same town where he was born--
Cumming, IA, population: 383--a far cry from this bustling
metropolis. His family still keeps a farm in Cumming, and
I am sure he looks forward to spending many peaceful days
there in his retirement.
Tom grew up in a family of modest means. His father was
a coal miner and his mother a Slovenian immigrant who
passed away when Tom was just 10 years old. From an early
age, Tom developed his signature work ethic by taking
various odd jobs on farms, at construction sites, and even
in a bottling plant.
Tom's service to our Nation began long before he came to
Congress. He attended Iowa State University on a Navy ROTC
scholarship and served as an Active Duty Navy pilot for 5
years after graduation. Even after his full-time military
service, he continued to serve as a pilot in the Naval
Reserve. Tom is a man who always has and always will put
our country first. Even though he and I often disagreed on
matters of policy, I always knew that Tom had the best
interests of our Nation and those of his constituents in
mind.
Tom and I first became good friends when I joined him in
sponsoring the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1989. At
the time, Tom was a first-term Senator approaching
reelection, and to support the ADA was politically risky.
But true to form, Tom bucked political expediency to
champion a law that the late Senator Ted Kennedy would
describe as the ``emancipation proclamation'' for those
with disabilities. Although the ADA faced serious
opposition, passing this legislation was personal for Tom,
whose brother, Frank, grew up deaf, and whose nephew was
quadriplegic. In the lives of these loved ones, Tom saw
how lack of opportunities for persons with disabilities
could make their lives all the more challenging.
My friendship with Tom was forged in the battles we
fought to move the ADA through both Chambers of Congress.
I will never forget the day the Senate passed the bill in
1989. After the vote, Tom and I left the floor and walked
into the anteroom, where there were hundreds of persons
with disabilities in wheelchairs, on crutches, and with
various other disabilities waiting to receive us. Overcome
with emotion, both of us broke down and cried. It was a
moment I will never forget.
I am not exaggerating when I say that Tom's work on this
hallmark legislation will have resounding effects for
generations to come. Because of the ADA, millions of
Americans with disabilities can now pursue the American
dream.
Throughout his Senate career, Tom has always been there
to help those who could not help themselves. His work has
affected the lives of millions. Senator Harkin deserves
not only our recognition, but also our gratitude. I want
to wish him, his wife Ruth, and their family all the best.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Oklahoma.
Mr. INHOFE. Before the Senator from Iowa leaves, let me
make one comment. I look at him and all of those who are
saying nice things about the Senator from Iowa--and I am
from Iowa, so I can say this. My colleagues need to
remember that even conservatives can love Tom Harkin. I
think it is important for people to understand that.
I have to say that I have been to I think at least 10 of
the airshows, and spending 90 percent of my time--my wife
and his wife, the four of us together, because we are both
pilots--sitting around and lying about airplanes, we got
real close to each other.
I can say the same thing about my good friend Senator
Sanders, and I have said this on the floor before: The two
of you are two of my favorite in-the-heart liberals
because you are not ashamed of it. You stand up--exactly
what the Senator from Vermont just said. The things that I
have seen you do, you have a big heart. You have your own
philosophy. You are not a demagogue. You live your
philosophy.
So I just want you to know there are a lot of
Republicans who love Senator Harkin just as much as the
liberals do. All right. Thank you.
Mr. CASEY. Madam President, I wanted to speak about my
colleague Tom Harkin who will be retiring at the end of
this Congress. I commend him for his 40 years of service
in Congress for the people of Iowa.
Senator Hubert Humphrey once said that the moral test of
government should be how it treats those in the dawn of
life, our children; those in the twilight of life, our
older citizens; and those in the shadows of life, people
with disabilities, among others. Tom Harkin's work in the
House and Senate has been a testament to what Senator
Humphrey said. Senator Harkin has never hesitated to stand
up and fight for those without power. He is also proud of
the legacy of the Great Society under President Lyndon
Johnson and never shies away from reminding us of the work
that was done then, or how much more we still have to do.
When it comes to protecting and championing people with
disabilities, there is no equal to Tom Harkin. He helped
write the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, of 1990
and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. These bills did for
people with disabilities what the civil rights acts of the
1950s and 1960s did for African Americans. He authored the
Television Decoder Circuitry Act to create universal
closed captioning and he expanded services for children
with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities
in Education Act, IDEA. Under the Workforce Investment
Opportunity Act, he enhanced employment opportunities for
young people with disabilities and under the Affordable
Care Act he created the Community First Choice Option to
give States that offer services to people with
disabilities outside of nursing homes extra Federal
funding.
