Senator Dodd live video blog TODAY!

Sen Dodd (4.00 / 2)

Why are you and your staff, and Cts Democratic State Central Committee in the form of Nancy DiNardo and her staff,allowing the Republican Party and Chris Healy control the narative on Sen. Chris Dodd in particular and Ct Politics in General?

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by: ctkeith @ Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 19:37:49 PM CDT

3 questions (4.00 / 1)

Three questions

1. I get why the bailout money is helping with bad loans,  I even understand why we need to help with collateralized mortgages, but is there anyway government funds not payoff credit default swaps?  

It seems like we are paying off unregulated betting.  I read that one guy made a billion dollars on a 22 million dollar bet against Lehman.  It seems like federal government paying off these credit default bets using AIG as the bookie?

I understand that there will be pain but it seems that these were not legit financial instruments.

2. Also when are you going to begin drafting regulations so  banks just take in savings and give out local mortgages?  We need fewer "too big to fail" banks and more small local banks.  It seems like we are still operating with the old rules and we will keep seeing the fraud going on until we get the referees, with a rule book, back on the field.

3. Is there any thought to suspending the H1B visa quota for a year or two?  There are plenty of tech people looking for jobs right now.  This visa does not seem to be aligned with current conditions in the economy.  Furthermore it is being used to allow outsourcing companies to use H1B visas to fill onshore jobs which could be hired locally.

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by: ctpublius @ Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 20:25:57 PM CDT

Solicitations (0.00 / 0)

I know this plan has something about solicitations but what specifically does the bill do? Does this mean my mailbox will no longer overflow with pre-approved offers and my 10 year-old niece wont have a 5000 dollar limit and 0% into apr?

Also, what will this do to the strange and mysterious practices of the credit rating bureaus? Will this help or hurt my score?

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by: SpencerOwen @ Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 20:33:24 PM CDT

Please tell me this is only Round 1 in credit card reform... (0.00 / 0)

Why not cap the interest rates that Credit Card issuers are allowed to charge? Isn't there something distinctly un-American about charging a distressed consumer interest as high as 20%, 25%, or more? Me, I'd tie the maximum rate into points above the Fed fund rate, or some other index. Something like ten points over prime. Why isn't Congress pushing for a return to usury limits, especially at a time when it would prove stimulative to consumer spending and the economy?

PS-- I'm mad at you for tyring to open the door to bring Joe Lieberman back into the fold. Okay, Senator Lieberman's going to help you in 2010. What then happens in 2012?

As a Democrat, I'll never forget that Joe worked to defeat Obama in favor of John McCain and the very scary Sarah Palin.

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by: AndersonScooper @ Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 20:59:49 PM CDT

Can you subpoena The Fed? (0.00 / 0)

Senator Dodd, thank you for making yourself available.

I request greater transparency in government.  I understand that Bloomberg News has been requesting bailout-related information from The Fed and has been stonewalled under the Fed's "trade secret / national security" clause.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/...

The various financial rescue packages are now up to $13 trillion, including $8 trillion at The Fed.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/...

As Senate Banking Chairman, can you subpoena the information that has been requested by credible journalists?  Getting this information shouldn't be so difficult.

And again, thanks for visiting.

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by: Tim White @ Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 21:08:00 PM CDT

Please Don't Call It "The" Fed (0.00 / 0)

For it's really a private business, and not a US Government federal agency at all. Referring to it as "Federal Reserve Corporation®" will go a long way toward putting things into their proper perspective. When they chose that name back in 1913 it was a deliberate deception to prevent resistance to the then latest attempt to stick us with a private central bank, and was successful.

Here's a program from back in the mid-90's that explains the whole thing in great detail:

http://www.themoneymasters.com/

Watch online for free-

http://video.google.com/videop...

You can be sure Mr. Dodd knows all about this...

"If those in charge of our society...can dominate our ideas, they will be secure in their power. They will not need soldiers patrolling the streets. We will control ourselves." ~~Howard Zinn

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by: lakezoarian @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 06:03:14 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Sen Dodd - 4 Questions on advancing a progressive agenda (4.00 / 1)

What do you support in the following critical areas effecting a progressive agenda:

1. Financial industry re-regulation (specifics)

2. Health insurance for all and reduced health care costs

3. Innovation and fair assessments at all levels for public education

4. Support for employee organizing rights, full employment and benefits for all?

We will work for a real progressive agenda.  Will you work for it too?

"Not ideas about the thing, but the thing itself" - Wallace Stevens

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by: catchlightning @ Tue Mar 31, 2009 at 21:24:41 PM CDT

Thanks for stopping by ... lots of questions (4.00 / 1)

Senator Dodd, it's obvious that deregulation of the financial industry has been a disaster, and Congress deserves a good share of the blame for that. Fortunately, as Senate Banking Chairman, you can be a real champion of reform. Do you see that as your role? Specifically, what plans for reform do you have in the following areas:

- Tort Reform: making it possible, or feasible, to sue accounting firms, executives and directors for fraud. (The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, which you fought for, made it almost impossible to win these kinds of lawsuits, and not surprisingly led to more fraud (see Enron, Madoff, etc).

- Accounting standards, including for stock options.

- Ratings agencies like Moody's and S&P, which have completely failed investors due to obvious conflicts of interest.

- Preventing any bank from becoming "too big to fail," or creating a 21st Century version of Glass-Steagall.

- Regulating the Municipal Bond market

- Making strict laws on capital requirements -- that can't be overridden the way former SEC Chairman Cox did.

- Regulating, or eliminating, Credit Default Swaps

- Empowering investors or shareholders, for instance by giving them seats on company boards

- Empowering the SEC to investigate fraud

- Eliminating naked short-selling, and reinstating the uptick rule

I could go on, but you get the idea. Our economic security -- and therefore our national security -- is at stake, so these are all hugely important issues.    

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by: CaptCT @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 07:33:33 AM CDT

Individual investing in our future (0.00 / 0)

Senator Dodd, thank you for being here.

The tax code forces responsible Americans to give their hard earned dollars to Wall Street to save for our retirements. Wall Street gambles with our dollars, makes massive profits and we all know what kind of mess that has made. It also  furthers the lie that the American people are part of the 'investor class' when we are not.

QUESTION:
Why not change the tax code to allow more people to make investments of their own choice in their own future, like home improvements, better tax advantages for saving for college education, investing in art work, putting money aside for a personal 'rainy day fund,' accounts that can be used for sabbaticals, etc?

Too many families like mine have worked too hard, played by the rules, and been burned. Last year my family lost the equivalent of the cost of college education for one of our children.

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by: famillionaire @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 07:35:16 AM CDT

Check the previous diary for more questions ... (0.00 / 0)

FYI -- there were questions for about the Credit Card Bill for Senator Dodd in the previous diary. Please don't forget those.

Also, thanks very much for taking the time to answer our questions.  

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by: CaptCT @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 07:39:38 AM CDT

Thank You (4.00 / 3)

Senator Dodd,

Thank you very much for introducing this pro-consumer piece of legisltion.  We look forward to working with you to turn it into law.

Couple of questions:

1) Is there any chance that you will co-sponsor the Fair Elections Now Act (public financing) that Rep. Larson and Sen. Durbin introduced this week?

2)What can activists do to make sure that there is a choice of a public health insurance plan included in the final health care reform package?

3) Is the Senate considering a stock transaction fee to cover the costs of the corporate bailouts?  

Thank you again and for being here today.

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by: Tom Swan @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 08:37:36 AM CDT

put me down for the stock transaction fee question too (0.00 / 0)

–7.25 / –7.28

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/tw...

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by: mattw @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 09:09:53 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Stimulas and Bank Nationalization (0.00 / 0)

Senator, by the accounts of most economists  the stimulas  wasn't  enough and  the bank plan  to buy toxic assets  does'nt  go far  enough  to  make  the bank's healthy....see various  comments   of pulitzer  prize winning  economist Paul Krugman and others....what is your present position on another stimulas and nationalization of banks?

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by: BruceRubenstein2 @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 09:12:33 AM CDT

On Education - more voices need to be heard (0.00 / 0)

Senator -

As we begin the task of addressing past errors in regulatory policy (as adults we grow when we learn to admit mistakes) we are similarly confronted with the task of crafting a new education policy.

Thusfar, I believe there is deep concern both in the educational community and among our citizens that the voices of big foundations, with big money, and big city governments are coming to dominate the discussion.

