Corps volunteer in a small rural town called Moncion, in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968. While there, he became fluent in Spanish. (Later, while in Congress, his support for language study resulted in his being awarded the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Advocacy Award in 1986.) Dodd was awarded his Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville in 1972. He also joined the United States Army Reserve, serving until 1975. U.S. House of Representatives (1975–1981) Dodd was part of the "Watergate class of '74," which CNN pundit David Gergen credited with bringing "a fresh burst of liberal energy to the Capitol." Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 2nd congressional district and reelected twice, he served from January 4, 1975 to January 3, 1981. During his tenure in the House, he served on the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations. U.S. Senate (1981–2011) Elections Dodd was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, and was subsequently reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004. He is the first senator from Connecticut to serve five consecutive terms. Facing a competitive reelection bid for his Senate seat in 2010 and trailing against both of his likely Republican challengers in public opinion polling, Dodd announced in January 2010 that he would not seek re-election for a sixth term in the Senate. Polls of Connecticut voters in 2008 and 2009 had consistently suggested Dodd would have difficulty winning re-election, with 46% viewing his job performance as fair or poor and a majority stating they would vote to replace Dodd in the 2010 election. Tenure During the 1994 elections, the Republicans won the majority in both houses of Congress. Dodd therefore entered the minority for the second time in his Senate career. He ran for the now vacant position of Senate Minority Leader, but was defeated by South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle by one vote. The vote was tied 23–23, and it was Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell who cast the deciding vote by absentee ballot in favor of Daschle. From 1995 to 1997, he served as General Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As General Chairman, Dodd was the DNC's spokesman. Donald Fowler served as National Chairman, running the party's day-to-day operations. Dodd has also involved himself in children's and family issues, founding the first Senate Children's Caucus and authoring the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA),