Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin thinks the constant gridlock on Capitol Hill gives the White House too much power.
The outgoing Democratic senator is critical of how lawmakers fail to compromise with one another, he said in an interview with PBS after his 37th and final “Harkin Steak Fry.”
“The less we do and the less we’re involved in that legislative process, the more and more power and decision-making devolves to the president of the United States. I don’t think that’s healthy in the long run for either side,” he said.
Harkin, who has been a senator for 30 years and was in the House for 10 years before that, noted how much has changed since his beginning years in Congress.
“There was a lot more collegiality. It’s gotten a little hard-edged now, and that’s just too bad,” Harkin said.
The popular Democrat — whose steak fry is a key early stop for Democrats hoping to build political support in the key presidential state — will finish his time in Congress in 2015.
