Dodd, Chris Sen

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=<div><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/our-gang-venezuela/">https://www.thenation.com/article/our-gang-venezuela/</a></div><div>
</div><div><h2 class="subtitle" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; border: 0px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0.2rem 0px 0.5rem; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 39.06px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The National Endowment for Democracy has been busy--and far from alone.</h2><div class="byline" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h2 class="author_name" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; border: 0px; font-weight: 400; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4; float: left; width: 880px; margin: 0px !important;">By <a class="author" href="https://www.thenation.com/authors/david-corn/" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration-line: none; background-color: transparent; line-height: 20px; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 0.2s ease 0s; display: initial; outline: 0px !important;">David Corn</a></h2><h4 class="time is_date article_pub_time" style="box-sizing: border-box; text-rendering: optimizelegibility; border: 0px; font-weight: 400; margin: 5px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.4; text-transform: uppercase; float: left; width: 880px;">JULY 18, 2002</h4></div></div><div>
</div><div>david corn</div><div>
</div><div>In the weeks before the April 12-13 coup in Venezuela, Asociacion Civil Consorcio Justicia, a legal rights outfit, was planning an April 10 conference to promote democracy in that country. At the time, Venezuela was undergoing severe political strife. Business groups and labor unions were bitterly squaring off against President Hugo Chavez, a democratically elected strongman/populist. Using an $84,000 grant from the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy, a quasi-governmental foundation funded by Congress, Consorcio Justicia was supposed to bring together political parties, unions, business associations, religious groups and academicians to discuss “protecting fundamental political rights,” as an NED document put it. In a proposed agenda Consorcio Justicia listed as one of the main speakers Pedro Carmona, president of Fedecamaras, a leading Venezuelan business group. But when the coup came, Carmona was handpicked by the plotters to head a government established in violation of the Constitution. Then he signed a decree suspending the National Assembly and the Supreme Court. Carmona, it turns out, was hardly interested in safeguarding “fundamental political rights.”Fortunately for NED, the conference was part of a series that never happened. The program was canceled as Venezuela was hit by national strikes that would lead to the massive business-and-labor demonstration against Chavez on April 11, in which at least eighteen people were killed by unidentified gunmen. The murders provided Chavez’s military foes cause, or cover, to move against him early the next morning. (A recent Human Rights Watch report concluded, “Both sides bear responsibility for the shootings.”) But imagine if the NED-backed conference had occurred and Carmona had appeared there–days before becoming a front man for the coup-makers. That was a close call for NED. Instead, the episode may be no more than a mild what-if embarrassment for NED, which is supposed to finance pro-democracy activism around the world. It shows, though, how democracy-promotion can slip, perhaps unintentionally, toward supporting the opposite–especially in a highly polarized political environment like the one in Venezuela.Created by President Ronald Reagan and Congress in 1983, NED was designed to run a parallel foreign policy for the United States, backing and assisting entities that Washington might not be able to officially endorse–say, an opposition party challenging a government with which the United States maintained diplomatic relations. In a way, NED took public some of the covert political activity the CIA had previously mounted. The endowment–which devotes much of its budget to funding the foreign policy arms of the Democratic and Republican parties, the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO (its core grantees)–has been involved in both questionable and praiseworthy projects. It awarded a large grant to a student group linked to an outlawed extreme-right paramilitary outfit in France, helped finance the development of conservative parties in countries where democracy was doing just fine and played a heavy-handed role in Nicaragua’s 1990 elections. In the late 1980s it aided the pro-democracy opposition in Chile and antiapartheid organizations in South Africa. But even if its programs have indeed enhanced democracy on occasion, NED overall has long been problematic, as it has handed taxpayer dollars to private groups (such as the two major parties) to finance their overseas initiatives and has conducted controversial programs that could be viewed abroad as actions of the US government. What might the reaction be here, if the British government funded an effort to improve the Democratic Party’s get-out-the-vote operation in Florida?Which brings us back to Venezuela–where the US Embassy was compelled after the coup to declare as a “myth” the notion that “the US government, through organizations such as the National Endowment for Democracy, financed coup efforts.” For months before the coup, Americans–including US government officials and officials of NED and its core grantees–were in contact with Venezuelans and political parties that became involved or possibly involved with the coup. This has provided Latin Americans cause to wonder if the United States is continuing its tradition of underhandedly meddling in the affairs of its neighbors to the south. And these contacts have prompted some, though not much, official probing in Washington. The issue is not only whether the United States in advance OK’d this particular coup (of which there is little evidence) or tried to help it once it occurred (of which there is more evidence). But did discussions between Americans and Chavez foes–such as those involving NED–encourage or embolden the coup-makers and their supporters? Give them reason to believe the United States would not protest should they move against Chavez in an unconstitutional manner? Much of the two-day coup remains shrouded in confusion. (It came and went so quickly: Carmona fled office the day after he seized power, once several military units announced they opposed the military coup, whereupon Chavez was returned to his