Senator Harkin pushed the issue of prevention and the
health and wellness of Americans long before those issues
became national themes. Senator Harkin wrote the
prevention title in the Affordable Care Act and introduced
the first bill that allowed the Food and Drug
Administration, FDA, to regulate tobacco. He is also the
reason the word ``Prevention'' is included in the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention's name. Child labor is
another area where Tom was ahead of the curve. The Clinton
administration's executive order, ``Prohibition of
Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced and Indentured
Child Labor,'' was backed by Senator Harkin and he helped
obtain the adoption and Senate ratification of United
Nations Convention 182, a treaty that called for the
elimination of the worst forms of child labor.
On a personal note, I want to express my appreciation to
Chairman Harkin and his staff on the HELP Committee for
their help in getting three bills I introduced this
Congress passed into law--the Children's Hospital GME
Support Reauthorization Act, the Emergency Medical
Services for Children Reauthorization Act, and the
Traumatic Brain Injury Reauthorization Act. Without the
efforts of Chairman Harkin and his team, these bills would
not have moved forward.
The late Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota, once said
that ``Politics is not just about power and money games,
politics can be about the improvement of people's lives,
about lessening human suffering in our world and bringing
about more peace and more justice.'' Tom Harkin is a
living example of those words. Our Nation and our world
are better today because of his life of service.
Monday, December 15, 2014
Mr. LEAHY. Madam President, Senator Tom Harkin and I
came to Washington in the same year--Tom, to the House of
Representatives, and I, to the Senate. For nearly 40
years, he has represented Iowans with the even temper and
strong commitment that has become a hallmark of his
tenure.
Senator Harkin has been a leading defender of rights for
persons with disabilities, anchored by the landmark law he
authored, the Americans with Disabilities Act. Inspired by
the challenges faced by his own deaf brother, Tom Harkin
led a crusade to enact this historic legislation, ensuring
that individuals living with disabilities could not be
discriminated against because of those disabilities. The
ongoing effort to protect and support Americans--and
people around the world--living with disabilities, has
become a cornerstone of Senator Harkin's career.
As chairman of the Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions, HELP, Senator Harkin has
helped create a new model of health care, one focused on
prevention and health rather than reaction and sickness.
He was one of the leaders in crafting the Affordable Care
Act, giving millions of Americans better access to health
care. He has continually fought for the missions of and
the funding for the Centers for Disease Control, the
National Institutes of Health, and the Food and Drug
Administration.
I have worked with Senator Harkin on a number of
matters, from international human rights to critical
funding for breast cancer research. Senator Harkin and I
have worked together in our shared commitment to America's
farmers and farming, an industry that is so critical to
both our States. Together we have worked to increase
conservation funding, promote water quality, and protect
the environment while supporting our family farmers.
Tom Harkin is a lifelong Iowan. He and his wife Ruth
have given decades in public service representing the
people of Iowa. I want to congratulate him on an
accomplished career and wish him, Ruth, their wonderful
children and grandchildren all the very best.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, as we wind down the final days
of the 113th Congress, it is a good time both to reflect
on the past and to look toward the future. I have been
very moved as I listened to the farewell speeches of our
departing Senators, and I wish I had time to pay tribute
to each one of them. They have all been wonderful
colleagues, and I enjoyed working with and getting to know
every one of them. I wish them all the very best in all
their future endeavors. They will most certainly be
missed. ...
Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to recognize Senator
Tom Harkin and his 30 years of Senate service.
When Senator Harkin retires at the end of this year, he
will also step down from his chairmanship of the Senate
Committee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, a
post from which he has advocated progressive policies
aimed at increasing opportunity for all Americans.
One of Senator Harkin's greatest legislative
achievements is the Americans with Disabilities Act,
legislation that he fought for on behalf of millions of
disabled Americans. The ADA is truly a landmark law in
this country, and Senator Harkin's decades of work on this
issue will never be forgotten.
Senator Harkin also has a strong legacy as a champion
for human rights, which began even before his election to
public office while he was still a staffer on Capitol
Hill. Invited to travel with a congressional delegation to
Vietnam in summer 1970, Senator Harkin arranged for the
group to visit the Con Son Prison in order to investigate
allegations of human rights abuses by the South Vietnamese
Government. At the prison, the delegation strayed from the
official tour and found abused prisoners held in so-called
``tiger cages,'' which Senator Harkin documented
extensively with a camera. In defiance of some of the
delegation members, Senator Harkin courageously handed
over the pictures to Life magazine in order to better
educate the American public about U.S. involvement in
Vietnam.
I have been fortunate to witness first hand Senator
Harkin's passion for U.S. leadership in human rights
during our service together on the Senate Appropriations
Committee, where he has brought heightened attention to
the scourge of child labor and exploitation. I know this
is one particular issue on which Senator Harkin feels his
work has just begun, and I look forward to hearing of his
continued efforts on behalf of vulnerable children around
the world.
