“In his last State of the Union speech to the nation, President George W. Bush once again demonstrated why the country is in such dire need of a new direction. Having heard his assessment of the state of America today, I am concerned about his unwillingness to provide real assistance to middle class Americans struggling to make ends meet, his continued trampling of the Constitution – our civil liberties – in the name of national security, and his lack of a plan to end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home safely.

Watch clip

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) today rose again to speak on the Senate floor in opposition to a vote to end debate on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation that would grant immunity to telecommunications companies who cooperated with the Bush Administration’s secret wiretapping program.  The full text of his remarks as prepared appears below: 

Watch clip

Mr. President: Last night we saw into the heart of Republican priorities. Since last month, day after day after day, opponents of retroactive immunity have been warning about its underlying motive: shutting up the president’s critics.

Pass immunity, we’ve said, and the debate will be shut down, the critics will be shut up, and the actions of the president’s favored corporations will be shut in the dark, for good.

Watch clip

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) this morning continued his fight to strip the provision granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Bush Administration’s secret wiretapping program from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation by speaking on the Senate floor in support of the Leahy amendment, which would eliminate the retroactive immunity language from the bill.  The full text of Senator Dodd’s remarks as delivered are below: 

Watch Video

As the Senate today prepares to consider, for the second time, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation that would grant immunity to telecommunications companies who cooperated with the Bush administration’s secret wiretapping program, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) made the following remarks:

After nearly a full day spent on the Senate floor, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) defeated an attempt to pass the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation that would grant immunity to telecommunications companies who cooperated with the Bush administration’s secret wiretapping program.  Dodd objected to the motion to proceed to the bill early this morning and remained on the floor for almost ten hours, taking a stand for the rule of law and the Constitution with his statements throughout the day.  At approximately 7:30 P.M. Majority Leader Reid announced the FISA reform bill would be pulled from the Senate calendar and reconsidered in January. 

Senator Chris Dodd today will make the following remarks on the Senate floor regarding his opposition to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) reform legislation being considered by the Senate: 

Mr. President:

I rise to urge my colleagues to vote against cloture on S. 2248, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007.

Today, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) continued to stand up for the rule of law and the Constitution by urging his Senate colleagues to reject legislation which would grant immunity to telecommunications companies who cooperated with the Bush administration’s secret wiretapping program.  Senator Dodd recently joined several of his colleagues in sending a letter to Majority Leader Reid requesting that he bring to the floor FISA reform legislation that does not include retroactive immunity.  Since the decision has been made to bring up S2248, a bill reported by the Senate Intelligence Committee with retroactive immunity, Senator Dodd will oppose considering the bill and urge his colleagues to vote with him against cloture.  If those efforts fail, Senator Dodd will offer an amendment to strip retroactive immunity from the legislation.

Today, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) expressed his frustration that a filibuster prevented the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act from consideration by the Senate. The Act would create a new permanent seat in the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia.  The vote was 57-42.

“There is nothing more fundamental to the vitality and endurance of a democracy of the people, by the people, and for the people than the people's right to vote,” said Dodd. “The Constitution guarantees it, and the US Supreme Court has repeatedly underscored that it is one of our most precious and fundamental rights.”

“Well over two centuries ago on this day, our forebears established a legacy of freedom and independence for our great nation.  It is our responsibility to maintain those values and deliver them to the next generation of Americans.  Between the explosions of fireworks and footsteps of parades, I hope that all Americans will pause to remember the sacredness of this day and its importance in our nation’s history.”