office.) But enough questions linger about US actions in Venezuela to warrant a good look.Consider some NED activities there. When Consorcio Justicia began to assemble the pro-democracy conferences, it approached the two main opponents of Chavez–Carmona and his Fedecamaras, as well as the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV), the leading anti-Chavez labor union–according to documents obtained from NED under a Freedom of Information Act request. Christopher Sabatini, NED’s senior program officer for Latin America, says, “The idea was that the conferences (which were to include Chavistas) would be able to define a consensus-based policy agenda” for the entire country. But certainly NED’s core grantees were trying to beef up Venezuelan organizations challenging Chavez. The AFL-CIO, for example, was working (seemingly laudably) to bolster and democratize the CTV, which Chavez had been trying to intimidate and infiltrate. The International Republican Institute was training several parties that opposed Chavez. At one session, Mike Collins, a former GOP press secretary, taught party leaders how to mount photo-ops; at another he suggested to Caracas Mayor Alfredo Peña, a prominent Chavez foe,how he “could soften his aggressive image in order to appeal to a wider range of voters,” according to an IRI report. (Human Rights Watch found that at least two members of the police force controlled by Peña–now Chavez’s primary rival–fired weapons during the April 11 melee.) The question, then, is, since it was not explicit US policy to call for Chavez’s ouster–though his departure from office was desired by the Bush Administration, which detested his oil sales to Cuba and close ties to Iraq, Iran and Libya–should US taxpayer dollars have gone to groups working to unseat Chavez, even through legitimate means?Moreover, NED and its grantees helped organizations that may have been represented in the coup government. When Carmona unveiled his Cabinet on the morning of April 12–hours after he was placed in power by the military at 5 am–his junta included a leading official from COPEI, the Christian Democrat party, and one from Primero Justicia, a new party. IRI had provided assistance to both. Carmona also named a member of the CTV board as minister of planning, even though he was not a recognized leader of the union. And when Carmona assumed power in the presidential palace, a leading CTV figure was supposedly nearby–though his whereabouts and his role have been subjects of debate. The CTV did denounce Carmona–but not until Carmona, on the afternoon of April 12, announced his decree to shutter the National Assembly and the Supreme Court. It’s not easy to determine whether Carmona’s Cabinet appointees were acting on behalf of their parties or freelancing. And as one current Venezuelan official says, “The appointees were never sworn in as ministers, so they can claim they did not approve of Carmona’s decree.”On April 12 Carmona also said he was establishing an advisory council for his government. But he did not name the several dozen members of this group. After the coup, the Chavez government maintained that it found a list of council members. The roster supposedly included leading officials of COPEI, Primero Justicia and the CTV, including CTV head Carlos Ortega–all of whom had been in touch with and/or received assistance from NED or its core grantees. This document, if accurate, raises the prospect that recipients of NED assistance, when the crunch arrived, were more interested in overthrowing Chavez than adhering to the democratic process.Asked whether it might be troubling if political figures who worked with NED and its grantees had agreed to assist the coup, NED’s Sabatini said, “It’s important to remember that these are independent groups, reacting–on their own–to their very difficult political environment. The NED’s programs with the groups…were very specific programs of technical assistance and training…. It’s also important to remember that these groups (when they were named to the Cabinet or to the advisory council) were acting under the belief that Chavez had resigned–as had been announced on TV.” But according to postcoup news reports, Chavez actually refused to submit his resignation. And, as Venezuelan human rights outfits argued while the coup was in progress, Carmona’s military-installed government was unconstitutional, whether or not Chavez had resigned.At least two key NED partners did cheer the coup (as did the Bush Administration initially). On April 12 George Folsom, the IRI president, issued a statement supporting the action: “Last night, led by every sector of civil society, the Venezuelan people rose up to defend democracy in their country.” Three days later, after the coup was reversed, NED president Carl Gershman sent Folsom a letter of rebuke, noting that by welcoming Chavez’s “removal through unconstitutional means,” Folsom had “unnecessarily interjected IRI into the sensitive politics of Venezuela.” Folsom’s statement, Gershman added, “will only make it more difficult for the IRI to work in Venezuela and the region as a whole.” Gershman, though, didn’t threaten to withdraw support from IRI. And on the night of April 12–after Carmona suspended the assembly–Mercedes de Freitas, a director of the Fundacion Momento de la Gente, a legislative monitoring project subsidized by NED, e-mailed the endowment defending the military and Carmona, claiming the takeover was not a military coup.Not all NED allies were rooting for Carmona. On April 13 Carlos Ponce, executive director of Consorcio Justicia, e-mailed NED that the coup was illegal and that the decision to eliminate the legislature was “terrible.” Yet several weeks earlier Ponce had almost jumped into bed with coup supporters. While developing NED’s pro-democracy conferences, he solicited the participation of the Frente Institucional Militar de Venezuela, an organization of former military officials. That prompted a swift reply from Washington. “This is a group that has proposed a military coup!” Sabatini exclaimed in an e-mail. He noted that NED “will NOT–I repeat–will NOT support anything that involves the FIM.” Ponce subsequently said that he was unaware of FIM’s position (noting that its participation had been suggested by Carmona), and he quickly booted the organization from the conference. Another potential embarrassment was averted.But NED was only a part of the picture. For months before the coup, according to several US media reports, US officials in Venezuela had assorted conversations with Chavez foes, and these interactions, purposefully or not, may have led the plotters to believe the Bush Administration would look favorably on