Retiring Sen. Chris Dodd said he is not sure whether he will support the compromise announced Monday between Congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama over the Bush era tax cuts.
Dodd said the compromise favors the wealthy while contributing to the bloated federal deficit.
When asked if he’ll vote “yes” for the compromise, Dodd said: “I’m not sure of that. We’ll see.”
He then added: “To me, let’s go back to the drawing table. Let’s try again.”
The compromise plan extends the Bush-era tax cuts for two years for people earning more than $200,000 and families earning more than $250,000, the New York Times reported.
The country’s elite are being told “You are going to worth millions more, but we’re not going to ask you to contribute to deficit reduction in this country,” Dodd said. “But that person who probably works for you, maybe raking up the leaves in your yard, making the beds in the house, they are going to pay for it so you don’t have to.”
Dodd made his remarks after touring TEAM’s Head Start program on Howard Avenue in Ansonia.
The Senator, who will be replaced by fellow Democrat Richard Blumenthal, said Democrats in Washington appeared “all over the lot” on the tax-cut issue, while the Republicans held firm.
“The Republicans were far more consistent among each other. They were going to give the most wealthy people in the country a break — and they weren’t going to change that,” Dodd said. “Democrats blinked, Republicans didn’t. As a result we’ve ended up with a compromise here that isn’t much of a compromise. Nonetheless I still think it’s going to pass.”
The compromise announced Monday will also extend unemployment benefits for the “long-term unemployed,” the New York Times reported.
Dodd said the Republicans have been beating up on people who can’t find a job during a recession.
“They’re blaming these people, as if they’ve done something terrible, because they’re unemployed, or they’ve lost their homes or they’re losing their pensions,” Dodd said. “They’re somehow guilty of something? These people who wouldn’t extend these benefits — George Bush 41 always did. Ronald Reagan always did. What’s the matter with these people? They are treating people like criminals for being on an unemployment line,” Dodd said.
Blumethal will take Dodd’s seat in the U.S. Senate in January.
Immigration Reform
Sen. Chris Dodd said there are too many other items on the agenda between now and January to consider the “DREAM” Act, an immigration reform bill that has been kicking around for years.
“I doubt it. We’re down to the last two weeks,” Dodd said when asked whether there was a chance Congress would move on the DREAM Act.
Politico reported Tuesday that Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, once a big supporter of immigration reform, is backing away due to potential pressure from tea party Republicans in his home district.
The DREAM Act was once lauded as an effort to put illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. It had the support of President Bush in 2006. But many Republicans feared the DREAM Act was simply amnesty for illegal immigrants.
