Dodd Says He'll Keep Banking Role

After much speculation, Sen. Chris Dodd has ended the wait. He’s holding onto his chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs rather than fill the late Sen. Ted Kennedy's shoes on the Health committee.

Since Kennedy passed away, people have been wondering if he’d trade in his role for the top spot at the Health, Education, Pensions and Labor committee.

By keeping the ranking banking seat, Dodd can still be the lead player on a major overhaul of financial regulations later this fall. POLITICO reported.

With Dodd staying on Banking, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), would be next in line to take the Health committee chairmanship and guide that panel through the final negotiations on health care, Politico reported on Tuesday.

Dodd vows to continue to lead HELP’s efforts to reform the nation’s health care system. When Kennedy became too ill to be in the Senate each day, he asked Dodd to lead his HELP Committee’s effort to reform the health care system. 

“I have had the opportunity this year to work on two issues that are both close to my heart and critical to the people of Connecticut: reforming our health care system and helping our nation recover from this economic crisis,” Dodd said in a news release.

“We all had hoped that Teddy would be able to come back to see this through.  Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.  But I intend to keep the promise I made. And so, I am pleased that I will able to continue the role he asked me to take on as the HELP Committee’s leader on health care reform,” Dodd said. “But we have important work to do on the Banking Committee, and I intend to see it through as chairman.”

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