Daniel Inouye: “I rise today to join my leader to honor the distinguished Senator from the State of Connecticut, and one who I was proud…”

“I rise today to join my leader to honor the distinguished Senator from the State of Connecticut, and one who I was proud to call friend: Senator Thomas Dodd. Senator Tom Dodd, the father of Connecticut's senior Senator, Christopher Dodd, would have been 100 years old today. I would like to take a moment to reflect upon his remarkable career. Tom Dodd was, in many ways, the picture of a Senator. In a tribute shortly after his death in 1971, a colleague said: His ability was outstanding and his appearance was striking. With the dignity of his bearing and the gray of his hair and his booming resonant voice, he made an impressive figure on the Senate Floor. But there was much more to Tom Dodd than style. Through a lifetime of service, he brought a dedication of fighting evil in all its forms: in racism, in greed, in sabotage, genocide, and tyranny. Few have piled up such an impressive record. Tom Dodd began his career as an FBI agent tracking down some of our Nation's worst criminals. In a way, he had something of the FBI agent about him for the rest of his life. He was determined to give wrongdoers no quarter, in word or in action. During the Great Depression, he led the National Youth Administration of Connecticut, putting thousands of his fellow citizens to work, and then he joined the Department of Justice as a prosecutor. He fought the Ku Klux Klan, long before any Americans saw its true nature.”