Tom Harkin
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Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is the junior United States Senator from Iowa. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Harkin was born in Cumming, Iowa. His father was a coal miner and his mother was a Slovenian immigrant who died when he was 10. Harkin graduated from Iowa State University in 1962 and from Catholic University of America Law School in 1972. He served in the United States Navy from 1962-1967. Harkin was stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station in Japan, where he ferried damaged aircraft to and from the airbase, and at Guantanamo Bay, where he flew missions in support of U-2 planes reconnoitering Cuba.
Harkin was an aide to Democratic Congressman Neal Smith, when he accompanied a congressional delegation that went to South Vietnam in 1970. Harkin published photographs he took during the trip and a detailed account of "tiger cages" at Con Son Island Prison in Life Magazine on July 17, 1970. The account exposed shocking, inhuman conditions prisoners were forced to endure.
Harkin was an attorney before being elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1974, and was reelected in 1976, 1978, 1980, and 1982. In 1984, Harkin was elected to the United States Senate from Iowa and was reelected in 1990, 1996 and 2002. He is often noted for his liberal views and, in particular, his interest in consumer advocacy.
Senator Harkin is a staunch supporter of Israel. He is a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, which appropriates about $2 billion annually for Military financing for Israel. In the Senate, he is the second largest career recipient of pro-Israel Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions.
He ran for President in 1992 and won the Iowa caucus, but ultimately lost the Democratic Party nomination to Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas.
In 1979 Harkin claimed to have flown combat air patrols in Vietnam during his Navy service. In 1991, during the run-up to the presidential primary season, a review of his military records revealed these claims to be false.
Harkin's daughter Amy appeared on the NBC daytime reality series Starting Over from 2003-2004.
External links
- Official website (http://harkin.senate.gov/)
- Congressional Biography (http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000206)
| Preceded by: William J. Scherle | U.S. Representative for Iowa's 5th Congressional District 1975-1983 | Succeeded by: Jim Ross Lightfoot |
| Preceded by: Roger W. Jepsen | U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Iowa 1985- | Succeeded by: Incumbent Template:End box Template:IA-FedRep Template:Current U.S. Senators |