Senator Tom Harkin
By Keghan
Tom Harkin
Tom worked with Polk County Legal Aid, assisting low income lowans who could not afford legal help. In 1984, after serving 10 years in the U.S. House of Representative, Tom challenged an incumbent senator and won. In 1974, Tom was elected to Congressional District.
Rather than treating people once they get sick, he believes that we should remove the barriers to a healthy lifestyle, reduce chronic diaereses and rein the high cost of health care, creating a "Wellness society" in America. As the chair of the senate subcommittee that funds education, Tom has fought to improve education in Iowa and across the country.
Tom harkin was born in Cumming Iowa (pop. 150) on Nov. 19, 1939, the son of an Iowa coal miner father and a Slovenian immigrant mother. In 1968 Tom married Ruth Raduenz. the daughter of a farmer and a school teacher from Mn.
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.
Tom went to WA., in 1969 to join the staff of Iowa Congressman Neal Smith.
Second, as a member for the senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, he crafted the prevention and wellness title of the health reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Tom's dedication to agriculture dates back to 1975 when he first came to Congress and became a member of the Agriculture Committee.
tom and Ruth have two daughters, Amy and Jenny, and three grandchildren.
Ruth Harkin currently serves on the Iowa Board of Regents, responsible for leading Iowa's public universities.
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.
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.