[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 23 (Tuesday, February 23, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H698-H699]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       KILDEE CASTS HISTORIC VOTE

  (Mr. HOYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. HOYER. Ladies and gentlemen of the House, there are times when we 
have the opportunity to witness a particular historical event. We are 
about to do that now. The gentleman from Michigan, my dear friend, Dale 
Kildee, is the epitome of gentleman. I don't think there is a person in 
this House that doesn't think that Dale Kildee is a thoughtful, 
considerate, compassionate gentleman, a person who cares deeply about 
his country, cares deeply about the Page program to which he has 
devoted so much of his talents, and cares about each one of us.
  None of us are objective in talking about Dale Kildee because he is 
such a decent, wonderful, good human being. He is also an 
extraordinarily faithful Member of this House.
  I am going to yield to Mr. Dingell, the Dean of the House, at this 
point as we are about to witness Mr. Kildee casting his 20,000th vote 
in the House of Representatives.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend and colleague, the 
distinguished majority leader, for yielding, and I am delighted to join 
him and my other colleagues in this tribute to a great citizen of the 
State of Michigan.
  He is our friend, our distinguished colleague from Michigan's Fifth 
District, Dale Kildee, who has just cast his 19,999th vote, and his 
next vote will be 20,000. He is in his 34th year in this institution. 
And after he replaced our friend Don Riegle--who made the curious 
career choice of running for the Senate--he has been a matter of good 
fortune to all of us in Michigan and to this body because he's been a 
rock-solid member of this institution. In his whole 34 years, he's only 
missed 27 votes. That's a 99.9 percent voting record. He once made 
8,141 consecutive votes. I have to say, a fellow should avoid that; the 
pressure of that situation is very bad.
  But we all agree, his accomplishments are not just about numbers. 
He's been an important figure on legislation that has bettered the life 
of our families, particularly our youngest citizens. No one here can 
find anyone who has done more to protect American children than has our 
friend, Dale Kildee. From his place on the House Education and Labor 
Committee, he's been a leader on Head Start, school modernization, 
school safety, college access and affordability. He's been a great 
champion of our Great Lakes which he loves and which he has protected.
  He's also a hero to our citizens of Michigan who consider the lakes a 
treasure. He has protected jobs and

[[Page H699]]

workers' rights, and to do so, he started the Auto Caucus together with 
our other good friend from Michigan.

                              {time}  1730

  As founder of the House Native American caucus, he has helped give a 
voice on the Hill to the concerns of our Native American constituents 
across the country.
  Flint, from where he comes, loves this man, and all of us are proud 
to call him our friend. He is the iron man of the House. And I know, if 
my good friend would yield to the distinguished gentlewoman from 
Michigan, she would like to have a word to say, too.
  Mr. HOYER. I certainly yield to the gentlelady from Michigan.
  Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, when I first came to the 
Congress in 2003, one of my new colleagues Dale Kildee shared with me 
what he called the three C's of service, and I am sure he has shared it 
with many of our other colleagues as well. But those three C's are 
conscience, constituents, and caucus.
  First of all, of course, conscience. That comes first because, as we 
all know, Dale Kildee, our good friend, has a very deep and abiding 
faith in God, and he has never and will never take any action that he 
believes violates the tenets of his beliefs.
  Constituents, second, because those are the people that we are all 
here to represent. And Dale Kildee's constituents, as our colleague 
from Michigan has said, from Flint, Michigan, are probably some of the 
most hardworking and patriotic Americans in our entire great Nation.
  And caucus comes last in the three C's, because while we all 
certainly want to be loyal to our team, it is far more important that 
we are, first of all, loyal to our beliefs and to the people who send 
us here.
  Today Dale Kildee reaches an incredible milestone, 20,000 votes and a 
99.9 percent voting record, because he understands that it is our 
primary responsibility to make sure that our constituents who we come 
here to represent are heard on the issues that we consider here in the 
people's House.
  Mr. Speaker, everyone in this Chamber is addressed as ``The 
Honorable,'' but I think it is most fitting that this title be given to 
our good friend Dale Kildee because he is first and foremost a very 
honorable man.
  I have never, ever heard a bad or negative comment about Dale Kildee 
in the time that I have been in this Chamber, and even before that when 
I was the Secretary of State in Michigan. All throughout our great 
State, people have always thought of him in those terms, as honorable.
  And I just want to be here today, Dale, to congratulate you 
sincerely. I am very proud to call you friend.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentlelady for her comments.
  I am pleased to yield to my good friend, the minority leader, Mr. 
Boehner.
  Mr. BOEHNER. Let me thank the majority leader for yielding and rise 
to congratulate my friend Dale Kildee.
  The gentleman from Michigan and I served for many years on the 
Education and Labor Committee. We had many debates, but there were 
dozens and dozens of issues that Mr. Kildee and I had the chance to 
work on together, and I do refer to him as Mr. Kildee. But, as has been 
mentioned, there is no kinder, more decent person in this House than 
Dale Kildee.
  So, Dale, on the occasion of your 20,000th vote cast here, I rise 
today to say congratulations.


                             General Leave

  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have the right to revise and extend their remarks to make such comments 
as they might deem appropriate on our colleague, Mr. Kildee.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Peters). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HOYER. I thank the dean.
  And now, Dale, we will cease and desist as you cast your 20,000th 
vote. God bless you. You have served our country, your district, and 
all the Members as well as our pages, so well over those 34 years. 
Thank you. Godspeed.
  Mr. CAMP. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to congratulate my 
colleague, the distinguished gentleman from Michigan, Congressman Dale 
Kildee, on casting 20,000 votes in the United States House of 
Representatives--the people's House.
  Twenty thousand votes is quite an achievement, and to some, it may 
seem like a miraculous number. But the true measure of Dale's 
accomplishment is a much smaller number--he has only missed 27 votes in 
his entire career. That's right, Dale cast 20,000 votes out of 20,027--
a batting average of .999 over a 33-year career. That certainly 
qualifies the man from Flint for the Congressional Hall of Fame.
  But it isn't the statistic that counts, it is what that statistic 
represents: Dale's work ethic and his dedication to the state of 
Michigan, his district, which neighbors mine, and the people he serves.
  Dale has been a leader on the Congressional Auto Caucus he helped to 
form. This caucus has been a valuable asset for the American auto 
industry and has helped serve as a platform to protect Michigan auto 
jobs. We have worked together on many local economic development 
projects, most recently, the development of the new MBS International 
Airport, which is a valuable asset for our region's economy.
  Today, I join my colleagues in congratulating and commending 
Congressman Dale Kildee for not only reaching 20,000 votes, but for his 
career of service to the families of mid-Michigan.

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