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(CNN) - Sen. Joe Lieberman, Chris Dodd’s fellow Connecticut senator, issued a statement hailing Dodd’s retirement as the end of a “remarkable era of service in the Senate.”

Full statement:

“Chris Dodd has been a genuinely great Senator for our state and country, and a close and valued friend and colleague for me. His retirement ends a remarkable era of service in the Senate by two generations of the Dodd family, beginning with his father Tom who was elected more than a half century ago in 1958.

“Chris Dodd has been an unusually skillful and productive legislator and leaves a great legacy of accomplishment that has improved the lives of millions of American families and children. I am sad for our state and country, and for myself frankly, that Chris is leaving the Senate but I am happy for his family that he will have more time to spend with them now. And I know that his service to America and our friendship will continue in different ways in the years ahead.

“Senator Chris Dodd will leave the Senate in January 2011 with the knowledge that he has made a difference that will last in the lives of his constituents and his country. For that, we are all grateful.”