Tom Harkin
Thomas Richard "Tom" Harkin (born
November 19,
1939) is the junior
United States Senator from
Iowa. He is a member of the
Democratic Party. He is currently serving as the Ranking Minority Member of the
U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Harkin was born in
Cumming, Iowa. His father was a
coal miner and his mother was a
Slovenian immigrant who died when he was 10. Harkin graduated from
Iowa State University in
1962 and received his
Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from
The Catholic University of America's
Columbus School of Law in
1972. He served in the
United States Navy from
1962â€"
1967. Harkin was stationed at
Atsugi Naval Air Station in
Japan, where he ferried damaged aircraft to and from the airbase. He was also stationed for a time at
Guantanamo Bay, where he flew missions in support of
U-2 planes reconnoitering
Cuba.
Harkin was an aide to Democratic Congressman
Neal Smith, when he accompanied a congressional delegation that went to South Vietnam in
1970. Harkin published photographs he took during the trip and a detailed account of "
tiger cages" at
Con Son Island prison in
Life Magazine on
July 17,
1970. The account exposed shocking, inhuman conditions which prisoners endured.
|
Sen. Tom Harkin speaks at a rally held by the Coalition for the Advancement of Stem Cell Research. |
Harkin was an attorney before being elected to the
United States House of Representatives in
1974, and was reelected in
1976,
1978,
1980, and
1982. In
1984, Harkin was elected to the United States Senate from Iowa and was reelected in
1990,
1996 and
2002.
Harkin ran for
President in
1992 as a
populist with
labor union support who railed against
"George Herbert Walker Bush" for being out of touch with working class Americans. Harkin was an early favorite in a small field of five candidates, but many felt that Harkin's liberalism was too shrill and old fashioned and that he would be a certain loser in the General Election. Harkin won the
Iowa caucus and those in
Idaho and
Minnesota (with help from
Senator Paul Wellstone), but he ran poorly in
New Hampshire and other primaries and ultimately lost the Democratic Party nomination to Governor
Bill Clinton of
Arkansas. Harkin was the first Democratic primary contender to drop-out and throw his support behind Clintonâ€"a favor that led to a close relationship throughout the Clinton presidency.
Harkin is perhaps best known as an advocate for people with disabilities. In
1990, he wrote and was the chief sponsor of the landmark
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the nation's first comprehensive
civil rights law for people with disabilities. Signed into law by President
George H. W. Bush, the sweeping legislation prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, in public services, and in public accommodations.
During his political career, Harkin has generally supported legalized
abortion. He has opposed most efforts to place legal restrictions on abortion, including voting against a ban on
partial birth abortion, while supporting contraception and education to reduce teen pregnancy. As of
2003, Harkin received a 100% rating from NARAL, the
pro-choice advocacy organization. [
1]
Senator Harkin is also a staunch supporter of
Israel. He is a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, which appropriates about $2 billion annually for military financing for Israel. In the Senate, he is the third-largest career recipient of pro-Israel
Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions.[
2]
Along with
California Senator
Barbara Boxer, Harkin is one of only two Senate Democrats to come out in favor of
Wisconsin Senator
Russ Feingold's resolution to
censure President
George W. Bush.
In May 2006 Harkin voted in favor of
Senate Bill 2611, also known as the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. Among the bill's many provisions, it would increase the number of
H1B visas, increase security along the southern
United States border with
Mexico, allow long-time
illegal immigrants to gain citizenship with some restrictions, and increase the number of guest workers over and above those already present in the U.S. through a new "blue card" visa program. [
3]
|
Sen. Tom Harkin holds a press conference regarding legislation to improve healthy eating habits. |
Harkin has come out in favor of stem cell research. In July of
2006, Harkin made a speech from the Senate floor in response to
George W. Bush's veto of the embryonic
stem cell research federal funding bill. His remarks were later criticized as "Catholic baiting" by the
Catholic League. [
4]
Senator Harkin married Minnesota native Ruth Raduenz in 1968 and has two daughters: Amy, born in 1976, and Jenny, born in 1981.
