February 15, 2007

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) today introduced legislation to educate parents and health care providers about newborn screening, improve follow-up care for infants with an illness detected through newborn screening, and help states expand and improve their newborn screening programs.

February 15, 2007

Senator Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) recently introduced legislation to provide access to vital health care services for uninsured children through school-based health centers (SBHCs). S. 600, the School Based Health Clinic Act of 2007 will create a federal authorization to support the work of SBHCs across the nation. 

February 9, 2007

“The CDC’s recent study, which found that rates of autism among children in the U.S. are significantly higher than previously thought, is not only alarming, but also underscores the immediate need for more research into this condition.  While this study is not exhaustive and does not represent the entire population, it does serve as a sharp warning that we must do more in this field in terms of research, funding, and awareness.  I intend to do my part in Congress by fighting for more funding for this important issue and the millions of lives it affects.”

December 11, 2006

Washington- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the second ranking Democrat on the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today announced that three measures which he co-authored will now make their way to President Bush’s desk for his signature and enactment. The Combating Autism Act, PREEMIE Act and STOP Underage Drinking Act were all passed by both houses of Congress in the final hours of the 109^th session which wrapped up early Saturday morning.

December 7, 2006

Washington- Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) yesterday introduced legislation which would ensure that the safety of young children is not compromised by medical devices which are developed with an adult patient in mind. For example, physicians have had to resort to invasive procedures when a baby needs assistance breathing because even the smallest nasal masks on the market in the U.S. today are not designed to fit infants.  Children needing heart transplants die at a disproportionate rate, but a device called a Berlin Heart which has shown great promise helping young children and newborns while they recover or wait for heart transplants can only be obtained today in the U.S. on a case by case basis and must be shipped from Germany.

September 28, 2006

September 25, 2006

August 2006

On August 1, 2006 the Senate unanimously approved passage of the PREEMIE Act, legislation that aims to reduce infant mortality caused by prematurity by expanding and coordinating the research of the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control on preterm labor, delivery and care as well as the treatment of low-birth weight babies.  Along with Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Senator Dodd authored the bill.

August 4, 2006

 

Washington, DC – Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today announced the Senate passage of S. 843, the Combating Autism Act, legislation aimed at improving and expanding the federal commitment toward autism, the fastest growing developmental disability in the nation.  The legislation, which he authored with Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), commits close to $1 billion to increase research to help improve our understanding of what causes this developmental disability and how we can best help individuals living with it meet their full potential.

August 3, 2006

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Education and Early Childhood Education, today announced unanimous Senate passage of his legislation - the Prematurity Research Expansion and Education for Mothers who deliver Infants Early or “PREEMIE Act” – a bill to improve education for expectant mothers, to provide better treatment for babies who are born too early, and to expand research on premature births. The PREEMIE Act was also co-sponsored by Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN)