Senator Dodd issued a brief statement today congratulating the 228 Coast Guard Academy cadets who received their diplomas at commencement ceremony held earlier today at the Academy’s New London campus.  

“I offer my warmest congratulations to the Coast Guard Academy Class of 2007 for your accomplishment in graduating and taking up your commissions as officers in the United States Coast Guard.  As the Coast Guard’s newest leaders, you have many challenges to face in your future career.  As a vital component of our domestic security you will patrol our shorelines - intercepting those who seek to subvert our laws, responding to environmental emergencies, and serving as our national first responders to save those in harm’s way on the seas.

“Student loans are becoming an increasingly important component of attaining a higher education – which is essential to achieving the American Dream.  As the cost of higher education has risen, so too has the reliance of student borrowers on private loans as a way to bridge the gap between the cost of their higher education expenses and the limited funds made available via government guaranteed loans, grants, scholarships and other types of student aid.  As a member of the Committee on Help, Education, Labor and Pensions as well as Chairman of the Banking Committee, I intend to examine the many relevant issues regarding student lending, including the growth of the private educational loan market and its impact on student borrowers.  As part of that effort, my office has been in communication with other Senate offices, Republican as well as Democratic, representatives of the appropriate federal agencies, college administrators, lenders, and other higher education experts.  These actions have been taken for one overarching goal – to ensure that the various student lending programs continue to serve their very important purpose of making a higher education accessible and affordable for all Americans.”

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) today sent a letter to Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Arlen Specter (R-PA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, requesting an increase in funding for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program. The CSBG serves communities across the country by assisting low-income individuals and families to become self sufficient, through the work of approximately 1,100 Community Action Agencies (CAA) that leverage resources for services like Head Start, child care and after school programs, health care, and literacy and job training initiatives. CAAs also support programs which promote financial literacy, housing and homeownership assistance, and meal programs. Funding for the CSBG has decreased in recent years from its 2002 level of $650 million.  Senators Dodd and Grassley, along with a bipartisan coalition of 41 other Senators who signed the letter, have requested increased funding for Fiscal Year 2008 to restore funding and allow these important local initiatives to meet current costs. 

Today Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) sent a letter to David Walker, the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office (GAO), requesting that the GAO conduct a study on access to music and arts education in the American public school system since passage of the No Child Left Behind Act.  This week, Senators Dodd and Alexander also introduced a resolution recognizing the benefits and importance of school-based music education.  Senators Dodd and Alexander are members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), and are Chairman and Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on Children and Families. 

Today, on National Children’s Mental Health Day, Senators Edward Kennedy, Pete Domenici, and Chris Dodd introduced bipartisan legislation to provide more and better opportunities for our nation’s public school children to get the mental health services they may need. One in five children have a diagnosable mental disorder yet 75% of children in need of mental health services do not receive them.  The Mental Health In Schools Act of 2007 gives competitive grants to local education agencies in order to assist them in providing comprehensive school-based mental health programs for students in K- 12.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) last week introduced legislation to help American students better afford the rising costs of higher education. The College Savers’ Credit Act (CSCA) creates a refundable tax credit to help low- and moderate-income Americans save for college using Section 529 college savings accounts, in a similar fashion to existing incentives for retirement savings. With college tuition costs on the rise, the fully refundable College Savers’ Credit will help eligible students and families build savings specifically for meeting educational expenses, providing the greatest benefit to those who would otherwise have the greatest difficulty affording college. Each year, 200,000 students graduate high school academically qualified to continue their education in college, yet are unable to do so because they cannot afford the cost of tuition, books, room, and board.  The CSCA will help make the dream of attending college a reality for these students, strengthening the workforce and bolstering the U.S. economy for years to come.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) today announced they will reintroduce in both chambers of Congress the No Child Left Behind Reform Act (NCLBRA), a bill that would makes three basic changes to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which was signed into law in January of 2002.   Senator Dodd, a senior Democrat on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Congresswoman DeLauro originally introduced the legislation in 2004.    

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), along with Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Russ Feingold (D-WI) yesterday introduced the Medical Education Affordability Act (MEAA), a bill that would help make medical and dental school more affordable by extending the economic hardship student loan deferment to cover the entire length of a medical or dental residency for eligible students.  The bill has been endorsed by the American Medical Student Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the American Dental Education Association, along with several other organizations. 

In an effort to improve access to higher education for lower- and middle-income students, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) yesterday introduced legislation that would increase the size of the authorized maximum Pell Grant.

“As the cost of college tuition rises, higher education is getting farther and farther out of reach for an entire generation of students,” said Dodd.  “Far too many students are simply unable to afford college, and it is our responsibility to provide them and their families with the financial assistance they need to further their education.  Pell Grants are critically important tools in making higher education a possibility for lower- and middle-income students.”

It’s always a source of great amusement back home when someone asks me to offer my opinions on schools. The truth is, if you ranked my family for accomplishments in education, I’d probably finish fifth or sixth.

I come from a family of educators, starting with my great-grandmother, Catherine Murphy, who came to this country unable to read or write her own name. But shortly after arriving in a little town in Connecticut, she was elected to the school board – because Catherine Murphy understood that the future belonged to education.