A Look Ahead At The 2010 Election Cycle, In Brief
Executive Summary
Sen. Dodd, instrumental in shaping Senate HELP bill, will not seek re-election: Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who played a major role in shaping the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's health care reform bill, announced Jan. 5 he will not seek re-election to the Senate. Dodd took over the chairmanship of HELP in 2009 when the late Sen. Ted Kennedy fell ill. During his time in Congress, Dodd introduced a number of bills, including the Better Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, the Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently (SAAAVE) bill, the FDA Safety Act, the Fair Access to Clinical Trials Act, and the sunscreen monograph bill. He was a driving force in pushing for the creation of the Office of Patient Protection within FDA and helped to establish the Center for Postmarket Drug Evaluation. He also had a strong hand in regulating prescription drug DTC ads and spearheaded the pediatric exclusivity program