January 22, 2009

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement this evening after the Senate confirmation of two key members of President Obama’s economic team who were recently vetted by the Committee.  The Senate confirmed by unanimous consent Mr. Shaun Donovan to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Honorable Mary Schapiro to be Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

January 9, 2009

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, today made the following statement on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicating that 524,000 American jobs were lost last month, the 12th straight month of decline:

 

"These latest employment numbers confirm the struggle that many families across this country and in my home state of Connecticut are already experiencing. Unfortunately, the prospect of job loss will continue to loom large for families trying to make ends meet, with the jobless rate predicted to continue to rise in coming months.

January 9, 2009

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) submitted the following statement for the record at this morning’s HELP Committee hearing for the nomination of Secretary of Labor-Designate Hilda Solis:

September 5, 2008

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today issued the following statement on the increase in the unemployment rate to 6.1%, the highest it has been in five years:

 

“Today’s data is cause for renewed concern about the state of our economy.  More and more Americans are losing their jobs while the costs of fuel, food, and other everyday necessities continue to rise.  Congress put forth a significant effort to strengthen our economy with a stimulus package and comprehensive housing legislation passed earlier this year.  But more must be done to help Americans who are struggling to make ends meet.  Our nation needs a new, robust economic policy, including extending unemployment insurance benefits; increasing funding for worker training programs; providing tax relief for working families; and investing in our nation’s infrastructure, which will create thousands of new jobs and grow our economy.  In the coming months, the Banking Committee will remain focused on ways to provide long-term financial security and opportunity for all Americans.”

September 7, 2007

“These numbers aren’t just statistics – they represent real families facing real economic hardship.  Today’s announcement by the Labor Department that U.S. employment fell for the first time in four years is cause for deep concern and it is further proof that the economic policies of the Bush Administration are failing America’s working families.  Most troubling is that the data, specifically the construction job loss numbers, suggest that the subprime mortgage market troubles may be spreading to the broader U.S. economy despite statements by Administration officials that the crisis in the credit and mortgage markets is “contained.” 

May 18, 2007

Senator Chris Dodd, D-Conn., Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Senator Richard Shelby, R-Ala., ranking member of the Committee,  yesterday wrote to Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson  emphasizing the need to eliminate China's unfair trade practices through both dialogue and action.  China’s ongoing intervention to keep the yuan undervalued and discriminatory treatment of foreign financial services firms have contributed to the loss of approximately three million manufacturing jobs and to the record high U.S. trade deficit.

October 9, 2006

WEST HAVEN, Conn. - Connecticut Senators Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3), Governor M. Jodi Rell and West Haven Mayor John M. Picard today issued the following statement on the closing of Bayer Pharmaceuticals North America.  Approximately 800 jobs-600 research and development jobs and 200 administrative and marketing jobs-at the West Haven facility will be affected by this closure.  

May 16, 2006
Senator Dodd today met with Connecticut members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. They discussed the economy, the need to stop outsourcing of American jobs and ways to strengthen Connecticut's aerospace and defense industries.

Recently, a White House economic report suggested that fast-food restaurant jobs should be reclassified as manufacturing jobs. In the eyes of the Administration, an 18-year-old serving french fries at a burger joint is now on par with someone with 25 years of experience wiring nuclear submarines for Electric Boat.

This reclassification, of course, would not help a single American find work. But it would conveniently hide the 2.7 million manufacturing jobs lost since President Bush took office.

A few weeks ago, Americans who called a government food stamp information line in one state made a startling discovery: their calls were being routed to customer service representatives in India. Men and women struggling to find a good job were shocked to learn that their tax dollars were employing workers 7,000 miles away.

The Bush Administration and its allies speak of an economic “recovery.” Yet millions of hard-working Americans still cannot find jobs. Since this Administration took office, 2.9 million private sector jobs have been lost. Barring a miraculous turnaround, this Administration will be the first since that of Herbert Hoover to preside over an economy with a net job loss.