DSHEA turns 30: Tom Harkin discusses legislative milestone, future of supplement industry

MANDALAY BAY, LAS VEGAS—Former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin spoke at SupplySide West on Oct. 29 as part of a session commemorating the 30th anniversary of the passing of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act in 1994 (DSHEA).

The Iowa Democrat shared stories from the hectic buildup to the bill’s final vote and his vision of what the supplement industry needs to face the challenges of the future.

Harkin, who was among the most prominent champions of DSHEA, called the law a “great success” that has lived up to his expectations in allowing citizens to take control over their health choices. Harkin and the late Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) are credited for vigorously advocating for DSHEA and getting it across the finish line.

“What DSHEA has done is to empower healthy behaviors and healthier lifestyles,” he said. “This anniversary is a proud moment for me.”

‘This affected my own life’

Harkin shared how a combination of personal and political circumstances led him to be an ideal choice to shepherd DSHEA through Congress.

He had been a vocal advocate of supplements since the mid-1980s, after taking bee pollen had helped him control his allergies. Then, in 1992, Harkin spearheaded the creation of the Office of Alternative Medicine (today the Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) at the National Institutes of Health, and helped get it crucial early funding. But not everybody was thrilled about this achievement.

Related:FDA official cites complexity of marketplace after 30 years of DSHEA

“The allopathic medical community landed on me like a ton of bricks,” Harkin recalled.

As calls for natural product regulation grew louder, Harkin found allies in both natural health industry leaders and the millions of Americans who wanted to make proactive health choices. The law they envisioned would preserve this ability and allow companies to keep pace with consumers’ ever-changing health needs.

“I’ve often said that DSHEA represents my fundamental belief, going way back, that in American we have a ‘sick care’ system, not a ‘health care’ system,” Harkin remarked. “In America, it’s easy to be unhealthy and hard to be healthy. It ought to be the other way around.”

‘People in the industry never gave up’

The fledgling bill faced powerful opposition from the start. But Harkin said DSHEA was a perfect example of “how you get things done” in Washington — with trade organizations setting competition aside and working with legislators.

“They were just great friends, great leaders, people who really put their shoulder to it to get this job done,” Harkin recalled of the natural products trade leaders with whom he worked. “DSHEA faced really fierce opposition. But people in the industry never gave up.”

Just as crucially, millions of Americans let their leaders know just how important this issue was to them.

“Consumers continued to flood Congress with letters and phone calls,” the former U.S. senator recalled. “Consumers would show up at their town meetings, and this would be a big issue at all of our town hall meetings.”

Even with all that support, DSHEA may not have stood a chance if not for one circumstance: Harkin’s position as head of the health subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. This gave him a crucial bargaining chip with the bill’s many opponents.

“I was on the health committee,” he recollected. “(Sen. Ted) Kennedy was the chair. He was not in favor of (DSHEA), but he had to come to me for appropriations for the things he wanted for health care. It’s always nice to have the purse strings. And so we worked it out.”

Peter Reinecke, who served as legislative director and chief of staff to Harkin, told SupplySide Supplement Journal (formerly known as Natural Products Insider) that his former boss was chair of the health subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee for over 20 years. Reinecke said Harkin also had experience for years chairing the Agriculture and Nutrition Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has jurisdiction over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“The way things used to work’

Harkin shared vivid memories of the process to nail down the “last vestiges” of DSHEA, culminating in a final meeting between him, DSHEA supporter and New Mexico Rep. Bill Richardson, and two powerful holdouts in California Rep. Henry Waxman and Michigan Sen. John Dingell.

Waxman is retired from Congress. Dingell and Richardson died in 2019 and 2023, respectively.

Waxman had concerns about enforcement and GMPs (good manufacturing practices), and he and Harkin hammered them out in a private conversation that Harkin said was emblematic of “the way things used to work — and the way they should work — in government and in politics.”

“I told him, ‘Trust me, Henry. I’m giving you my word. We’re going to make it work,’” Harkin recollected. “‘We’ll get the good manufacturing practices. We’ll hold this industry to the highest standard. He said, ‘OK.’ We shook hands, went back in, and that was the end.”

Even in a year that was legendary for partisan gridlock, DSHEA passed by unanimous votes in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate before being signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Oct. 25, 1994. Harkin said the process to get it there has a lot to teach today’s politicians. 

“You’ve gotta trust people once in a while,” he said. “You’ve got to have friendships. You’ve got to build things across the aisle.”

‘We’ve got to be better prepared’

Harkin retired from the Senate in 2015, but has remained engaged with public policy through the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. The Harkin Institute is best known for work in supporting people with disabilities, but also has a focus on wellness and nutrition. 

At the end of his comments, Harkin made a pitch to industry trade leaders to utilize the institute as it faces new calls for regulation that echo those that led to the creation of DSHEA.

“I have long thought there’s a real void in terms of getting sound, unbiased policy analysis when it comes to this area,” he said. “The Harkin Institute can fill this void. I want the Harkin Institute to become the national think tank on dietary supplements and natural health policy.”

The former U.S. lawmaker added, “There's things that we may want to change in the future. There may be things that others want to change on us in the future, to our detriment in this industry. And we've got to be better prepared.”