Senator Dodd, author of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Children and Families, today raised concerns about new regulations to the FMLA proposed by the Department of Labor:

This morning, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and John Larson (D-CT-1) toured the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) in Hartford and led a roundtable discussion on the impact of the federal budget on children's health, and in particular their concerns about the President's proposal to eliminate the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Payment Program. Sen. Dodd and Rep. Larson were joined by CCMC President and Chief Executive Officer Martin J. Gavin, staff of CCMC, including physicians and pediatric residents, and CCMC patients and families.

"Fifteen years ago today, on February 5, 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law. It was the first bill President Clinton signed—but by the time it reached his desk, it had endured eight years of obstruction and two presidential vetoes. Over those eight years, I was driven by stories of Americans forced to make the excruciating choice between the job they need and the family they love: new mothers returning to work after the birth of their child to find that they had been replaced; husbands facing demotion if they stayed home to care for an ailing wife.

It wasn’t so long ago that trying to get time off could get you fired.

That’s what I learned from Eva Bunnell when I met her at church in East Haddam, Conn., in 1989. Eva’s daughter Jacinta had been born with a rare brain disease and was fighting for her life in the ICU. Her husband asked his employer for time off to be at the side of his wife and baby. And he was told to never come back — leaving the family without an income, without health insurance, and almost without hope.

“In his last budget as President, Bush has turned his back on programs that would ensure the safety and health of our nation’s children. From universal newborn screening to massive cuts in the Medicare and Medicaid programs to mental health and substance abuse treatment and prevention programs, President Bush is proposing that we pay for his tax cuts on the backs of America’s most vulnerable citizens. His health care proposal includes several recycled proposals that will do nothing to help the 47 million uninsured Americans and the millions more that are underinsured.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) today applauded the enactment of their legislation, the Support for Injured Servicemembers Act, which was signed into law by President Bush late yesterday.   The Dodd-Clinton legislation extends the benefits provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by allowing the families of wounded military personnel to take up to six months of unpaid leave to care for their loved ones during the often lengthy rehabilitation process.  The legislation immediately implements a key recommendation of the Commission on the Care for Wounded Warriors, led by former Senator Bob Dole and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today responded to reports that the Department of Labor has proposed new Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations that may make it more difficult for Americans to utilize the law’s protections.  Senator Dodd is the author of the landmark legislation and is also the author of a bill which would allow the family of injured servicemembers to take up to six months of unpaid leave to care for their loved one. That measure is currently awaiting President Bush's signature.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) today announced that their legislation, the Support for Injured Servicemembers Act, would again head to the President’s desk for his signature.   The Dodd-Clinton legislation extends the benefits provided under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) by allowing the families of wounded military personnel to take up to six months of unpaid leave to care for their loved ones during the often lengthy rehabilitation process.  The legislation will implement a key recommendation of the Commission on the Care for Wounded Warriors, led by former Senator Bob Dole and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala.  This is the second time that Congress has approved the Defense Authorization.  President Bush vetoed the first version.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a leading advocate for the safety and efficacy of medicines used by children, today applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Public Health Advisory that over-the-counter cold and cough medications should not be used in children under the age of two. However, he renewed his call for the FDA to act on the recommendations of its advisory committees concerning the safety and efficacy of these medications for older children between the ages of two and six.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today announced that Connecticut residents would receive $13,598,024 in federal funding to help low-income households pay for their home heating costs. The money, provided by the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, helps pay the winter heating bills or summer cooling bills of low-income and elderly people.