A Lifetime of Leadership

Chris Dodd cast his very first vote for fire fighters on September 15, 1976, in support of the historic Public Safety Officers Benefit (PSOB) bill. From that day forward, Chris Dodd has been the champion for fire fighters.

Forty-six years ago, Dodd stood at the U.S. Capitol and heard President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address calling on all Americans to be a part of something greater than themselves. He knew then that public service was in blood.

After graduating from Providence College, Dodd joined the United States Peace Corps in 1966 and moved to the Dominican Republic where he helped build schools and maternity clinics in rural communities, became fluent in Spanish and saw what the world can achieve when America leads.

Returning home two years later, Dodd enlisted in the Army National Guard and later served in the U.S. Army Reserves for a total of six years of military service.

In 1972, he earned a law degree from the University of Louisville School of Law and practiced in New London before running for Congress in his father's footsteps. Before he was elected to the U.S. Senate, Thomas Dodd was a lead prosecutor during the Nuremberg Nazi war crimes tribunals, which set the standard for America's moral authority.

Elected to Congress in 1974, Chris Dodd served three terms in the House of Representatives serving Connecticut's 2nd District. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980.

Now in his fifth term, Dodd is Connecticut's senior senator and a respected leader who brings people together to make America safer, stronger and more prosperous. Senator Dodd is also the trusted chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which oversees America's financial institutions.

Long before the tragedy of September 11, Dodd understood the importance of America's first responders. But his attention to fire fighter issues became more focused following the tragic Worcester, Massachusetts fire in 1999. He recognized the terrible injustice that fire fighters were asked to do too much with too few personnel and too little equipment.

Out of this steadfastness, Dodd authored and passed the FIRE Act, which has provided more than $3 billion to help towns and cities equip and train fire fighters. Additionally, he authored and introduced the SAFER Act, which grants critical funding to hire additional fire fighters.

Since the devastation of the September 11 tragedy, Dodd has continued his unwavering support of fire fighters and first responders, working to ensure they have the needed funding and resources to do their jobs safely and effectively on the frontline.

Senator Dodd is also known as Congress's premier advocate for children and families. Dubbed the "Children's Senator," Dodd formed the first Children's Caucus in the Senate and spent seven years working to enact the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that has ensured that 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 funding for federal research into autism and for outreach efforts aimed at mothers who give birth prematurely.

As a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dodd has played a central role in nearly every foreign policy debate over the past 25 years, working with six presidents and fostering relationships with many of todays most important world figures. A recipient of the Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award and a recognized expert on Latin and South America, he has worked to foster peace, prosperity and democracy abroad. In addition, Dodd has fought to ensure our troops in Iraq have the essential equipment that they need and deserve.

Born May 27, 1944, in Willimantic, Connecticut - the fifth of six children to the late Senator Thomas J. Dodd and Grace Murphy Dodd - Dodd lives in East Haddam, Connecticut, with his wife, Jackie, and their young daughters Grace and Christina.