Tom Harkin News

Although the big news out of the U.S. Senate over the weekend was that Democrats garnered enough votes to bring health care reform legislation to the floor for debate, something else that happened might have a more immediate impact on Iowa.

Health care reform backers won a key victory Saturday night as the Senate voted to move ahead with a floor debate on a sweeping $848 billion bill.

Senate Democrats will need to vote in lockstep to overcome GOP opposition to the $848 billion health care bill in a crucial vote Saturday that would move it to the floor for debate.

Posted on Nov 21, 2009 by Admin . U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, tells the media of his support for turning the Thomson Correctional Center in Thomson, Ill., into a federal prison that would hold terrorist detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Saturday, Nov.

Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, right, greets a crowd of supporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Nov.

Chiropractors get a lift in the Senate health care bill, thanks to a senator from the state practitioners consider the birthplace of their profession - Iowa.

A Senate Committee Wednesday unanimously approved a much-awaited overhaul of the nation's food safety laws, though it gave little hint of how it would pay for the sweeping but costly reform of the Food and Drug Administration's system for protecting much of what the nation eats and drinks.

In Washington, Senate Democrats say it's the last leg of the journey on health care reform.

Posted on Nov 19, 2009 by James Q. Lynch . The Obama administration is considering buying the Thomson Correctional Facility in rural northwestern Illinois, about 15 miles northeast of Clinton, Iowa, to house terrorism suspects from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Not only is U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin confident that the Senate Democratic Caucus will be able to block filibuster attempts on a health care reform bill, but he is looking forward to the jockeying that will come from both political parties once the bill is signed.

Americans may soon be able to enjoy their peanuts, peppers, spinach and cookie dough with greater confidence that those foods are safe to eat if the full Senate passes the food safety legislation that cleared a key committee today.

A Senate committee passed legislation Wednesday that would increase government oversight of the U.S. food supply, which has been battered by a series of high-profile recalls that have soured consumer confidence in the food safety system.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the $19 million improvement project at Guttenberg Municipal Hospital begins at 3:30 p.m. today at the hospital, 200 Main St.

Stephanie Rose's nomination for United States attorney in northern Iowa awaits a full vote in the Senate.

Many doctors face pressure to conceal workplace injuries - even if it means providing inadequate medical treatment, according to a new study by Congress' watchdog agency.

By THOMAS BEAUMONT * tbeaumont@dmreg.com * © 2009, Des Moines Register and Tribune Co.

Posted on Nov 12, 2009 by David DeWitte . Iowa-based emissions of the greenhouse gas most to blame for climate change grew at a much faster rate than the national average from 1990 to 2007, an environmental group said Thursday.

For years, congressmen from Iowa and other smaller, rural states attempting to rectify disparities in Medicare reimbursements to hospitals and physicians struggled to make themselves heard by congressmen from the larger, better-paid states.

David Plouffe, 2008 campaign manager for Barack Obama, will be back in Iowa today with two things on his agenda: Promoting his new book and having a beer at the Airliner bar in Iowa City.

Senator fears House-passed bill goes too far. By CHRISTINIA CRIPPES ccrippes@thehawkeye.com Pundits long have speculated the Senate's version of health reform will veer less from the status quo than its House counterpart.