Analysis of Biography and Actions of Tom Harkin - Iowas Senator - Essay Example

Senator Tom Harkin Brief Biography Senator Tom Harkin is a democrat from Iowa representing the 5th district. Senator Harkin graduated from Iowa State University in government and economics in 1962 on a scholarship from ROTC, after which he served in the Navy for five years. After his active duty, he became a member of first the Ready Reserves, and then the Naval Reserves retiring in 1989 as a Commander. He graduated from The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law in 1972. In 1969, Harkin went to Vietnam as an aide to Democrat Congressman Neal Smith where he witnessed the ‘tiger cages’ (a cramped cage intended to leave the prisoner no room to move or get comfortable, depriving sleep and constant and increasing torture) at the Con Son island prison where he took pictures of abused and tortured prisoners which he allowed to be published in Life Magazine. The result of which was to bring to light the inhumane conditions within the prison, leading to the American public questioning their continued support of the South Vietnamese Government. Senator Harkin married his wife Ruth Raduenz in 1968 and they have two daughters and three grandchildren1 Congressman Harkin began his service as a member of the U. S. House of Representatives in 1974. Then years later, Congressman Harkin became Senator Harkin and has the distinction of being the first Senator elected to a fifth term in Iowa. One of his more interesting and innovating achievements is the creation of a ’mobile office’ which is run from a van from which he travels through 99 counties each year to bring his congressional services to his constituents. One of his first achievements was through Senator Ted Kennedy who approached Senator Harkin to draft a bill in relationship to the rights of those with physical and mental challenges. Because Senator Harkin’s brother, Frank, had been deaf from birth, Senator Harkin was tapped as being sensitive to the needs and issues faced by those with physical and mental challenges, and the result was The Americans with Disabilities Act. This legislation revolutionized the accessibility afforded to those with challenges through requirements for public buildings and requirements for public transportation and employment accommodations.2 Congressional Interests The types of concerns that Senator Harkin has supported have been to endorse the needs and address the concerns of the American public. Senator Harkin has been active in promoting health and health care initiatives, his belief system centered on a concept he terms ’well-care’, which he believes is in contrast to the current system which treats people after they become sick. In addressing health throughout one’s life, the prevention of a great many health problems could be avoided, not only saving lives, but saving money in the costs of treatments. He has worked to increase the budgets for research on cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s, along with working to reverse the position that President Bush held on embryonic stem-cell research. Education has been another great concern for Senator Harkin as he has “worked to reduce class size, give students better computer and internet access, expand school counseling and safety programs and inprove teacher training”.3 Additionally, Senator Harkin has had interests in agricultural issues, promoting efficiency in energy use and conservation for continued agricultural benefit. Senator Harkin is considered a moderate and has served as chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, with serving as Member Ex Officio for the subcommittees on Children and Families; Employment and Work Safety; and Retirement and Aging. He has served on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, with membership on the subcommittees on Hunger, Nutrition, and Family Farms; Production, Income Protection, and Price Support; and Rural Revitalization. He has also served on Senate Committee on Appropriations, with membership on the subcommittees for the Departments of Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies; Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Department of Defense; Energy and Water Development; State Foreign Operations and Related Programs; Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies; and Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.4 Senator Harkin has had the greatest contributions to his campaign from a business resource by the company Herbalife, a company that sells nutritional supplements, skin care, and weight loss products. From 1989 to 2010, the company has contributed $137,916 to his campaign. Senator Harkin has 58% of his donations from individuals, 18% from PAC contributions, 24% from other resources, contributing no personal funds to his campaigns.5 Budget Stimulation Five options for budget stimulation are to increase the income tax on those making more than $200,000 a year, increase the gas tax from 18.4 cents to 30 cents per gallon, reduce military spending by 10%, eliminate subsidies for Amtrak, or decrease price supports for agriculture by 20%. The following breakdowns will act as predicting terms from which it is likely that Senator Harkin will vote, with the predetermined concept that three must pass. Increase the income tax on those making more than $200,000 a year Accept. Of the five options, this is the most likely candidate for support. As a supporter for President Obama, one of the primary thrusts of his campaign was to center tax increases on the upper middle class and the upper class, leaving those with less without suffering under heavier taxes. His record shows that he is a proponent of supporting the lower middle class and the lower class, his support of the ’underdog’ relevant to his primary thrusts and activism. He speaks for those who cannot as easily speak for themselves, such as children through education, the physically and mentally challenged, and through support for research for diseases that are ravaging the lives of those afflicted. