A Lifetime of Leadership
Chris Dodd has been a tireless, effective fighter for everyday Connecticut families, championing their interests in the United States Senate.
Time and again, Chris Dodd has come through for Connecticut, saving jobs, securing funding for firefighters and police, and passing the Family and Medical Leave Act that has benefited 50 million Americans by allowing them to take time off from work to care for a new baby or sick family member.
Chris is currently leading the fight to help families deal with the credit crunch by stopping credit card companies from raising rates whenever they want. And as a leader in Washington, Chris is working with President Obama to get our economy back on track by investing to create new jobs and develop clean energy.
Chris Dodd was born May 27, 1944, in Willimantic, Connecticut, the fifth of six children to the late Senator Thomas J. Dodd and Grace Murphy Dodd. From his childhood, he was taught the virtue of public service, of service to country; Chris's father was one of the lead prosecutors during the Nuremberg Nazi war crimes tribunals that set the standard for America's moral authority. In 1958, Thomas Dodd was elected from Connecticut to the United States Senate. Three of Chris Dodd’s aunts were well-known public school teachers in small communities. Forty-six years ago, Chris stood on the East Front of the Capitol and heard John Kennedy's inaugural address which called upon all Americans to become a part of something greater than themselves, which famously challenged us to ask what we could do for our nation. After graduating from Providence College, Chris joined the United States Peace Corps in 1966 and moved to the Dominican Republic where he built a school and a maternity clinic in rural communities, became fluent in Spanish, and saw what the world could achieve when America leads. Upon fulfilling his two-year commitment to the Peace Corps, Chris returned home to enlist in the Army National Guard, later serving in the U.S. Army Reserves.
In 1972, earning his law degree from the University of Louisville School of Law, Chris returned to Connecticut, building a law practice in New London. Soon, however, like his father before him, he was called to public service. Elected to Congress in 1974, Chris served three terms in the House of Representatives on behalf of Connecticut's Second District. He was elected to the US Senate in 1980.
Today, Chris is Connecticut's senior United States Senator – a respected leader, recognized as one of the Senate’s most effective members, building strong policy-making coalitions to rebuild America’s economy, bring quality, affordable healthcare to every Connecticut family, to bring needed reforms to the nation’s financial institutions and regulatory system, and to keep America strong and safe.
The Congress's foremost advocate for children and families, known as the "Children's Senator," Chris formed the first Children's Caucus in the Senate and spent seven years working to successfully enact the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act. That law has helped 50 million working Americans never have to choose between the job they need and the family they love. A longtime supporter of early childhood education, he also authored and enacted landmark child care legislation, was named "Senator of the Decade" by the National Head Start Association, and has secured significant funding for federal research into autism and outreach efforts aimed at mothers who give birth prematurely.
Chris Dodd's independence, vision, and policy-making skills have served Connecticut and the nation in countless ways. Even before the tragedy of September 11th, Chris recognized the importance of America's first responders, authoring and passing landmark legislation that has provided more than $3 billion in targeted funds to help towns and cities hire, equip, and train firefighters. In the aftermath of the disputed 2000 Presidential election, Chris authored the Help America Vote Act which has been called the most important voting rights legislation since the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And he has long championed bringing fiscal discipline and responsibility into the federal budget-making process, introducing a "pay-as-you-go" budget proposal early in his Senate career and co-sponsored the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings deficit reduction legislation.
Today, as one of the Senate’s most respected, and effective members, Chris Dodd is uniquely positioned to carry out the ambitious agenda of President Barack Obama. As Chairman of the Banking Committee, Chris's leadership will be essential to the President’s efforts, working hand-in-hand as they rebuild our credit markets, inject new life into the economy, and help lift up families hard hit in Connecticut and around the country.
Chris will author and pass into law initiatives to rebuild, re-regulate and reform the nation’s financial institutions, to put an end to the reckless banking practices that have put our economy at risk. From the position of Banking Chairman, too, he will crack down on the outrageous practices of the credit card industry that have left families drowning in debt, and he will fight the home mortgage and bankruptcy crises that threaten so many Connecticut families and neighborhoods.
As one of Washington’s real leaders on healthcare – a cause to which he has devoted years of his service -- Chris will prove one of the most influential leaders in the ongoing debate over long-overdue, fundamental reforms. And as one of the Senate’s recognized leaders in Foreign and Military Affairs, Chris Dodd will help President Obama reshape America’s image and influence around the world, making this country stronger and safer as a result.