[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 25 (Friday, February 8, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H1490]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               REMEMBERING THE HONORABLE JOHN D. DINGELL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2019, the Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan 
(Ms. Tlaib) for 30 minutes.
  Ms. TLAIB. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a legend, the 
Honorable Congressman John D. Dingell, whom we lovingly call in 
Michigan ``The Dean.''
  Congressman Dingell will truly be missed. For 59 years, he served our 
great State of Michigan and our country. He believed in the power of 
this institution, the power it had to transform hate to love, to 
elevate the most vulnerable and to uplift our servicemen and -women.
  Dean Dingell's legacy will live on with his memorable work on the 
historic Civil Rights Act, the Clean Air Act, and the need for 
universal healthcare.
  I still remember to this day as a State legislator in Michigan when I 
had an environmental injustice issue going on in my district and he got 
me a United States Coast Guard hearing, a public hearing, in southwest 
Detroit. He called me, and he said: Kid, this is your last chance to 
fight the injustice.
  I still remember coming in to serve on a panel with him at the 
University of Michigan--Ann Arbor campus on immigrant rights and the 
need for immigration reform. I sat next to him, very frustrated after a 
long day in Lansing fighting for scrap metal reform, and saying to him: 
How can you do it so long? The special interest groups are so tough, 
and they are so tainting the process when it comes to issues that 
matter for our people.
  He taught me and spoke to me about the power of stillness.
  Congressman Dingell's strength and humanity will truly be missed. I 
thank the gentleman for his wicked sense of humor. Even more 
importantly, I am grateful he was always so warm and kind to us younger 
activists and for never trying to reduce my voice or others' voices.
  His drive for a better world will live on with his lovely Deborah, as 
he calls her, his best friend and my current sister in Congress, 
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell.
  Some of the last things he was saying, of course, was the incredible 
humor that he had on Twitter, but I still remember the specific thing 
that he said: ``I signed up to fight Nazis 73 years ago, and I'll do it 
again if I have to. Hatred, bigotry, and fascism should have no place 
in this country.''
  As a Muslim girl growing up in America today, I am grateful to 
Congressman Dingell for his courage and his love.
  Rest in peace, my friend. Thank you so much.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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