anyone who made Chavez go away. Newsday noted that long before the coup, business, union and civic leaders were meeting to plan opposition to Chavez, and at one such meeting–attended by Carmona and held at the US Embassy–a coup was proposed. US officials, according to the newspaper, say they immediately killed the idea. But the officials continued to interact with these Chavez opponents. The newspaper quoted one Venezuelan source familiar with these discussions as saying, “All the United States really cared about was that it was done neatly, with a resignation letter or something to show for it.” And the Los Angeles Times reported that a “Venezuelan leader who visited Washington for an official meeting said he concluded after talks with US officials that the Americans would not necessarily punish the leaders of a government that overthrew Chavez.” A Western diplomat told the Washington Post, “I don’t think the US provided any active or material support for [the coup]. But the people involved may have seen all of these meetings and visits, added them all up, and come up with an idea that they were on the same team.” Last November then-US ambassador Donna Hrinak instructed the US military attaché in Venezuela to cut off contacts with dissident military officers. But Vice Adm. Carlos Molina, one of the leading military opponents of Chavez, said he had met with a US official several weeks before the coup.After the coup failed, Chavez officials found inside the presidential palace documents left behind by the coup-makers. One was a note apparently written by Luis Herrera Marcano, chargé d’affaires in the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington. He was reporting on a conversation he had had with State Department official Phillip Chicolawhile the coup was under way. According to a copy published by Proceso, a Mexican newsmagazine, Chicola said, “Given that the United States signed and fully supports the Inter-American Democratic Charter, which condemns any violation of constitutional rule, it is necessary that the transition currently under way in Venezuela, which [the United States] understands and sympathizes with, conserve constitutional structures.”On the morning of April 12, according to the New York Times, Otto Reich, the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, told a gathering of Latin American and Caribbean ambassadors that they had to support the new government. The next day Reich spoke twice to Venezuelan media magnate Gustavo Cisneros,according to a Cisneros spokeswoman. Cisneros’s role in the coup–if he had one–has been a topic of speculation in Venezuela, for on the night of April 11 Carmona met with other opposition leaders at a TV station owned by Cisneros. (Cisneros denies he was a force behind the coup.) Cisneros’s spokeswoman maintains that Reich called on April 13 “as a friend” because Chavez supporters were protesting at media outlets in Caracas. And on the morning of April 13, US ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro met with Carmona. According to Carmona, Shapiro expressed concern regarding Carmona’s dissolution of the legislature and urged Carmona to be less antidemocratic. If Carmona is to be believed, Shapiro did not oppose the unconstitutional means by which Carmona seized power.The Bush Administration claims that all the contacts before and during the coup were kosher. The US Embassy in Venezuela released a statement maintaining that “of course” US officials met with opposition figures, for “that is an Embassy’s job.” But it insisted that “officials in Washington and in Caracas consistently and repeatedly emphasized the United States’ opposition to any extra-constitutional alteration of power.” The embassy denied that US military officials were involved in coup activities. It noted that Secretary of State Colin Powell declared, “We condemn the blows to constitutional order.” But Powell said that on April 19–six days after the coup collapsed.There has been no thorough public exploration in Washington of the precoup contacts or the efforts of Bush officials to nudge the coup in a direction that would permit the Administration to openly support the takeover. At the request of Senator Christopher Dodd, who chairs the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Latin America,the Inspector General of the State Department has been examining Bush Administration actions before and during the coup. Dodd asked the IG to review cables, e-mails and other records to determine what US officials told Chavez’s foes and to examine NED programs. The report is due at the end of July, and Dodd expects to hold hearings afterward. On April 23 the New York Times reported that the Pentagon was reviewing its actions during the coup to insure that no military officials had encouraged the plotters. But Lieut. Comdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, says no formal review was initiated: “It was just a matter of getting the facts together. There were questions why people from the US defense attaché were on a Venezuelan military base while this thing was going on. It was nothing out of the ordinary.”One matter that warrants scrutiny is a Washington Post report that two military officials who publicly challenged Chavez in the weeks before the coup–Vice Admiral Molina and Col. Pedro Soto–each received $100,000 from a Miami bank. The newspaper cited an unnamed diplomat in Venezuela as its source for this curious allegation. Who in the United States might have been secretly subsidizing Chavez’s foes? Any official body that wants to investigate could start by subpoenaing Soto. In April he fled Venezuela for the United States, and in June he asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Miami for political asylum, claiming that he feared for his life.Postcoup Venezuela is a jittery place of deepening division, marked by rising gun sales, political violence, constant rumors of another coup and talk of assassination. Former President Jimmy Carter failed to broker talks between Chavez and his foes; on July 11 an estimated 600,000 people demonstrated against Chavez. For the time being, Consorcio Justicia has given up on holding a large pro-democracy conference. “It’s a nasty environment,” executive director Ponce says. “Wehave a radical opposition and a radical government. We are unable to find ways to negotiate.” So his group is now using NED money for smaller projects. The failed coup has changed his perspective. Has it affected the policies and plans of the Bush Administration, NED or NED’s grantees? If a Congressional hearing regarding Venezuela’s cloudy coup ever convenes, that is one of many questions that ought to be asked.</div><div>---</div>=