As we address education policy -- hopefully including the fundamental reworking of NCLB -- will you hold hearings and invite the expertise of leading progressive voices such as Deborah Meier, E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Linda Darling-Hammond, Diane Ravitch (no wild-eyed liberal she, but you should read what she's saying now!), Carl Glickman, Pedro Noguera among others?

This is a critical moment in defining the future course of public education, and these and similar distinguished public education experts voices need to be heard in crafting policy.

Thank you, in anticipation of your response.

"Not ideas about the thing, but the thing itself" - Wallace Stevens

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by: catchlightning @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 09:31:18 AM CDT

Two questions (4.00 / 2)

1 - Your Credit Card bill is a welcome piece of legislation, and it would make some needed changes to the current laws. Still, it seems altogether likely that by the end of the process in your committee and on the Senate floor, that what so many of us see as basically a compromise bill to begin with will be weakened further, and will fail to deliver the protections we need.

So I wonder, why didn't you make the bill stronger to begin with so it could be "compromised" to where it stands today? This happens to practically anything that moves in the Senate, so it's a persistent issue and surely not unanticipated by your legislative staff.

2 - I look forward to EFCA being taken up, but is there a "plan b" to make it easier for workers to organize? Things like

-- Modifying the NLRB election procedures to require an election within days of when the petitions are processed,

--Removing the process that allows endless debate over what constitutes an "appropriate bargaining unit", and

--Making the penalties for management firing workers in a union-busting campaign so steep and thoroughly-enforced that no company would do it

...could all have a similar effect to EFCA, and may be significantly easier to pass. After all, the problem isn't with elections versus cards -- it's with elections that can be endlessly delayed and workers that can be fired or abused on their way to simply expressing their preference for a fair vote. Does the HELP Committee have any of these alternate proposals on deck?

–7.25 / –7.28

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/tw...

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by: mattw @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 09:39:15 AM CDT

Health Reform (0.00 / 0)

Dear Senator Dodd,

I know that there is a big focus on healthcare reform right now.  I believe that our current healthcare system is really more of a "sick care" system that only reacts to problems after we are already "sick".  I think that a system focused more on wellness and prevention would be key to keeping Americans healthy and strong.  I think this is also key to saving us money in the long run since a system focused on maintaining health is less expensive than the reactive system we have now.

Do you agree?  And if so, what would you like to see included in reform of our system to ensure that it is more focused on wellness and prevention?

Thank you.

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by: Jessica Lee @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 09:54:57 AM CDT

Sen. Dodd (4.00 / 2)

Thanks for stopping by.

The important policy questions raised here seem to take a back seat in many ways to the frustrating machinations of the Senate itself. Last year, voters across the nation gave Democrats a decisive mandate for governing and a 59-seat Senate majority to work with - a bigger margin than Republicans ever held during their post-1994 control of the chamber. Yet where before the cry was "up or down" it's now taken as a given by all that "you need 60 votes to accomplish anything in the Senate".

What specifically is the Democratic Senate leadership planning to do both politically and procedurally to ensure that President Obama's entire domestic agenda is not held hostage to institutional courtesies and personal friendships, and his mandate and our future not allowed to melt away in the face of unchallenged, hypocritical GOP obstruction? And what can we do to help you?

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by: tparty @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 09:59:06 AM CDT

I want to second tparty on this (4.00 / 1)

and add that in my opinion Harry Reid should demand the "conservaDems", as we call them here, immediately start negotiations with the few "moderate Republicans" in the Senate to form a "Gang of 14(or any other number) that will assure up or down  votes on ALL LEGISLATION and ALL NOMINATIONS brought to the Senate floor by the Majority.

If this "gang" cannot be constituted by May 1st Harry Reid must,For the sake of our nation,use what has become known as the "Nuclear option" and remove the minorities ability to obstruct the will of the majority.

This is now the precedent of Senate behavior and we all know the importance of precedent to the Senate.

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by: ctkeith @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:10:42 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Bioscience (0.00 / 0)

Question:  Senator, there has just been introduced a bill in the House by Anna Eshoo (who grew up in New Britain), along with Energy and Commerce member Joe Barton, that would provide approval pathway for biosimilar drugs in the United States. The bill outlines a marketing exclusivity of 12 years for patented biological drugs, along with a potential two-and-a-half-year extension, bringing the total to 14.5 years of exclusivity. We understand that Sen. Kennedy will be introducing a similar companion bill in the Senate.  

