After marking the 15^th anniversary of the enactment of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) on February 5^th, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families, today convened a subcommittee hearing to examine how to build upon the success of the FMLA in the coming years.  Senator Dodd is the author of the FMLA, which has allowed more than 60 million workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave if they are ill or if they need to care for a sick family member or new child.  Among the topics discussed at the hearing were “The Family Leave Insurance Act,” a bill to provide up to 8 weeks of paid leave under the FMLA that was introduced by Senator Dodd and Senator Stevens (R-AK) last year, and the FMLA regulations recently proposed by the Department of Labor.        

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After speaking at length on the Senate floor and keeping the Senate in session late into the evening last night, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) took to the Senate floor one last time before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act was passed by the Senate.  Calling today a “dark” day in the Senate chamber, Dodd expressed his profound opposition to the provisions in the legislation that grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have participated in the Administration's warrantless wiretapping of American citizens.  Along with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI), Dodd offered an amendment to strip the egregious retroactive immunity provisions from FISA.  Unfortunately, the amendment failed by a vote of 31 to 67 and the Senate voted 68 – 29 to pass the legislation.

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Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) last night once again demonstrated his commitment to fighting against certain provisions in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act that fly in the face of the Constitution and the rule of law by speaking at length on the Senate floor, keeping the Senate in session late into the night. In a final plea after a months-long battle, Dodd urged his colleagues to oppose granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have participated in the Administration's warrantless wiretapping of American citizens.  Should his amendment fail, Dodd pressed his colleagues not to end debate on the bill, effectively preventing it from a vote and final passage.  Last week, Dodd offered an amendment that he co-sponsored with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to strip the egregious retroactive immunity provisions from FISA.  This amendment, expected to be voted on today, would ensure that courts have the ability to fulfill their constitutional duty to determine whether or not these companies should be held accountable for their actions.

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Mr. President: I rise to discuss my amendment to strike Title II of the FISA Amendments Act—the title which would provide telecom corporations retroactive immunity for their warrantless and possibly illegal spying on their customers.

Much more than a few companies and a few lawsuits are at stake, Mr. President. Equal justice is at stake—justice that does not place some corporations outside the rule of law.

The Committee will come to order.  This morning’s hearing is entitled “Reforming the Regulation of the Government Sponsored Enterprises.”  While this is the first meeting on this topic in the 110th Congress, I want to acknowledge that the Committee has established a substantial record on these issues which was developed through a comprehensive series of hearings organized by Senator Shelby when he was Chairman of this Committee.  He has shown important leadership on this issue.

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Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), an ardent and vocal opponent of granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that may have participated in the Administration's warrantless wiretapping of American citizens, today offered an amendment that he co-sponsored with Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to strip the egregious retroactive immunity provisions from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act.  This amendment would ensure that courts have the ability to fulfill their constitutional duty to determine whether or not these companies should be held accountable for their actions. 

As the nation experiences a dramatic economic slowdown and Congress considers economic stimulus packages to present to the President, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, held his first hearing of the year on the root cause of the current problems in the economy: the tumult in the mortgage markets and the rising number of home foreclosures.  Dodd focused the hearing on both short- and longer-term solutions to address the housing crisis, based on the premise that the mortgage meltdown is largely responsible for the current economic downturn. 

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Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today spoke on the Senate floor about ways to stimulate the weakened U.S. economy. Dodd, who has repeatedly tied the recent economic downfall to the foreclosure crisis, has urged Congressional leaders to incorporate provisions that deal with the housing crisis in any stimulus bill they present to the President. Dodd will hold a hearing on this issue on Thursday. 

“In his last State of the Union speech to the nation, President George W. Bush once again demonstrated why the country is in such dire need of a new direction. Having heard his assessment of the state of America today, I am concerned about his unwillingness to provide real assistance to middle class Americans struggling to make ends meet, his continued trampling of the Constitution – our civil liberties – in the name of national security, and his lack of a plan to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home safely.

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Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today rose again to speak on the Senate floor in opposition to a vote to end debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation that would grant immunity to telecommunications companies who cooperated with the Bush Administration’s secret wiretapping program.  The full text of his remarks as prepared appears below: