Chris Dodd: “The Dodd-Hagel-Jeffords amendment and the money in the bill--$2.2 billion--raises considerably the amount of money that…”

“The Dodd-Hagel-Jeffords amendment and the money in the bill--$2.2 billion--raises considerably the amount of money that will be available in each of the States as a result of our efforts. I thank them for their efforts, and each Senator ought to know there are going to be a lot more children, families, and communities who are going to get needed help. My hope is, of course, that we will keep this language in conference. We tried over the years to do that. We now need Members of the other body to stand up and say to their mayors, Governors, county supervisors, and others: You have our support, and we are going to try and do it each and every year between now and the year 2009 to complete the obligation we made some three decades ago.”