Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT)
CHRIS DODD is Connecticut’s senior United States Senator. Senator Dodd has long believed that “the best social program is a good job.” To that end, he has dedicated himself to helping Americans create and win the best jobs in the 21st century global economy.
Since his election to public office, Chris Dodd has also been a tireless advocate for helping children and families. He formed the first Children’s Caucus in the Senate and spent almost a decade working to enact the Family and Medical Leave Act, which has helped ensure that over 50 million Americans don’t have to choose between the job they need and the family they love. He also authored and enacted landmark legislation to ensure that our nation provides better access to safe and affordable child care. Senator Dodd has also been named “Senator of the Decade” by the National Head Start Association in recognition of his support for early childhood education. He has also offered legislation to amend the No Child Left Behind law in order to make the law work better for America’s children.
As a senior member of the Senate committee responsible for health care, Chris Dodd has been a voice for innovation in patient care and expanding access to affordable health care. He was instrumental in extending health insurance to 5 to 7 million of the nation’s uninsured children and has consistently fought to support community health centers. Senator Dodd has also secured funding for initiatives aimed at child nutrition, maternal and child health, and infant mortality prevention. He authored critically important legislation to protect the mentally ill from abusive and deadly restraint and seclusion practices in mental hospitals. He continues to push for a patient’s bill of rights, which would give Americans basic assurances in their health care services and a greater right to choose their health care provider.
Senator Dodd is a graduate of Providence College and in 1972 he earned a law degree from the University of Louisville School of Law. He was born May 27, 1944, in Willimantic, Connecticut, the fifth of six children. He lives in East Haddam with his wife Jackie and their daughters Grace and Christina.