lee fang on lobbying deregister

<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/178494/lee-fang-rise-shadow-lobbying#">http://www.thenation.com/blog/178494/lee-fang-rise-shadow-lobbying#</a>

<a href="http://www.thenation.com/print/article/178460/shadow-lobbying-complex">http://www.thenation.com/print/article/178460/shadow-lobbying-complex</a>

<div class="print-created" style=" font-size: small; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;">Lee Fang | February 19, 2014</div>

It was 4 o’clock in the afternoon, and I found myself hanging around the House-side entrance to the Capitol building, hoping to interview lawmakers during the protracted government shutdown in October. The members had been called by the Republican leadership to open just one slice of the government without authorizing funds for the Affordable Care Act, a partial solution that had rallied Democrats in opposition. As dusk settled in, I lingered to interview the representatives as they walked in and out of what everyone considered at this point to be a scene of political theater.

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While I waited, a small crowd gathered, composed of men and women in business attire, creating something of a receiving line where they could exchange pleasantries with members of Congress as the latter made their way from their offices across Independence Avenue to cast a perfunctory vote. The city, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers sent home from the job, was far from dead. On Capitol Hill, the real financial engine of Washington, the selling of access and policy hummed along at full speed, and I was in the midst of it.

Many of the people assembled around me, I noticed, were former lawmakers and their associates. Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle was there, along with officials from his firm DLA Piper, to escort a group of international attorneys into a meeting with lawmakers. Men who said they were with Alston & Bird, another law firm heavily involved in lobbying, convened a few feet away. A cluster of businessmen with the credit-rating firm Experian prepped their own series of meetings with congressional staff.

Behind me, I heard the distinctive croak of Zach Wamp, a former congressman who was busy talking up his new job to current members of Congress. He boasted that he is now working for Palantir, the controversial intelligence contractor. “I’m kind of overseeing their operations up here,” Wamp said when I asked what he does for Palantir. He ended the conversation abruptly when questioned about the scandals associated with the firm, which include allegations of spying on activists and other privacy violations.

I returned to a computer later that day and pulled up the lobbyist-registration database to run the few names I had managed to write down. In theory, lobbyists are required to register under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) to give the public some idea about who is attempting to influence the laws and regulations that govern us. To my surprise, however, Wamp and most of the others were nowhere to be found. (Palantir’s corporate counsel, Matt Long, would not comment on what Wamp does for the company.)

Daschle, a “policy adviser” to a range of corporate interests and a close confidant of many top Democrats, has become one of the most famous unregistered lobbyists in the city. In fact, his escapades as a consigliere and go-between for business leaders and politicians, including President Obama, are so well known that among ethics watchdogs, the technicality in the law that allows lobbyists to evade registration has become known as the “Daschle Loophole.” 

Officially, Shrinking—Unofficially, Exploding

On paper, the lobbying industry is quickly disappearing. In January, records indicated that for a third straight year, overall spending on lobbying decreased. Lobbyists themselves continue to deregister. In 2013, the number of registered lobbyists dipped to 12,281, the lowest number on file since 2002.

But experts say that lobbying isn’t dying; instead, it’s simply going underground. The problem, says American University professor James Thurber, who has studied congressional lobbying for more than thirty years, is that “most of what is going on in Washington is not covered” by the lobbyist-registration system. Thurber, who is currently advising the American Bar Association’s lobbying-reform task force, adds that his research suggests the true number of working lobbyists is closer to 100,000.

A loophole-ridden law, poor enforcement, the development of increasingly sophisticated strategies that enlist third-party validators and create faux-grassroots campaigns, along with an Obama administration executive order that gave many in the profession a disincentive to register—all of these forces have combined to produce a near-total collapse of the system that was designed to keep tabs on federal lobbying.

While the official figure puts the annual spending on lobbying at $3.2 billion in 2013, Thurber estimates that the industry brings in more than $9 billion a year. Other experts have made similar estimates, but no one is sure how large the industry has become. Lee Drutman, a lobbying expert at the Sunlight Foundation, says that at least twice as much is spent on lobbying as is officially reported.

Trade association documents, bankruptcy filings and reports from political consulting firms reviewed by The Nation show that many of America’s largest corporations have spent much more on lobbying than they’ve officially disclosed. In some cases, the quarterly registration system, used by the public and journalists, shows only one-tenth of the amount that firms spend to win favorable treatment by the federal government.

This explosion in spending on lobbying activities may not be visible in the lobbyist-registration system, but it is evident in Washington. The growth of the influence industry has created a new generation of millionaires while reshaping the region in its wake. The District of Columbia skyline, once dominated by monuments, is now dotted with cranes building some $5.5 billion in new development. The 14th Street and H Street corridors, formerly gritty sections of the city, are lined with more than forty new bars and restaurants. Census figures show that four of the five wealthiest counties in the country are now DC suburbs. In one of those counties—Fairfax—high-end carmakers Tesla and Aston Martin have opened new operations to keep up with demand.

The new captains of the influence-peddling industry lobby openly and with no interest in registration, reaping huge financial rewards. Tim Pawlenty, in his first two months as head of a lobbying association for financial companies that include Barclays and Wells Fargo, made more than double his annual $120,000 salary as governor of Minnesota. The self-described “Sam’s Club Republican” earns over $1.8 million a year working largely on banking regulations. He is not a registered lobbyist.

Chris Dodd, the former Democratic presidential candidate who pledged not to become a lobbyist once he retired from the Senate in 2010, made $3.3 million in his second year as chief of the movie industry lobby. (Dodd’s salary increased as he led the Motion Picture Association of America through a failed effort to pass an intellectual-property bill called the Stop Online Piracy Act, better known as SOPA.) Technically, however, Dodd hasn’t broken his pledge: though he seeks to win policy victories for his Hollywood-based members, he is not registered as a lobbyist.

Rather than using the L-word to describe what they do, many lobbyists prefer the more banal rubric of “government relations” or “government affairs.” Reflecting this trend, the American League of Lobbyists—a professional association for the industry—changed its name in November to the Association of Government Relations Professionals. And while lobbyists must report their payments from clients, those ducking the system quietly bring in the biggest paydays.

Apple’s former vice president of “worldwide government affairs,” Catherine Novelli, earned over $7.5 million last year while helping the company deal with congressional inquiries about its alleged tax-dodging strategies, without registering as a lobbyist. Deborah Lee James, until recently the vice president for government affairs at SAIC, a major defense contractor, earned nearly $1 million in 2013 despite also being unregistered.

