Note: the following article updates a profile of Dodd that first appeared on Capital Eye in January.Name: Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.)
Position: Chris Dodd is a native of Connecticut and the state's longest-serving U.S. senator, at nearly 30 years. His father, Thomas Dodd, also represented Connecticut for more than a decade as a Democratic senator, from 1959 to 1971. After college, Chris Dodd joined the Peace Corps and worked in the Dominican Republic. Upon his return, he served in the U.S. Army Reserve, while earning his law degree at the University of Louisville. In 1974, voters elected him to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served until he ran for Senate in 1980. Since the Democrats regained control of the Senate in 2007, Dodd has chaired the powerful Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. His committee oversees the nation's financial institutions, housing and mass transit programs. In this role, he has helped shape legislation to jump-start the economy and assist floundering companies. He is also at the helm as the committee debates new regulatory efforts.
Money Summary: Dodd has raised a total of $46.5 million since 1989 and has spent $45.5 million. His large war chest can be attributed, in part, to his presidential bid in 2008, which he abandoned after receiving less than 1 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucus that kicked off the primary season. He raised $18 million in his attempt to win the White House.
Overall, Dodd has received 62 percent of his contributions from individuals (rather than the political action committees of unions and corporations) and is a popular beneficiary of Wall Street money, collecting $5.4 million from donors in New York City -- more than any other metro area. He's given other lawmakers and candidates 23 percent of the total $2.3 million that his leadership PAC, Chris PAC, has raised since the start of the 2004 election cycle.
Campaigns Donors: Not surprisingly, Dodd's most generous sector is finance, insurance and real estate, which is filled with companies directly affected by legislation shepherded by the Banking Committee. The finance, insurance and real estate sector has given Dodd a total of $13.9 million since 1989 -- nearly 3.5 times more than the next sector. In a distant second place, lawyers and lobbyists rank as Dodd's second most generous backer, giving him $4 million since 1989.
The securities and investment industry, insurance companies, real estate industry, commercial banks, accountants and finance and credit companies all rank among his top 20 industry donors.
Between 2005 and 2008, Dodd was among the top five recipients of money in the Senate from 19 industries, many of which are finance-related. He's currently the top recipient in the Senate of money from mortgage bankers and brokers, and the Senate's second highest beneficiary of money from insurance companies and finance and credit companies.
The $819,950 he has received during the past 20 years from hedge funds, which are a big industry in Connecticut, ranks him as the largest beneficiary of the industry currently serving in the Senate. In 2007, Dodd expressed concern over a bill that would have increased taxes on private-equity firms and hedge fund managers.
Dodd's most generous donors include many of the companies that have filed for bankruptcy or sought government help during the last year and a half: Citigroup ($427,700), Bear Stearns ($347,350), AIG ($281,000), Goldman Sachs ($274,450), Morgan Stanley ($211,300), Lehman Brothers ($185,100) and Merrill Lynch ($185,000).
Not all of Dodd's financial supporters, however, come from Wall Street.
Law firms, lobbyists, pharmaceutical companies, health professionals and the entertainment industry also rank among his most generous industries. During the race for the White House, the International Association of Fire Fighters endorsed Dodd and spent $202,300 independently to help him win. Dodd has sponsored bills to provide more funding to fire stations for equipment, training and staff.
On Financial Regulation: Dodd sponsored legislation (which President Barack Obama signed in August) to crack down on credit card companies. Provisions of the bill targeted "any time any reason" interest rate increases, charging interest on balances that consumers have already paid, deceptive marketing to young people and skyrocketing penalty interest rates. Dodd is now spearheading new efforts to tackle financial sector regulatory reform. On Nov. 10, he unveiled new legislation with eight other Democrats on the Banking Committee. Dodd's proposal calls for the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, a new federal agency to advocate for consumers. It also seeks to end the concept of "too big to fail," including a requirement that large and complex financial institutions develop their own "funeral plans" for how to safely shut down without destabilizing the financial system.
The legislation also creates new regulations for payday lending, over-the-counter derivatives, hedge funds and other asset-backed securities. And it requires that the sponsor or broker of these investments retain "skin in the game," that is, maintain a certain level of financial investment in its performance. Furthermore, the bill would give shareholders more say in how executives are compensated, and it requires more transparency and accountability from credit rating agencies and the quality of their ratings. Dodd's plan would also keep in place a second system of banking for small community banks that pose less systemic risk.
Industry Favors: The U.S. Senate was called on in January to release the second half of the $700 billion bailout money. Despite strong financial backing from Wall Street interests, Dodd pushed for stronger oversight provisions and limits on executive compensation for the companies receiving a handout. Yet he also amended his executive pay limit provision at the time -- at the direction of the Obama administration and U.S. Treasury. The resulting change allowed some retroactive bonuses for bailout recipients, including insurance giant AIG. Dodd says this effect was unintentional and that he did not know that AIG would benefit from the amendment, but it still made him the target of significant public ire.
Invests in: Compared to the rest of the Senate, Dodd is middle class. In 2008 he was worth between $534,018 and $1.7 million, ranking him 66th among all senators. Like many lawmakers and investors during the recent economic crisis, his personal fortune has taken a hit. Between 2007 and 2008, his net worth fell by 15 to 20 percent. According to his most recent personal financial disclosure reports, the largest stock holding of he and his wife was $100,000 to $250,000 invested in company that runs the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. They further own between $50,000 and $100,000 worth of holdings in both Blockbuster and Brookdale Senior Living. They also have a few smaller investments in drug manufacturers including Pear Tree Pharmaceutical (worth between $1,001 and $15,000), Cardiome Pharma (worth between $0 and $4,000) and Javelin Pharmaceuticals (worth between $0 and $3,000).
Dodd also owns a cottage and a 10-acre estate in Ireland, which he purchased from a long-time friend and Bear Stearns principal who was convicted of insider trading (and later pardon by President Bill Clinton, reportedly at Dodd's urging). According to the 2008 filing, this estate is valued at 470,000 euros -- a value that puts it in the range of between $500,000 and $1 million on the same form.
Other Money Matters: When mortgage buyers Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were in dire financial straits last year and seeking help from the government, Dodd came under some fire for having received more money from the two companies' employees and political action committees than any other lawmaker over time -- at $165,400. Dodd helped push through a rescue plan for the two companies last year, including better regulatory oversight in the measure.
The Senate Ethics Committee recently investigated Dodd over allegations that he received preferential treatment by Countrywide Financial when, in 2003, he refinanced his home mortgages. Dodd benefited from a VIP program, known as "Friends of Angelo," named after the Countrywide chief executive Angelo Mozilo. In August, the ethics probe cleared Dodd of any wrongdoing, saying there was "no substantial credible evidence" that the refinanced mortgages violated ethics rules or that Dodd used his position for personal gain.
In His Own Words: "We need to take action to restore Americans' confidence, their sense of optimism -- and their financial security -- by reforming a regulatory system that still contains far too many gaps, loopholes, and redundancies," Dodd said during a committee hearing earlier this fall. "The 20th century regulatory structure has been outpaced by the 21st century innovations in the financial services industry, and if we don't fix it, we could be right back where we were a year ago, facing a another dreadful choice between a massive outlay of taxpayer dollars or an unimaginable economic disaster for our nation and others around the globe."
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