A growing part of our economy is now bio health and bio jobs and given the importance of the BioSicience industry in Connecticut, will you support these efforts and the Kennedy bill in the Senate?  

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by: cbecks31 @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:09:59 AM CDT

Single Payer or Public/Private? (4.00 / 1)

Sen. Dodd,
There has been a lot of talk lately about making changes to our health care system.  I think we all agree that it can and must be improved, but many of us disagree on the best way to do so.  I think the biggest conflict is between whether we should have a single-payer system or a public/private partnership of sorts.  Which do you think is the best choice for the people of America?

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by: Meghan @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:12:50 AM CDT

Unfair and confusing credit card rates (4.00 / 1)

Senator Dodd,

How will your credit card reform bill protect people like me - young people struggling with student loans and credit card debt, finding it hard not only to find a job in this economy, but to make ends meet to pay bills?  

The low rate I was first promised on my credit card was increased to the high 20s, and seems to keep changing, with little explanation.  It's making it impossible to make any progress in paying down my debt, and I don't know how to get the rates back to where they were.  Are there provisions in the bill to make things clearer for consumers?  

Thank you

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by: gohuskies09 @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:15:13 AM CDT

Welcome new MLNers (0.00 / 0)

Seems 5 or 6 of the questions here are first-time comments from users who just signed up for accounts in the last hour.

Welcome!

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by: tparty @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:42:14 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Medicare (0.00 / 0)

Senator Dodd,
Thank you for your service to Connecticut.  My concern is with the effects of the new reforms to healthcare.  I'm worried that they will mean funding cuts will be made to programs like the Medicare Advantage program.  Thousands of seniors rely on these plans and the extra coverage and savings they provide them. Can we please avoid these cuts?  

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by: GladysB @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:15:45 AM CDT

Clean Elections.... (0.00 / 0)

...in the past you have supported and spoken about Public Financing/Clean elections, will you support the current effort led by Senators Durbin and Specter in the Senate and Congressman Larson in the house by joining as a co-sponsor?

background from PublicCampaign.org:

The Fair Elections Now Act would allow congressional candidates to run for office using only small donations and limited public financing. Candidates would qualify by raising a set number of small donations from members of their community, and agree to not raise any large contributions. Once qualified, they would receive limited public funds and would see their on-going small donations matched on a four-to-one basis.

Say hi to your wonderful wife and kids for me

Mario

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by: mpiscatella @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:25:28 AM CDT

Medical Device Law Suits (0.00 / 0)

Senator, thanks for taking this question

1. I work at a medical device company located in southeastern Connecticut.

I have been told that there is legislation in Washington that seeks to undo the U.S. Supreme Court's 2008 nearly unanimous ruling in Riegel v. Medtronic, which held that state tort suits based on injuries from medical devices that were approved through the FDA's premarket approval (PMA) process are expressly preempted by federal law.

This legislation will threaten the uniform national process for evaluating the safety and efficacy of medical devices that is currently in place at the FDA.  

I believe that enacting legislation to repeal the preemption provision would stifle innovation, compromise the safety of American consumers, and threaten the preeminence of the U.S. medical device industry and ultimately drive up the cost of healthcare for all of us.  It will cost jobs in Connecticut and make it tougher for us to compete.

Consumers have full protections under the FDA, please don't support a bill that creates unneccessary litigation and hurts companies like mine.

Do you know about these bills ?

2. How much will UCONN beat Michigan State by ?

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by: Harry @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:34:04 AM CDT

Rule of Law (4.00 / 3)

Hey Senator,
Matt BH and Tim Tagaris here...

We did a lot of work together on the presidential campaign on FISA and ending warrantless wiretapping. The FISA reform eventually passed over your strong objections. What do you see happening now to end warrantless wiretapping and restore the rule of law and  the Constitution.

Thanks,
Matt BH & Tim Tagaris

http://holdfastblog.com

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by: Matt Browner Hamlin @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:34:39 AM CDT

Dear Senator Dodd (4.00 / 1)

Thank you for your willingness to meet with us through cyberspace today.  It is much appreciated.

