Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today submitted the following statement for the record at the Committee hearing on global climate change:

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.  I would like to join my colleagues in welcoming my good friend Vice President Gore this morning, and thank him for the tremendous work he has done over the years.  He has not only raised awareness of the dangers of global climate change; he has transformed the debate and brought it into the public consciousness.  I would also like to recognize our distinguished Chairman’s own work in confronting global climate change, most recently during his trip to Poland in December as the leader of the U.S. delegation to the UN Conference on global warming.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today announced the Senate’s passage of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009.  The legislation includes four key bills that will designate two new trails and allow for expanded activities at two national parks.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), John Kerry (D-MA), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) applauded today’s Senate passage of their bill to extend the designation of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley as a Heritage Corridor through 2015. This legislation, which will provide crucial protection to one of the last undeveloped regions in the Northeast, was approved by the Senate as part of a package of public lands bills.

Senator Chris Dodd (CT) and Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) have joined forces to advocate for open space protection in Simsbury. Dodd and Murphy wrote to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ed Schafer, and the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service, Abigail Kimbell, in support of a Forest Legacy Grant for the 73-acre Tulmeadow woodlot in West Simsbury. While 187 acres of the Tulmeadow Farm are already protected by conservation easements and are under the management of the Simsbury Land Trust, this grant would allow for protection of the remaining 73 acres of open space that is part of a 25 mile, 8,000 acre natural corridor that runs from Simsbury all the way to the Massachusetts border.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today released the following statement applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to hear an appeal regarding the proposed construction of the Islander East natural gas pipeline across the floor of the Long Island Sound: 

“I am very pleased that the Supreme Court rejected the appeal brought by Islander East. I have long opposed the company’s proposal to build a natural gas pipeline across the Sound, which could disrupt an important wildlife habitat and threaten one of our region’s greatest natural treasures. The Court’s decision upholds the best interests of the State of Connecticut, and hopefully puts this poor-designed proposal to rest once and for all.”

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), along with Representatives Christopher Shays (R-CT-4) and Chris Murphy (D-CT-5), today sent a letter to Federal Aviation Administration Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell requesting that the FAA carry out the analyses recommended by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in its report on the FAA’s proposed airspace redesign.  The Connecticut elected officials also requested that the FAA respond to several shortcomings highlighted in the GAO report and present a detailed airspace redesign implementation plan to Congress that includes a time and cost schedule, risk mitigation plan, transition planning, and monitoring and evaluation plan.

The National Park Service Advisory Board voted today to approve Coltsville’s bid to become a National Historical Landmark.  Connecticut Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Chris Dodd (D-CT), as well as Congressman John B. Larson (D-CT-01) applaud the Board’s decision and its recognition of the important piece of history that the Colt Factory represents. The decision now heads to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne’s desk for final approval. This is a major step towards attaining National Park status for the area and all of the benefits that come with that designation.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) released the following statement today on the President’s announcement that he lift the presidential ban on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Dodd is the co-sponsor of two bills that would require the oil companies to explore the 68 million acres of space they already lease. The Responsible Ownership of Public Land Act would charge oil companies a fee for every acre of land they lease but do not use for production.  The second piece of legislation, entitled the Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act, mandates that oil companies either produce on or seek to develop their existing federal leases, or relinquish the leases when they expire. 

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today praised approval of a provision requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to report back to the Senate after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) releases its review of the FAA’s proposed airspace redesign.  The provision, which was introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, would require the FAA Administrator to report the agency’s attempts to address any concerns or recommendations raised in the GAO’s report to the Senate Committee on Appropriations and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Transportation. 

U.S. Senators Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) and Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) today introduced legislation that would stipulate that if the price of home heating oil was over $4 per gallon this winter that the Home Heating Oil Reserve would be released on a staggered schedule throughout the winter.