31°
Dodd, who has owned a home in New Canaan, turns 72 on Friday. The lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician was born May 27, 1944, in Willimantic.
He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small rural town in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968 and also served in the U.S. Army Reserve.
He returned to Connecticut, winning election in 1974 to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District and was re-elected in 1976 and 1978. During his tenure in the House, he served on the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations.
He was first elected U.S. senator in 1980 and was the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history after retiring in 2010. He supported amending the Family and Medical Leave Act, which he authored in 1993, to include paid leave, and a corporate carbon tax to combat global warming.
He is credited with inserting the last-minute pay limit into American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In May 2009, he was the author and lead sponsor of the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009,
He announced on June 22, 2009, that he supports same-sex marriage.
He won the Washington Office on Latin America's prestigious Human Rights Award in 2008.
In February 2011,Dodd replaced Dan Glickman as chairman and chief lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America
Click here to follow Daily Voice New Canaan and receive free news updates.
