Chris Dodd

Joined by Consumer Advocate, Connecticut Consumer who was Unfairly Hit with Overdraft Fees

October 19, 2009 -- At a press conference at Stamford Government Center today, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) unveiled The Fairness and Accountability in Receiving (FAIR) Overdraft Coverage Act, a bill to protect Americans from excessive checking account overdraft fees.

Dodd was joined at the event by Attorney Ellery Plotkin, a consumer advocate, and Mario Livieri, a resident of Branford who was unfairly hit with overdraft fees earlier this year.    » read more »

October 15, 2009 -- Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today announced that Connecticut will receive $20,061,000 from the Fiscal Year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill. The bill has been passed by the House and will now go to the President for his signature.

“This energy and water spending bill will provide important support to Connecticut’s waterways and energy researchers in the areas of fuel cells, bio-energy, and other alternative energy,” said Dodd. “These resources are an investment in Connecticut and our nation’s energy future, and will allow us to move away from our unhealthy dependence on foreign oil.”    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Ben Cardin (D-MD) introduced a resolution today to empower and strengthen the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“The United States faces an ever-growing array of foreign policy challenges, and in nearly every instance, international development should be part of the solution,” said Dodd, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “An empowered USAID is critical for a strong and effective American foreign and national security policy, and providing USAID with the resources, support, and staff it needs will go a long way towards meeting these important goals.”    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the following statement today after the Senate Finance Committee approved health care reform legislation by a vote of 14 to 9. Senator Dodd led the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee earlier this summer when it approved the Affordable Health Choices Act. Now, Dodd, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and the Obama Administration will merge the two committee’s bills into one bill.

“Today, we are another unprecedented step closer to providing every American with the quality, affordable health care.    » read more »

October 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today praised the Senate passage of the FY 2010 Agriculture Appropriations bill which contains $5,983,000 for Connecticut. The bill has been passed by the House, and will now go to the President for his signature. The legislation includes funding for vaccine research, food safety programs, and sustainable agriculture development.    » read more »

October 8, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced today that he is working to ensure that unemployment insurance (UI) is extended quickly and fairly to jobless workers in all 50 states, including Connecticut.

“In these challenging economic times, unemployment insurance can be a vital lifeline for so many in Connecticut,” said Dodd. “It is critically important that those hit hard by the recent downturn get the benefits they’ve earned, regardless of the state they live in. I will continue to fight to ensure that Connecticut residents who have lost their jobs are afforded the same number of weeks of coverage that others across the country are receiving.”    » read more »

October 6, 2009 -- Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) announced today that Connecticut will receive major federal defense funding from the Fiscal Year 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill, including $2.5 billion to produce 10 additional C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft. The funding will save thousands of jobs at the Pratt & Whitney, which produces F117 engines for the C-17s.    » read more »

October 2, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, submitted the following statement at yesterday’s Committee hearing concerning the global costs and consequences of violence against women.

“For too long, women have gotten short shrift in development and foreign policy. Women’s rights, women’s health, and violence against women have a history as being designated and denigrated as “soft” issues,” said Dodd. “The unassailable truth, however, is that promoting women’s rights, women’s health, and women’s empowerment are not simply idealistic, moral goals. Rather, they are some of our most effective tools in achieving America’s key foreign policy goals and meeting our most difficult challenges.”    » read more »

Legislation named in honor of Wall Street Journal reporter killed on the job in Pakistan

October 1, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today introduced the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act, legislation that would direct the State Department to include information relating to freedom of the press worldwide in annual country reports on human rights practices.

The legislation is named in honor of Wall Street Journal South Asia Bureau Chief Daniel Pearl, who in 2002 was kidnapped and brutally murdered by extremists in Pakistan. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that 742 journalists have been killed on duty since the organization began tracking these crimes in 1992.    » read more »

Administration to Start Negotiations with Iranian Government Thursday

September 29, 2009 -- Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) announced he is working on a bill to expand the President’s ability to sanction Iran as the United States heads towards negotiations with that country. The Senate Banking Committee has jurisdiction over financial and economic sanctions.

“If Iran were to acquire nuclear weapons capability, it would pose a significant threat to peace and security in the Middle East, especially to our close ally Israel,” said Dodd. “That is a threat to both national security and global stability – and it cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged.”    » read more »

September 30, 2009 -- As he announced earlier this week, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) introduced the Retroactive Immunity Repeal Act, legislation that eliminates retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that allegedly participated in President Bush’s warrantless wiretapping program.    » read more »

September 14, 2009 -- Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) announced today that Connecticut will receive $11,251,400 in stimulus funding to create green jobs and implement energy efficiency and conservation programs. The State of Connecticut, as well as the cities of Stamford and West Haven, will receive the economic recovery funds, which are being allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.    » read more »

“We need to do more than simply fund public transportation. We need to re-think the way we approach it as a matter of federal policy.”

July 7, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, called for a new approach to investments in public transportation at this morning’s hearing to examine transit’s role in America’s effort to combat climate change.    » read more »

June 22, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) joined President Barack Obama today in calling on Americans to participate in the United We Serve Initiative. United We Serve is a summer-long initiative sponsored by the White House and the Corporation for National Service. It begins today and will end on September 11th with the new National Day of Service and Remembrance.    » read more »

CEO Rand: Americans “will now have a new opportunity to lead a healthier life”

June 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON—This morning, AARP CEO A. Barry Rand delivered the following remarks at the White House announcement of a new agreement to substantially fill the Medicare Part D coverage gap:

“Thank you Mr. President. AARP is proud to stand with you and Chairman Baucus and Senator Dodd to announce that the gap in Medicare’s drug coverage, known as the ‘doughnut hole,’ will be substantially filled for millions of middle income Americans as part of health reform.

“I want to applaud Chairman Baucus and Senator Dodd, who continue to be champions for this issue and have always fought for people struggling to make ends meet. We are honored to stand with you today.    » read more »