Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, announced that the Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday entitled “Turmoil in the U.S. Credit Markets: Examining Recent Regulatory Responses.” Tomorrow’s hearing will focus on the federal regulators’ role in the economic crisis and solutions to restore stability and soundness to our financial markets.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, held a hearing on today entitled “Turmoil in the U.S. Credit Markets: The Genesis of the Current Economic Crisis.”  The hearing focused on what led to our country’s economic crisis, and solutions to restore stability and soundness to our financial markets and the American economy.

On Tuesday, after meeting with Secretary Paulson, I indicated that I was supportive of the Administration’s plan to use the authority granted by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. In developing the financial rescue package, we in Congress recognized the need to attack this crisis on multiple fronts. I am encouraged that the Administration has chosen to do just that, and am hopeful that these efforts will help unfreeze our markets.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the following statement today on the Administration’s announcement that it is releasing the funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) that was included in a comprehensive funding measure passed by Congress and signed by the President last month.  The bill provided $5.1 billion for LIHEAP including over $125 million for the state of Connecticut, nearly twice the amount of funding Connecticut received last year.

As part of the recently-enacted Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, successfully worked to require the Federal Reserve to report to the Congress when it undertakes loans made under unusual and exigent circumstances. Dodd released the following statement after receiving the first two reports from the Federal Reserve:

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today announced that he is supportive of the Administration’s plan to use the authority granted by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act passed by Congress last month.  This legislation expanded the range of options that federal agencies can use to intervene in the economy, including direct liquidity injections into our nation’s banks.  This assistance will be subject to the protections Congress put into the law, including warrants, limits on executive compensation, and a prohibition on golden parachutes for companies receiving government assistance.  Dodd met with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson earlier today to discuss the details of the plan.

On Thursday, the Connecticut Post published the following op-ed by Senator Chris Dodd on the Hope for Homeowners program. Senator Dodd is Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.

While Congress and the Bush administration work to get our markets moving again so that small businesses can make payroll and families living paycheck to paycheck can put food on the table, the foreclosure crisis at the heart of this economic crisis continues to unfold. Before the spectacular fall of Wall Street giants such as Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, millions of Americans were suffering through a financial catastrophe of their own. Today, nearly 10,000 families go into foreclosure on a daily basis, while millions more suffer from plummeting home values, taking a terrible toll not only on their cumulative wealth but their sense of confidence in what the future holds for their children.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the following statement today on the recent news that the number of Connecticut households applying for home heating assistance has more than tripled as compared with this time last year.  Last winter, more than 86,000 households in Connecticut received assistance through the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a number which is expected to increase dramatically before the season is over.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today announced the enactment of the HOPE for Homeowners program, a voluntary initiative to help distressed borrowers refinance their mortgages.  HOPE for Homeowners was established as part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA), comprehensive housing legislation that Senator Dodd authored along with Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA).  HERA was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush in July.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, today released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed and the President signed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act:

“I commend Chairman Frank, Speaker Pelosi, and Congressmen Emanuel, Boehner and Blunt for their contributions to this bipartisan, bicameral effort.