Stories

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.

Harkin said he “can only hope” that Republicans who have opposed reform efforts will make the legislation a theme in their speeches on the campaign trail.

“I hope it is an issue next year,” he said.

With Iowa’s Tom Harkin taking up the late Ted Kennedy’s HELP Committee chairmanship in the U.S. Senate, an Arkansas lawmaker is taking the gavel of the Agriculture Committee. But Iowa’s two U.S. senators say that despite the shift, Iowa’s farming interests should remain well represented in the nation’s capital.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) faced a committee conundrum last week after news emerged that U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania) was defecting from the Republican Party and becoming a Democrat.
Specter’s switch would leave a vacancy in the Ranking Member position on the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Grassley, currently serving the last two years of his term [...]

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley sided with his fellow Republican lawmakers Thursday to prevent the Senate from considering a $14 billion emergency bailout passed by the House for U.S. automakers.

E-Verify, known as the Basic Pilot/Employment Eligibility Verification Program prior to 2007, was created along with two other pilot programs as a part of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and was originally an option for only the five states with the largest immigrant populations (California, Illinois, Florida, Texas and New [...]

Republican entrepreneur Steve Rathje has been busy gathering female supporters since early March when he announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Tom Harkin.
Bonnie Hall, member of the State Central Committee, has agreed to support the contender, who will likely face opposition in a Republican primary. Her support joins that of [...]