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Hi I'm senator Tom Harkin
This weekend from my home in ***
I made an important announcement regarding my plans for the future.
I announced that I will not seek a sixth term in the United States Senate
Now this was a decision I weighed heavily
as a result i believe is in the best interest of iowans
and our state
and my wife ruth and me
it boils down to do things
i'm going to fulfill a promise that i made to my wife ruth and that i also
made a myself
is a promise that we're gonna do certain things together
we're going to live together in a way that we've often talked about
before gets too late
uh... that's a decision that i believe many iowans can relate to
now both ruth and i have been blessed with good health so far
i've been extremely fortunate
i was born in a small house incoming where i still live
in modest circumstances
my father was a coal miner
just had a sixth grade education
my mother ride in this country as an immigrant with virtually no briefly
possessions
highway in this country have allowed me to enjoy life in a career beyond
anything i could ever imagine as a boyer a young man
secondly i'm seventy three years old right now
meant the end of this term all be seventy five
when the current congress is over i will serve in the united states house of
representatives and the u_s_ senate for a total of forty years
well after forty years i just feel that it somebody else's term
over the next two years in congress over i'm going to continue to advance a
policy agenda
that benefits
bio and the nation
by moving forward with bills to ensure that all americans are able to achieve
the promise of a quality education
we must invest more
in early childhood education
amid work i'm going to be working hard to significantly increased employment
of people with disabilities
in order to continue to fill fulfill the promise of the americans with
disabilities act
i'm also going to be advancing my proposal of a new type of pension plan
u_s_a_ retirement fund
to provide americans with a secure source of retirement income for life
and i'm going to
use the chairmanship of the health education their intentions committee to
ensure the successful implementation
of the affordable care act
for all americans
and as an appropriate ernest tier of the appropriations subcommittee that funds
health and
education and labor
i'm going to work to ensure that these initiatives have the funding necessary
for implementation
including the national institutes of health
and the national senator
for disease control and prevention
so too i continue to advance farm policy that improves and strengthens first of
all the conservation program i started in the two thousand two farm bill
and to continue to secure healthier food for school lunch in school breakfast
program
and i will continue
to work hard to expand farmers markets and increase local production and
marketing of food
of course the strong constituent service that my staff is known for will continue
throughout the next two years
just last november we log are one hundred
thousand constituent case
a milestone they could not have been possible
without the trust i was a place in my office
so i urge all i was to continue to seek our help if necessary
and i would be remiss if i did not close on a note of gratitude
too many staff who have worked in my office over the years
was their dedication
and hard work
that made so many accomplishments possible
i think aitken everyone
of my staff members who have
worked in this office over the years
and i can't put into words what an honor it is to survival and our nation
now i'm not saying goodbye
i'm going to work very hard during this congress for the next two years
but i am stepping aside in two years
for someone new in the senate seat