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<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd">http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd</a>

Christopher John Dodd, a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=United_States_Democratic_Party" title="United States Democratic Party">Democrat</a>, is a former U.S. Senator for Connecticut, having served 1981 to 2011. In January 2010, he announced that he would retire rather than seek reelection. Democrat <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_Blumenthal" title="Richard Blumenthal">Richard Blumenthal</a> beat Republican <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Linda_McMahon&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Linda McMahon (page does not exist)">Linda McMahon</a> for the Senate seat.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-0" title="">[1]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-1" title="">[2]</a>

<h2>Contents</h2>

[<a href="javascript:toggleToc()" class="internal" id="togglelink">hide</a>]</div>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Record_and_controversies">1 Record and controversies</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Countrywide_mortgage_scandal">1.1 Countrywide mortgage scandal</a></li>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Emergency_Supplemental_Appropriations_for_Iraq_and_Afghanistan_Security_and_Reconstruction_Act">1.2.1 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security and Reconstruction Act</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#2007_Iraq_resolutions">1.2.2 2007 Iraq resolutions</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Environmental_record">1.3 Environmental record</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Golden_Leash_Award">1.4 Golden Leash Award</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Illegal_fundraising-John_Huang">1.5 Illegal fundraising - John Huang</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#President_Bush.27s_recess_appointment_of_Sam_Fox">1.6 President Bush's recess appointment of Sam Fox</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#2008_presidential_aspirations">1.7 2008 presidential aspirations</a></li>

</ul>

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<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#2008_elections">2.1 2008 elections</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Money_in_politics">3 Money in politics</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Committees_and_affiliations">4 Committees and affiliations</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Committees">4.1 Committees</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-3"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Committee_assignments_in_the_109th_Congress_.282005-2006.29">4.1.1 Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Board_and_other_affiliations">4.2 Board and other affiliations</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#More_background_data">5 More background data</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Contact">6 Contact</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Twitter">6.1 Twitter</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#References">7 References</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-1"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Other_articles_and_resources">8 Other articles and resources</a>

<ul>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Resources">8.1 Resources</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Local_blogs_and_discussion_sites">8.2 Local blogs and discussion sites</a></li>

<li class="toclevel-2"><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#Articles">8.3 Articles</a></li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</td></tr></tbody></table>

<h2>Record and controversies</h2>

<div style=" margin: 0.5em 0.75em 0.5em 0.75em; border-collapse: collapse; background: #dce8f8; border: 1px solid #5c79b5; padding: .25em .25em 0.25em .25em;">General information about important bills and votes for can be found in Congresspedia's <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Category:U.S._legislation" title="Category:U.S. legislation">articles on legislation</a>. You can add information you find on how Christopher John Dodd voted by clicking the "[edit]" link to the right and typing it in. Remember to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Help:References" title="Help:References">cite your sources</a>!</div>

<h3>Countrywide mortgage scandal</h3>

Senator Dodd was among the prominent politicians who may have received favorable mortgage deals from <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Countrywide" title="Countrywide" class="mw-redirect">Countrywide</a>, a mortgage lender at the heart of the current mortgage crises. According to an investigation conducted by Conde Nast's Portfolio, Countrywide's V.I.P program may have bent rules to offer Senator Dodd a better deal on his Washington town house and Connecticut home mortgages.

<dl>

<dd>Main article: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Countrywide_Mortgage_Scandal" title="Countrywide Mortgage Scandal">Countrywide Mortgage Scandal</a></dd>

</dl>

Dodd voted for the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Authorization_for_Use_of_Military_Force_Against_Iraq" title="Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq" class="mw-redirect">Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq</a> in Oct. 2002.

<div style=" margin: 0.5em 0.75em 0.5em 0.75em; border-collapse: collapse; background: #dce8f8; border: 1px solid #5c79b5; padding: .25em .25em 0.25em .25em;">For more information see the chart of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._Senate_votes_on_the_Iraq_War" title="U.S. Senate votes on the Iraq War">U.S. Senate votes on the Iraq War</a>.</div>

<h4>Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security and Reconstruction Act</h4>

In 2003 Dodd offered an amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Iraq and Afghanistan Security and Reconstruction Act, 2004, which added $322 million to the $300 million already appropriated towards the purchase of "high-tech body armor, bullet-proof helmets, special water packs to keep soldiers hydrated, and other survival gear." The amendment failed when it was tabled in a 49-37 vote.

<dl>

<dd>Main article: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Congressional_Actions_Providing_Body_Armor_to_Troops" title="Congressional Actions Providing Body Armor to Troops" class="mw-redirect">Congressional Actions Providing Body Armor to Troops</a></dd>

</dl>

<h4>2007 Iraq resolutions</h4>

On January 16, 2007, Sen. Dodd introduced binding legislation which would cap U.S. troop levels in <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> at 130,000 (the number of troops in Iraq at the time), this preventing <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=George_Walker_Bush" title="George Walker Bush">President Bush</a> from adding an additional 21,500.

In early February of 2007, Dodd, as well as Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Russ_Feingold" title="Russ Feingold">Russ Feingold</a> (D-Wis.), threatened to oppose a newly drafted nonbinding resolution opposing George W. Bush's plans of troop escalation in Iraq, claiming that the language of the resolution was "weak." Both senators, however, supported an earlier draft. The newer draft was the result of bipartisan discussion and compromise in attempt to ensure that the resolution would pass. <a href="http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/020107/tipsheet.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/020107/tipsheet.html" rel="nofollow">[1]</a>

<dl>

<dd>Main article: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Congressional_actions_regarding_President_Bush%E2%80%99s_2007_proposed_troop_%E2%80%9Csurge%E2%80%9D_in_Iraq" title="Congressional actions regarding President Bush’s 2007 proposed troop “surge” in Iraq">Congressional actions regarding President Bush’s 2007 proposed troop “surge” in Iraq</a></dd>

