25+ Tom Harkin Quotes On Education, Culture And Shrek

Tom Harkin is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He was known for his advocacy of progressive causes, including the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Tom Harkin on leadership, love, education.

Top 10 Tom Harkin Quotes

1. If we are serious about combating the childhood obesity epidemic and improving child nutrition, then everyone must chip in -- parents, schools, and yes even Congress.
2. America's health care system is in crisis precisely because we systematically neglect wellness and prevention.
3. Stem cell research holds enormous promise for easing human suffering, and federal support is critical to its success.
4. There is no such thing as a pro-nuclear environmentalist.
5. While President Bush's tax give-aways for the rich are pushing us further into debt, he compensates by increasing the out-of-pocket costs to our veterans.
6. The Gulf War was like teenage sex. We got in too soon and out too soon.
7. You [the Gallaudet students] have brought the deaf community together.... You are my heroes.
8. The President must stop gambling with taxpayers' money and get the country back on the path of fiscal sanity.
9. When I campaigned, I'd let them throw a punch, but by gosh, I'd throw two back. I always said, the first rule in politics is never defend, always attack. I still believe that.
10. That signal's come and gone a lot in my life-time, that prairie progressivism died . I think prairie progressivism is still there. Every once in a while, odd things take place.

Tom Harkin Short Quotes

• I've always been for immigration reform; in 2007 I just didn't feel it had enough protections.
• Politics is like driving. To go backward put it in R. To go forward put it in D.
• Prions are highly indestructible.

Tom Harkin Quotes About Care

Let's face it, in America today we don't have a health care system, we have a sick care system. We wait until people become obese, develop chronic diseases, or become disabled - and then we spend untold hundreds of billions annually to try to make them better. — Tom Harkin

Today, only two groups in the United States have total immunity from lawsuits: foreign diplomats and HMOs. We believe it's time to end diplomatic immunity for HMOs. Holding them accountable is the only way to guarantee that you get the health care your family deserves. — Tom Harkin

Let's face it, in America today we don't have a health care system, we have a sick care system. — Tom Harkin

Tom Harkin Famous Quotes And Sayings

Obesity now contributes to the death of more than 360,000 Americans a year. The incidence of childhood obesity is now at epidemic levels. Alarm bells are going off all over the place. But our government has done virtually nothing. — Tom Harkin

I don't know if there's any secret recipe. Just a lot of hard work. Pay attention to your constituents. I always had a great Iowa staff that did all my great constituent service work. And I found that people would forgive me for a lot of my "liberal sins" because I paid attention to the home front. — Tom Harkin

[A]s we celebrate 75 years of the minimum wage, we must also recognize that it is no longer achieving its potential impact in our economy or for America's working families. Every American deserves the chance to build a better life for his or her family - and raising the minimum wage will provide that opportunity. — Tom Harkin

There's no one silver bullet, but money really is the root of all evil. The single biggest problem is how much more money is flooding into politics these days. It not only tends to enable a more extreme candidate to get elected, but because so much money is required to bankroll a campaign, everyone spends all their free time fundraising instead of reaching across the aisle. — Tom Harkin

I think the American people said, look, you know, we can't control what every government does to its people, but we shouldn't be aiding and assisting a government in having these kinds of repressive prisons. It added to the public outcry against our involvement in Vietnam. — Tom Harkin

I am a Democrat and I love my party and I want them to have good policies and good candidates, so I hope to be supportive in some way, but I don't intend to be any kind of 'godfather' or something like that. — Tom Harkin

A lot of times, candidates for office, especially incumbents, seem to get drawn into their opponents' arguments, and fighting on their turf, because you want to defend yourself. That's wrong. Fight on your own turf. Make them come to you. Make them explain why they don't agree with your position. I think that a lot of times, too many liberals, progressives, lose because they're afraid to really stand up for what they believe in. — Tom Harkin

When I first arrived to Congress in 1975, I would spend several hours every week with Republicans - having lunch, drinking a beer. But by the time I left last year, that was a rarity. Every moment of free time is eaten up by fundraising. And the advent of all these groups that can threaten passage of this or that with an avalanche of money or a primary opponent has poisoned our politics. — Tom Harkin

When those pictures of Abu Ghraib came out, I thought, my gosh, this is like the tiger cages for prisoners in Vietnam all over again. Only we were actually doing it ourselves, we weren't hiring another government to do it. — Tom Harkin

Life Lessons by Tom Harkin

1. Tom Harkin taught us the importance of fighting for what you believe in and standing up for those who are disadvantaged.
2. He showed us that even when the odds are against you, hard work and dedication can still make a difference.
3. He was a champion for the disabled, the elderly, and the working class, and his legacy serves as an example of how we can all work together to make a better world.