Ruth Harkin is an attorney and was one of the first women in the United States to be elected as a prosecutor when, in 1972, she was elected to the office of county attorney of
Story County, Iowa. She served as a deputy counsel for the
US Department of Agriculture before joining the Washington lobbying firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP in 1983. In 1993, President Bill Clinton named her chairman and chief executive officer of the
Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Ruth Harkin left the government and became
United Technologies' senior vice president for international affairs and government relations in April 1997, leading their Washington DC office. In 2002, Mrs. Harkin became a director of
ConocoPhillips. Mrs. Harkin currently sits on the Iowa Board of Regents, the body responsible for overseeing the state's public universities.
Their daughter Amy appeared on the
NBC daytime reality series
Starting Over from
2003â€"
2004. Although Harkin never appeared on the show, his voice was heard when his daughter spoke to him on the phone.
In 2002, Senator Harkin gave a nationally televised and controversial
eulogy for Senator
Paul Wellstone, a close ally in the Senate who perished in a plane crash 11 days before his potential re-election. In the eulogy, Harkin urged the crowd to "stand up for Paul" and talked about "passing on Paul's legacy" and to win the 2002 Senate election "For Paul" â€" statements that drew loud cheers and were interpreted by some as overt political references and inappropriate for a funeral service. Others argued that the criticism of Harkin and others was invalid or intentionally overblown and was a ploy to generate sympathy for Wellstone's opponent, Norm Coleman, who was also in attendance.
While running for his Senate seat in 1984, and again while running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992, Harkin has faced criticism for claiming that he had flown combat missions over
North Vietnam. In a 1979 round table discussion with other Congressional Veterans, Harkin said of his service as a Navy pilot: "One year was in Vietnam. I was flying F-4s and F-8s on combat air patrols and photo-reconnaissance support missions." These comments were later published in a 1981 book by
David Broder. After subsequent inquiries by
Barry Goldwater and
The Wall Street Journal, Harkin clarified that that he had been stationed in Japan and sometimes flew recently repaired aircraft on test missions over Vietnam. His service flying F-4s and F-8s was later, while he was stationed in Cuba. [
5]
In June 2001, the
Des Moines Register reported that Senator Harkin had "inadvertently omitted" to list $200,000 in Conoco stock owned by his wife Ruth and some $15,000 owned by their daughter Amy on his Senate financial statement.
In 2003/2004 Harkin remained neutral in the race for the Democratic race for president, until 11 days before the
Iowa caucus, when he endorsed
Vermont Governor
Howard Dean. Dean was then considered the front runner, but his supported plummeted in the final week and he finished a weak third, twenty points behind the winner
John Kerry. Harkin stood behind Dean as the Governor delivered his now famous "Scream" speech on the night of his defeat. Some criticized Harkin for jumping on the Dean bandwagon while he admitted to some that
Missouri Congressman
Richard Gephardt was actually his favorite candidate. Harkin soon distanced himself from Dean and urged him to drop out of the race. It was noted that Harkin was not on Kerry's vice presidential consideration list, while Iowa Governor
Tom Vilsack was. Harkin can no longer claim that "every candidate I have endorsed has won the Iowa caucus," a dubious claim anyway considering the fact that Harkin remained neutral in 1988 when Gephardt won.
*Harkin, Tom and Thomas, C. E.
Five Minutes to Midnight: Why the Nuclear Threat Is Growing Faster Than Ever, Carol Publishing Corporation, 1990. ISBN 1559720425
*
Official website*
Congressional biography*Information from
Project Vote Smart**
Project Vote Smart biography**
Campaign finances**
Issue positions**
Voting record*
"Harkin Staff Makes Changes To Wikipedia Bio"*
record maintained by the Washington Post