</dl>

<h3>Environmental record</h3>

For more information on environmental legislation, see the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Energy_and_Environment_Policy_%28U.S.%29" title="Portal:Energy and Environment Policy (U.S.)">Energy and Environment Policy Portal</a>

<h3>Golden Leash Award</h3>

<a href="http://www.publicampaign.org/publications/studies/goldenleashes/dodd.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.publicampaign.org/publications/studies/goldenleashes/dodd.htm" rel="nofollow">The Golden Leash Award</a> was presented Dodd by <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Public_Campaign" title="Public Campaign" class="mw-redirect">Public Campaign</a>, April 29, 1998:

<dl>

<dd>"The Golden Leash is a symbol of the ties between special interest money and elected officials. It is awarded to Members of Congress who demonstrate egregious conduct in the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Quid_pro_quo" title="Quid pro quo">quid pro quo</a> practice of <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dollar_democracy&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Dollar democracy (page does not exist)">dollar democracy</a>.</dd>

</dl>

<dl>

<dd>"This award serves as a reminder of Senator Dodd's acceptance of $910,304 in campaign cash from January 1993 to December 1997 from the Securities, Investment, Accounting and High-Tech Computer industries... <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Goldman,Sachs%26_Co." title="Goldman, Sachs & Co." class="mw-redirect">Goldman, Sachs & Co.</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Morgan_Stanley" title="Morgan Stanley">Morgan Stanley</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Salomon_Brothers" title="Salomon Brothers">Salomon Brothers</a> and others donat[ed] $523,551 in PAC and individual contributions. The accounting industry - perhaps the biggest winners in the 1995 securities litigation reform law - donated $345,903 in PAC and individual contributions. This includes such giants as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Price_Waterhouse" title="Price Waterhouse">Price Waterhouse</a>, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ernst%26_Young" title="Ernst & Young">Ernst & Young</a> and <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Coopers%26_Lybrand&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Coopers & Lybrand (page does not exist)">Coopers & Lybrand</a>, among others. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Deloitte_%26_Touche" title="Deloitte & Touche" class="mw-redirect">Deloitte & Touche</a>'s contributions to Senator Dodd increased nearly five-fold from 1995 to 1996 soon after Congress passed the reform law the industry championed. The computer industry - a fairly new player in the campaign contribution field - ponied up $40,850 in contributions."</dd>

</dl>

Public Campaign's report cites the following examples: Dodd was an original cosponsor of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Private_Securities_Litigation_Reform_Act_of_1995&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (page does not exist)">Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995</a>, and he helped to organize the Senate's override of President Clinton's veto. The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=National_Securities_Market_Improvement_Act&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="National Securities Market Improvement Act (page does not exist)">National Securities Market Improvement Act</a> which ultimately weakened oversight that would have protected investors. Dodd lined up as a cosponsor of the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act, an extension of the earlier securities litigation legislation. The bill was strongly supported by The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Uniform_Standards_Coalition&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Uniform Standards Coalition (page does not exist)">Uniform Standards Coalition</a>, an ad-hoc group of securities, accounting and high-tech computer firms.

<h3>Illegal fundraising - John Huang</h3>

Dodd was co-chair of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Democratic_National_Committee" title="Democratic National Committee">Democratic National Committee</a> during the John Huang 1996-97 fundraising scandal, sometimes known as <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chinagate&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Chinagate (page does not exist)">Chinagate</a>. John Huang was described by the New York Times as "a former trade official who had been a top fund-raising officer at the Democratic National Committee and a frequent visitor to the White House."<a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E1DE1438F930A35752C1A960958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fH%2fHuang%2c%20John" class="external autonumber" title="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C06E1DE1438F930A35752C1A960958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fPeople%2fH%2fHuang%2c%20John" rel="nofollow">[2]</a> Attorney General Janet Reno launched an investigation into solitcitation of questionable campaign contributions from Asia. In the end, The task force created to investigate campaign fund-raising irregularities during the 1996 U.S. elections secured criminal convictions against 17 people by 2001, with Huang eventually pleading guilty. Dodd was not among the investigated or indicted. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/players/playerlist.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/players/playerlist.htm" rel="nofollow">[3]</a>

According to the conservative organization <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Judicial_Watch" title="Judicial Watch">Judicial Watch</a>, Dodd was a recipient of funds raised by John Huang. <a href="http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/1999/printer_173.shtmlt" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.judicialwatch.org/archive/1999/printer_173.shtmlt" rel="nofollow">[4]</a>.

See Also:

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/players/huang.htm" class="external text" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/players/huang.htm" rel="nofollow">The Washington Post summary on John Huang</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/infocus/fundraising.flap/time9610.html" class="external text" title="http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1997/gen/resources/infocus/fundraising.flap/time9610.html" rel="nofollow">CNN timeline on the "Fundraising Flap."</a></li>

</ul>

<h3>President Bush's recess appointment of Sam Fox</h3>

President Bush appointed Sam Fox, who contributed $50,000 to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Swift_Boat_Veterans_for_Truth" title="Swift Boat Veterans for Truth">Swift Boat Veterans for Truth</a> in 2004, as Ambassador to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a>. The <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Recess_appointment" title="Recess appointment">recess appointment</a> comes one week after Bush withdrew the nomination in the face of opposition organized by Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=John_Kerry" title="John Kerry" class="mw-redirect">John Kerry</a>. Dodd questioned the legal validity of the appointment, which the White House said would last until Congress adjourns at the end of 2008. Dodd said he would ask the General Accountability Office, the watchdog arm of Congress, to investigate the validity of Fox's recess appointment.

