Biographical Profile for Tom Harkin
| Currently Elected United States Senator, Iowa |
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General: (political statement of goals, objectives, views, philosophies)
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Tom Harkin is a product of small town Iowa who has not forgotten his origins. He is a fourth generation Iowan, a father of two, a Navy veteran, and a graduate of Iowa State University. Growing up, the Harkin children learned well the importance of family, community, responsibility, and hard work. Tom puts those lessons to work for Iowa. He has earned a reputation for giving a voice to those too often overlooked in Washington: working families, women, people with disabilities, children, students, seniors, family farmers, and small business owners. In Congress, Tom is a recognized leader in areas including education, health care and agriculture.
As chair and now ranking Democrat of the Senate education funding subcommittee, Tom has led efforts to improve education. He has worked to reduce class size, to give students better computer and Internet access, expand school counseling and other school safety programs, and improve teacher training. Tom has taken the lead in pushing to modernize America's crumbling schools. He secured funding for the "Harkin Grants" for the modernization and repair of Iowa's public schools. Tom is now promoting legislation that builds on the Iowa program to provide all children in our nation safe, modern school facilities conducive to world-class learning.
Tom is also a long-time leader in the fight to improve health care. As co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, he's successfully pushed legislation to bring health professionals to small towns and rural areas. As ranking Democrat on the Senate panel that funds most health programs, he's guided efforts to focus more on prevention and early intervention as a means of reducing costs and improving quality. Along with Republican Senator Arlen Specter, Tom has led the effort to double medical research funding to speed up cures for killers like cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's. He's put particular emphasis on women's health, doubling funding for breast cancer research and launchin [Response was truncated to maximum response length of 2000 characters.]
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Personal: (gender, age, marital status, spouse's name and age, children's name and
ages, home town, current residence)
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Tom Harkin was born November 19, 1939 to a coal miner father and a Slovenian immigrant mother in Cumming, Iowa. 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.
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Education: (times and places of schools, colleges, major, degrees, activities, sports)
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After graduation from Dowling High School in Des Moines, he attended Iowa State University on a Navy ROTC scholarship. He earned his degree at ISU in Government and Economics. In 1972, Tom graduated from Catholic University of America Law School in Washington, D.C.
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Profession: (profession and work experience outside politics)
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Tom worked various jobs through his youth, on farms, as a paper boy, on construction sites, and at a Des Moines bottling plant.
Tom first came to Washington, D.C. in 1969 to join the staff of Iowa Congressman Neal Smith.
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Military: (branch, years of service, active duty experience, highest rank, medals,
honors, discharge date and type)
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Tom joined the Navy where he served as a jet pilot on active duty from 1962 to 1967 and afterwards continued to fly in the Naval Reserves. He is an active member of American Legion Post 562 in Cumming. After graduating from Law School Tom worked as an attorney with the Polk County Legal Aid, assisting Iowans who could not otherwise afford legal help.
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Civic: (past and present organizations, charities involvement)
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Tom pioneered the use of "Work Days" in Iowa, days spent on the job working alongside fellow Iowans to gain both practical experience and a hands-on understanding of Iowa's needs. He has worked as a cop on the beat, school teacher, farmer, bricklayer, nurse's aide, and construction worker. Tom worked with Polk County Legal Aid, assisting low-income Iowans who could not afford legal help.
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Political: (dates and titles of previously held political offices)
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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.
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Religion: (current and past religious affiliations, beliefs)
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Roman Catholic.
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Accomplishments: (significant accomplishments, awards, achievements)
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Harkin authored the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, the landmark legislation that protects the civil rights of more than 54 million Americans with physical and mental disabilities. He's also led efforts to improve educational opportunities for children with disabilities.
A lifelong advocate for America's family farms and rural communities, Tom Harkin has risen to be Chairman, and now ranking Democrat, of the Senate Agriculture Nutrition and Forestry Committee. As co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, he's successfully pushed legislation to bring health professionals to small towns and rural areas. As ranking Democrat on the Senate panel that funds most health programs, he's guided efforts to focus more on prevention and early intervention as a means of reducing costs and improving quality.
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