Having said that, Senator, I have been dismayed by your treatment of Senator Lieberman and Ned Lamont.  I cannot understand why you would refer to Senator Lieberman as a "Democrat" when he is so deeply despised by the vast majority of Connecticut Democrats, and when he betrayed the Democratic Party over the past two years by actively working against Democratic candidates and policies.  Why have you continued to treat Mr. Lieberman as a Democrat, yet apparently abandoned Ned Lamont, who worked so hard for your presidential campaign, and who helped deliver Connecticut for then-candidate Obama during the primary campaign?

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by: thomashooker @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:35:22 AM CDT

Regarding the Asset Purchase Plan (0.00 / 0)

Senator Dodd, two progressive Nobel Prize-winning economists both state that Mr. Geithner's plan for bringing in private money to help purchase "toxic" assets from the banks is a terrible plan that hands over far too much potential profit to those private investors compared with the risk they shoulder.  Given the widespread outcry against the bonuses paid to AIG, why would the Obama administration once again risk criticism for handing over massive profits to private financiers?

And do you support Mr. Geithner's plan?  Or will you push for a straight government-led purchase of assets, including temporary nationalization of the banks, a blueprint that has worked so effectively in so many other countries, and which was followed during the S&L crisis?

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by: thomashooker @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:39:10 AM CDT

Adam Wells with Senator Dodd's Office (4.00 / 2)

I think the end of the feed was cut a little prematurely so i will repeat what the Senator said: Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you here today, and I look forward to doing this again soon.

I apologize that we didn't get to all of your questions. I am going to work with the Senator and a few staffers to try and answer as many of them as we can here so check back in a bit.

Thanks again!

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by: Adam Wells @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 10:57:09 AM CDT

Adam - that would be greatly appreciated (0.00 / 0)

and thank you, Sen. Dodd and your staff.  I would be particularly interested in the Senator's response to my question titled "On Education - more voices need to be heard", especially regarding proposed committee hearings and specific experts to testify.

Many thanks.

"Not ideas about the thing, but the thing itself" - Wallace Stevens

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by: catchlightning @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 11:44:36 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks Adam (0.00 / 0)

I enjoyed the conversation, and would love to do it again. Thanks also for following up on the questions that went unanswered.

Senator Dodd said it was a 12-11 "partisan" vote in committee, so I'm assuming all GOP members voted against. Is that right?

Let's hope the CARD bill can become law -- and maybe even gets improved w/ interest rate caps and "interchange" reform.  

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by: CaptCT @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 11:49:16 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Adam Wells (0.00 / 0)

It was a mostly party-line vote - all the Committee Republicans voted against it as did Senator Johnson. The bill contains a study on interchange fees. (The GAO will study the impact of interchange fees on consumers and merchants, specifically their disclosure, pricing, fee and cost structure.)

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by: Adam Wells @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 12:28:08 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Thanks (0.00 / 0)

... it's great to see progress being made on this.  

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by: CaptCT @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 12:45:44 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

What happened? (0.00 / 0)

I am going to work with the Senator and a few staffers to try and answer as many of them as we can here so check back in a bit.

I was glad Dodd did this, but 80% of the time was spent on the credit card questions.  It seemed like there was cherry picking of questions that were listed on  MLN.

Then we are promised answers to some other questions; so far nothing.

Net/Net:  This was disappointing--especially for those who want to rebut some of the criticism that Senator Dodd is out of touch.  So what happened, Adam?

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by: ctpublius @ Fri Apr 03, 2009 at 18:26:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Watch the video from the Senate Banking Committee (0.00 / 0)

... as they marked up this bill.

Here's the link.

You'll see the numbskulls that Dodd has to deal with in that committee, including Republicans Jim Bunning (at about the 45:00 minute mark) and David Vitter (right after Bunning).

It would appear that objections to making the bill stronger -- by capping rates, etc. -- may be coming from Democrats, because all the Republicans voted against the bill anyway. If Dems made the bill stronger, only a Democrat could have defeated the bill. Maybe Dodd is worried about future votes on the Senate floor.

Anyway, this is just the first step -- and a huge step in the right direction. It's great to see it move forward.  

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by: CaptCT @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 12:42:38 PM CDT

I wonder what the chances of this bill even making it (0.00 / 0)

to the Senate Floor are?

Without the "Nuclear option" or at least the threat of it I'll bet this bill,like most others going through the committee process, never sees the Senate Floor.

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by: ctkeith @ Wed Apr 01, 2009 at 13:43:10 PM CDT

[ Parent ]