Chris Dodd: “I will, if I may, take a few minutes in support of the amendment by my colleague from New York. I am a cosponsor of this…”

“I will, if I may, take a few minutes in support of the amendment by my colleague from New York. I am a cosponsor of this amendment. As she very graciously pointed out, over a number of years, a number of us have worked on this issue. But my colleague is much too humble. The fact that she has only been in this Chamber a little short of her first term belies her interest in this subject matter, which goes back years. As she pointed out, she was a lawyer working with the Children's Defense Fund. I know our mutual friend, Marion Wright Edelman, has had this issue on the agenda for years and years and years. While the Senator from New York is a relatively new Member of this Chamber, she is not a newcomer to this issue. I am delighted she is taking the lead on this issue this year to highlight the importance of this issue. She made all the important arguments. Again, I think the Senator from New York and I both agree, saying to our friend from Pennsylvania: We don't want you to go anywhere. We like the fact you are the chair. You won't mind if the Senator from New York and I might prefer that Senator Harkin were the chairman of the committee and you were the ranking member of that committee. You will appreciate our desire to be in the majority, not in the minority, on these issues. But we appreciate immensely the deep commitment of the Senator from Pennsylvania on these issues, not just intellectually but passionately as well. And that is understood.…”