PRESS RELEASE
SENATOR HARKIN BECOMES
NEW HEALTH COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
September 13, 2009
Following the death of Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has just been appointed the new Chairman of the all-important Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the United States Senate.
The Senate HELP Committee oversees most of the agencies, institutes, and programs of the Department of Health and Human Services, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health, the Administration on Aging, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The Committee also oversees public-health and health-insurance statutes to address emerging threats and changing patterns in the healthcare industry. (See http://help.senate.gov/Health_index.html)
Harkin is considered to be an old-fashioned progressive whose views and philosophy are not unlike Kennedy's. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the decision was based on simple seniority. Harkin is a supporter of the White House proposal to offer a government insurance option and was a perfect fit for the job. As a senior member of the HELP committee, Harkin helped Kennedy draft the Committee's bill known as the Affordable Health Choices Act. Harkin was, however, a strong supporter of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA).
NHF Lobbyist Lee Bechtel notes, though, "Before people rejoice, taking the Chairmanship of the HELP committee does not assure that Harkin will wholeheartedly champion health-freedom issues. However, as one of the original authors of the DSHEA law, and one responsible for creation of NCCAM, and a sponsor of Access to Medical Treatment legislation, in the past, it is safe to say that he is personally sympathetic to our issues vis-à-vis the FDA. Committee staff are a different issue."
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As the oldest and best-respected health-freedom group on Capitol Hill, the NHF continues to be the credible source of objective assessment of, and proactive actions on, Congressional legislation and FDA matters that have material impact upon our freedom-of-health choices and access to dietary supplements and nutritional foods.********************
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National Health Federation: Established in 1955, the National Health Federation is a consumer-education, health-freedom organization working to protect individuals' rights to choose to consume healthy food, take supplements and use alternative therapies without unnecessary government restrictions. The NHF is the only such organization with recognized observer-delegate status at Codex meetings. www.thenhf.com
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