<h3>2008 presidential aspirations</h3>

On January 11, 2007, Dodd announced that he planned to seek the Democratic nomination for president in 2008. He announced on "Imus in the Morning," that "problems at home and abroad meant it was time for him to 'get out of the bleachers and onto the arena floor.'" He described himself as a "black horse" in a Democratic field dominated by presidential candidates like Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hillary_Rodham_Clinton" title="Hillary Rodham Clinton">Hillary Rodham Clinton</a> and Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama">Barack Obama</a>. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011100311.html" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/11/AR2007011100311.html" rel="nofollow">[5]</a>

Former lobbyist <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Amos_Hochstein" title="Amos Hochstein" class="mw-redirect">Amos Hochstein</a>, a key member of Dodd's campaign team, was until January 2007 managing <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Cassidy_and_Associates" title="Cassidy and Associates" class="mw-redirect">Cassidy and Associates</a>'s controversial account for the government of Equatorial Guinea.<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-2" title="">[3]</a><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-3" title="">[4]</a> Despite President <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Teodoro_Obiang&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Teodoro Obiang (page does not exist)">Teodoro Obiang</a>'s reputation as a corrupt tyrant, Hochstein remained an enthusiastic supporter. In April 2006 he told the Washington Post that Obiang had "...convinced me of his deep care for his people."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-4" title="">[5]</a>

On January 3, 2008, Dodd dropped out of the Presidential race after failing to get a single percentage point in the Democratic Iowa caucuses."<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-5" title="">[6]</a>

<dl>

<dd>Main article: <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S.presidential_election,2008" title="U.S. presidential election, 2008">U.S. presidential election, 2008</a></dd>

</dl>

Dodd was born May 27, 1944,in Willimantic, Connecticut. His father was Senator <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_J._Dodd" class="extiw" title="w:Thomas J. Dodd">Thomas Joseph Dodd</a>. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in English Literature from Providence College in 1966, Dodd served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Dominican_Republic" title="Dominican Republic">Dominican Republic</a> until 1968. After leaving the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Peace_Corps" title="Peace Corps">Peace Corps</a>, Dodd joined U.S. Army Reserve until 1975. In 1972, earned his J.D. from the University of Louisville. The following year, he was admitted to Connecticut bar, and began practicing law in New London.<a href="http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/2954" class="external autonumber" title="http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/2954" rel="nofollow">[6]</a>

In 1974, Dodd was elected to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._House_of_Representatives" title="U.S. House of Representatives" class="mw-redirect">U.S. House of Representatives</a> from Connecticut's second congressional district. He served from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 1981.

Dodd was first elected to the Senate in 1980. From 1995 to 1997, he served as General Chairman of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Democratic_National_Committee" title="Democratic National Committee">Democratic National Committee</a>. As General Chairman, Dodd was the DNC's spokesman.

Dodd is married to <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Jackie_Marie_Clegg" title="Jackie Marie Clegg">Jackie Marie Clegg</a>, a former director for the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Export-Import_Bank_of_the_United_States" title="Export-Import Bank of the United States">Export-Import Bank of the United States</a>. On September 16, 2003, Clegg was appointed to the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Chicago_Board_of_Trade&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Chicago Board of Trade (page does not exist)">Chicago Board of Trade</a> (CBOT). On March 10, 2004 she was appinted for a further three-year term. <a href="http://www.cbot.com/cbot/docs/Clegg.pdf" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.cbot.com/cbot/docs/Clegg.pdf" rel="nofollow">[7]</a> (Pdf)

Dodd is considered a supporter of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Insurance_industry" title="Insurance industry">insurance industry</a>. The trade magazine, Independant Agent, wrote in <a href="http://www.iamagazine.com/ARCHIVES/1995/leamay95.doc" class="external text" title="http://www.iamagazine.com/ARCHIVES/1995/leamay95.doc" rel="nofollow">1995</a>: "Among others on Senate Banking, Sen. <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Paul_S._Sarbanes" title="Paul S. Sarbanes" class="mw-redirect">Paul S. Sarbanes</a> of Maryland, the Senate Banking Committee's ranking Democrat, can be expected to take a skeptical approach to financial services modernization in general, while Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut, the No. 2 Democrat," is a strong supporter of the insurance industry. In 2003, Dodd was honored at the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America as "Legislator of the Year."<a href="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/newswire/east/2003/04/07/27740.htm" class="external autonumber" title="http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/newswire/east/2003/04/07/27740.htm" rel="nofollow">[8]</a>

<h4>2008 elections</h4>

</td><td width="100%" style=" border-left: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0.5em 0.5em 0em;">This information was gathered by volunteer researchers as part of the Superdelegate Transparency Project on the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Superdelegates" title="Superdelegates" class="mw-redirect">superdelegates</a> for the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. For more info see the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Connecticut_2008_presidential_primary_and_superdelegates" title="Connecticut 2008 presidential primary and superdelegates">Connecticut superdelegate tracker</a> or visit the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Portal:Superdelegate_Transparency_Project" title="Portal:Superdelegate Transparency Project">STP homepage</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Before <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Hillary_Clinton" title="Hillary Clinton" class="mw-redirect">Hillary Clinton</a> conceded the race, Christopher John Dodd, as a <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Superdelegate" title="Superdelegate" class="mw-redirect">superdelegate</a>, had endorsed <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barack_Obama" title="Barack Obama">Barack Obama</a> for President.

