Last week, Congressman Bruce Braley and I led a bipartisan effort of the Iowa delegation, in asking for the National Guard to have a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates making the request.

On April 21, Mr. Harkin issued the following floor statement:

Mr. President, tomorrow is Fair Pay Day, the day that symbolizes how far into the year a woman must work, on average, to earn as much as a man earned during the previous year.

It is unbelievable to me that, more than four decades after passage of the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act, women are still making only 77 cents, on average, for every dollar a man makes. In my State of Iowa, the wage gap is even worse. The Iowa Workforce Development agency found that, across all industries, women in Iowa make less than 62 percent of what men make.

Mr. President, discrimination takes many forms. Sometimes discrimination is brazen and in-you-face, like with Jim Crow and apartheid. And sometimes discrimination is silent and insidious. This is exactly what is happening, today, in workplaces across America.

Millions of female-dominated jobs – social workers, teachers, child-care workers, nurses, and so many more – are equivalent to male-dominate jobs. But they pay dramatically less.

The Associated Press reported yesterday the introduction of legislation requiring the Veterans Administration to track veteran suicides.

Currently, the VA record suicides and suicide attempts in VA facilities, but do not track how many veterans commit suicide each year outside of those facilities.

VA records show that the number of veterans who kill themselves in VA facilities increased from 492 in 2000 to 790 in 2007.

Washington, DC—Senator Tom Harkin released the following statement today after attending a special ceremony at the White House to welcome Pope Benedict XVI to the United States:

“I was humbled to have the unique honor of welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to the United States for his first Papal visit. I was struck by the timeliness of his Holiness’s message of global solidarity and diplomacy and his call to maintain our commitment to those who are less fortunate. I hope that Pope Benedict’s visit will inspire Americans of all faiths to renew their commitment to the common good.”

Earlier today the Senate-House conference committee on the farm bill, approved three major titles of the bill: credit, research and trade. Staff for committee members continues to work through a few remaining issues in each title, which are expected to be resolved.

Senator Harkin said of the development:

“The farm bill conference committee continues to work toward completion of this farm bill,” said Harkin. “The adoption of these three titles moves toward our overall goal of passing a strong, national bill. These are critical investments that will bring funding and good policy for agriculture research, international food aid and support for beginning farmers to meet needs in agriculture and the changing economy.”

Yesterday, Senator Tom Harkin issued the following statement after General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker testified before Congress

“I, along with millions of Americans, waited today to hear General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker propose a clear strategy for our nation’s mission in Iraq – something we have been waiting to hear from this Administration for years. Unfortunately, we heard more of the same.”

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