On a more personal note, I will miss competing with
Senator Harkin's office for the most staff participants in
the Everybody Wins! DC Reading Mentorship Program, a great
cause in which Senator Harkin has been involved in for the
last 16 years.
I join my colleagues in thanking Senator Harkin for his
dedicated service in the Senate and wish him all the best
in retirement.
Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the
accomplishments of the distinguished Senator from Iowa,
Tom Harkin, who is retiring this year.
Senator Harkin has served in the House and Senate for
nearly 40 years. During those 40 years he has been a
consistent and inspirational voice for the idea that
America should be a place where everyone can succeed.
Tom's life experiences shaped who he fought for and why.
His mother died when he was 10. His father never got
beyond the sixth grade and suffered from black lung
disease. He grew up in a tiny town in Iowa. He saw what
the New Deal, Social Security, and Medicare did for his
family and he saw government as a force that could lift
people up and give them hope.
Last week, during his farewell remarks to this body, he
said something that the progressives among us should take
to heart. He said:
I believe government must not be just an observant
bystander to life. It must be a force for good, for
lifting people up, for giving hope to the hopeless.
Under Tom Harkin's watch, government certainly has not
been a bystander.
One of his proudest accomplishments was gaining passage
of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Tom stood
with people with disabilities, one of the largest
minorities in the United States, to enact historic
legislation that changed the lives of millions of people.
I was proud to cosponsor and support the 2008 Americans
with Disabilities Amendments Act, which passed with
overwhelming bipartisan support. His commitment to
creating and expanding opportunities for those with
disabilities is a hallmark of his career.
Senator Harkin will also be remembered for his tireless
leadership as the chairman of the Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. As chairman he
worked to promote health care and education, fairness for
workers, equal rights, and, above all, the American dream.
He worked to fund those priorities for years on the
Appropriations Committee.
These are some of Tom's signature issues. But equally
important has been his work fighting injustice and human
rights violations across the globe.
As a young congressional staffer he traveled to Vietnam
and uncovered torture on Con Son Island, off of Vietnam.
There people were being held in ``tiger cages''--5 foot by
9 foot cells dug into the ground where three to five
people were held captive.
While he lost his staff job over the pictures he took,
he shed light on atrocities that too many others had
either ignored or covered up.
Tom's values and the results he has been able to achieve
have made him a powerful moral and progressive voice for
decades. Some of us were drawn to Tom during his
Presidential run in 1992. I was. As a Hawaii State
legislator, I supported the Senator from Iowa long before
I ever had the privilege of serving with him in the
Senate. In fact, when his bid for the Presidency ended,
some of us continued to support him, making buttons with a
slogan I coined: ``Harkin for the Heck of It!''
Tom Harkin has done much to help build the ladders of
opportunity that he so firmly believes is a big part of
what government should do. His work inspires us to
continue pushing to see that every individual in our
country has an opportunity to improve his or her life for
the better.
Last week in his farewell remarks, Tom noted that while
he is retiring from the Senate, he is not retiring from
``the fight.'' He also gave those of us who are still here
a list of unfinished business to continue the fight.
First, we have to do more to address income inequality
and restack the deck so that working people have
confidence that their government works on their behalf.
Second, we have to work on addressing climate change.
Third, we have to do more to give employment opportunities
to the disabled, and finally, we have to pass the U.N.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
These are all big fights. But it speaks to Tom's passion
for public service and improving access to opportunity
that in his farewell remarks, he would give us a list of
unfinished business.
I will miss him in the Senate. I am confident that Tom
Harkin will be a prominent voice in American society for
years to come.
Aloha Tom, a hui hou, or ``until we meet again.''
Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I wish to celebrate and thank
the 13 outgoing Senators who have worked tirelessly to
represent their home States in the Senate: Senator Mark
Begich, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Senator Tom Coburn,
Senator Kay Hagan, Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Mike
Johanns, Senator Tim Johnson, Senator Mary Landrieu,
Senator Carl Levin, Senator Mark Pryor, Senator Jay
Rockefeller, Senator Mark Udall, and Senator John Walsh.
I have worked side by side with these men and women for
years--some for decades--and witnessed first hand their
extraordinary commitment to public service and to the
people they so proudly represent.
Even when we didn't see eye to eye on every issue, I
always deeply respected and admired their service to our
Nation and their dedication to fight for what they believe
in.
It has been a privilege to serve alongside each and
every one of these extraordinary colleagues. I will miss
their leadership and their friendship, and I wish them all
the best as they embark on the next chapter.
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