<div style=" margin: 0.5em 0.75em 0.5em 0.75em; border-collapse: collapse; background: #dce8f8; border: 1px solid #5c79b5; padding: .25em .25em 0.25em .25em;">For more information and sources, see the state page for this superdelegate linked to in the blue box above.</div>

<h2>Money in politics</h2>

This section contains links to – and feeds from – money in politics databases. <crpcontribdata>cid=N00000581&cycle=2006</crpcontribdata>

<table class="prettytable"><tbody><tr><th colspan="3">Links to more campaign contribution information for Christopher John Dodd

from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> site.</th></tr><tr><td>Fundraising profile:</td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00000581" rel="nofollow">2006 election cycle</a></td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allsummary.asp?cid=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allsummary.asp?cid=N00000581" rel="nofollow">Career totals</a></td></tr><tr><td>Top contributors by organization/corporation:</td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00000581" rel="nofollow">2006 election cycle</a></td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allcontrib.asp?cid=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allcontrib.asp?cid=N00000581" rel="nofollow">Career totals</a></td></tr><tr><td>Top contributors by industry:</td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/indus.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/indus.asp?cycle=2006&cid=N00000581" rel="nofollow">2006 election cycle</a></td><td><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?cid=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/allindus.asp?cid=N00000581" rel="nofollow">Career totals</a></td></tr></tbody></table>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/search_result.asp?mem=Dodd%2C+Chris" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/revolving/search_result.asp?mem=Dodd%2C+Chris" rel="nofollow">Revolving door profile for Christopher John Dodd</a> from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> website.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/travel.asp?CID=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/travel.asp?CID=N00000581" rel="nofollow">2006 privately funded travel profile for Christopher John Dodd</a> from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> website.</li>

<li><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/candlook.php?CID=N00000581" class="external text" title="http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/candlook.php?CID=N00000581" rel="nofollow">Personal finance profile for Christopher John Dodd</a> from the Center for Responsive Politics' <a href="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" class="external text" title="http://www.OpenSecrets.org" rel="nofollow">OpenSecrets.org</a> website.</li>

</ul>

<h2>Committees and affiliations</h2>

<h3>Committees</h3>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Senate_Committee_on_Rules_and_Administration" title="Senate Committee on Rules and Administration">Senate Committee on Rules and Administration</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Senate_Committee_on_Foreign_Relations" title="Senate Committee on Foreign Relations">Senate Committee on Foreign Relations</a>

<ul>

<li>Subcommittee on European Affairs</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Near East and South and Central Asian Affairs</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, and Narcotics Affairs</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Senate_Committee_on_Health,Education,Labor,_and_Pensions" title="Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions">Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions</a>

<ul>

<li>Subcommittee on Children and Families</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety</li>

<li>Subcommittee on International Trade and Finance</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Senate_Committee_on_Banking,Housing,and_Urban_Affairs" title="Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs">Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs</a> - Chairman</li>

</ul>

<h4>Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)</h4>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Joint_Committee_on_the_Library_of_Congress" title="Joint Committee on the Library of Congress">Joint Committee on the Library of Congress</a></li>

<ul>

<li>Subcommittee on Financial Institutions</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Housing and Transportation</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Securities and Investment - Ranking Minority Member</li>

</ul>

</li>

<li><a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Senate_Committee_on_Foreign_Relations" title="Senate Committee on Foreign Relations">Senate Committee on Foreign Relations</a>

<ul>

<li>Subcommittee on African Affairs</li>

<li>Subcommittee on International Economic Policy Export and Trade Promotion</li>

<li>Subcommittee on European Affairs</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs - Ranking Minority Member</li>

</ul>

</li>

<ul>

<li>Subcommittee on Bioterrorism Preparendess and Public Health</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Development - Ranking Minority Member</li>

<li>Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety</li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

<h3>Board and other affiliations</h3>

<ul>

<li>Member, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Council_on_Foreign_Relations" title="Council on Foreign Relations">Council on Foreign Relations</a></li>

<li><a href="http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/c73c3a86e9924dc4c1256dac004c0ca2?OpenDocument" class="external text" title="http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/0/c73c3a86e9924dc4c1256dac004c0ca2?OpenDocument" rel="nofollow">Member</a> of the <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Helsinki_Commission" title="Helsinki Commission">Helsinki Commission</a> (September 16, 2003).</li>

<li>Former Co-Chair, Democratic National Committee</li>

<li>Former Board Member (1989), <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Center_for_Democracy" title="Center for Democracy">Center for Democracy</a></li>

<li>Advisory Council (2008), <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Technoserve" title="Technoserve">Technoserve</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-6" title="">[7]</a></li>

<li>Advisory Council, <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Children%27s_Health_Fund" title="Children's Health Fund">Children's Health Fund</a> <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Christopher_John_Dodd#cite_note-7" title="">[8]</a></li>

</ul>

<h2>More background data</h2>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=S0131103" class="external text" title="http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=S0131103" rel="nofollow">Background information on Christopher John Dodd from Project Vote Smart</a></li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0131103" class="external text" title="http://www.vote-smart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=S0131103" rel="nofollow">Interest group scorecard ratings for Christopher John Dodd from Project Vote Smart</a></li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/d000388" class="external text" title="http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/d000388" rel="nofollow">Voting record for Christopher John Dodd from the Washington Post database</a></li>

</ul>

<ul>

<li><a href="http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/cgi-bin/newmemberbio.cgi?lang=&member=CTSR&site=congressmerge" class="external text" title="http://www.congressmerge.com/onlinedb/cgi-bin/newmemberbio.cgi?lang=&member=CTSR&site=congressmerge" rel="nofollow">Information on Christopher John Dodd from Congress Merge</a></li>

</ul>

<a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> also has an article on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_John_Dodd" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_John_Dodd" rel="nofollow">Christopher John Dodd</a>. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GFDL" class="external text" title="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GFDL" rel="nofollow">GFDL</a>.

Dodd, Chris Sen

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