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that he would forego raising taxes on those who are financially struggling in favor of raising them on those who can afford to give a bit more. Increase the gas tax from 18.4 cents to 30 cents per gallon Accept. This option for budget stimulation would have the opposite affect. The only reason for choosing to accept this option is that three options must be chosen for acceptance. This option would not seem to be something Senator Harkin would willingly favor as the people that it would hurt most would be those who use gas in order to support their economic survival. This would raise the prices on the transportation of all goods, thus raising prices on all goods within the stores. The only saving grace that this would have is that it would reduce leisure expenditures on gasoline. His ’Mobile Office’ was converted to run on ethanol, thus supporting a position on conservation of both oil and of the environment. Senator Harkin has spent a great deal of time supporting energy related programs, including energy efficiency for Iowa K-12 schools and the appropriation of funds for research on wind energy for Western Iowa Tech Community College. Conservation of waterways and wildlife shows that he has an interesting conserving the natural world, thus decreasing the use of gas through economic pressures of an increase in taxation would not be completely outside of his political platform. It is only through the impact on the middle and lower class consumer that hesitation would be felt in voting for this increase, although that is not an insignificant impact to consider. Reduce military spending by 10% Decline. Based solely upon Senator Harkin’s military career, it is unlikely that he would promote reductions in military spending. Based upon his recent support of different programs, that belief is supported. Senator Harkin has recently supported requests for construction within the military. Due to these recent requests for upgrades at different military installations, it is unlikely that Senator Harkin would then turn around and agree to a 10% decrease in military spending. As a staunch supporter of the military, overall defense spending which included items outside of the military, such as weapons manufacture and so forth, would more likely be supported before a decrease in spending on the military would be considered. In other words, aspects of defense on the whole might be considered before a uniform cut on military spending would be considered. Because he has currently supporting construction for the benefit of Des Moines Air National Guard and the Johnston Iowa Army National Guard totally more than $29 million dollars, it is unlikely this type of cut could be justified for a positive vote.6 Eliminate subsidies for Amtrak Accept. Once again, this would be accepted based upon a lack of other appropriate choices that would be easier to support. Amtrak has declined as a mode of transportation as the costs money against the time spent on a train do not usually justify dismissing air travel in the eyes of most travelers. While railway travel is a long standing form of transportation, it does not justify subsidies that take from the overall tax paying community for the benefit of the select few who travel by Amtrak or those employees who benefit from such subsidies. It is unlikely that this type of cut would find a lot of reasonable opposition as railway travel has been in a decline. According to Dixon and Gorecki, there is a savings of about 1/3 for those riding in trains as opposed to cars. Nostalgia is the reason that Amtrak continues to run, which is not enough of an excuse to continue the subsidies. US trains run slow, and thus have no competitive edge with other forms of transportation. There is a high amount of energy savings with freight when compared to truck transport, but this same savings and efficiency does not translate, at this time to passenger trains.7 Decrease price supports for agriculture by 20% Decline. As Iowa is a state that is agriculturally centered for industry, it is highly unlikely that any cuts in price supports for agriculture would be supported by Senator Harkin as this would adversely affect one of his primary centers of interest for his state. Senator Harkin has a long history of working for the benefit of the farming industry, thus any support for this kind of a cut would not be within the parameters of the history of his service in Congress. Once again, individual forms of cuts might be considered long before an overall 20% cut would be considered. References Dixon, P., & Gorecki, J. (2010). Sustainability: How smart innovation and Agile companies will help protect our future. London: Kogan Page. Govtrack. (2011). Tom Harkin. Civic Impulse, LLC. Retrieved from http://www.govtrack.us/con gress/person.xpd?id=300051 Opensecrets.org. Tom Harkin. The Center for Responsive Politics. Retrieved from http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00004207&cycle=Career Tom Harkin, Iowa’s Senator. Retrieved from http://harkin.senate.gov/abouttom.cfm Read More