[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 12, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




MOURNING THE PASSING AND CELEBRATING THE EXTRAORDINARY LIFE AND LEGACY 
 OF JOHN DAVID DINGELL, JR. OF MICHIGAN, THE LONGEST SERVING MEMBER IN 
            THE HISTORY OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 12, 2019

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise to mourn the passing and 
commemorate the remarkable life of Congressman John David Dingell, Jr. 
of Michigan, who passed away on February 7, 2019 at the age of 92.
  John Dingell was one of the towering figures in the history of the 
U.S. House of Representatives and of our nation.
  John Dingell served this House and this nation with integrity, grace, 
intellect, and legislative mastery for nearly six decades; in fact his 
retirement at the end of the 114th Congress brought an end to the 
longest tenure of service in the history of the U.S. House of 
Representatives at 59 years and 21 days of service, a record that is 
unlikely to be duplicated or surpassed.
  John Dingell was present at the creation and played a major role in 
shaping virtually every landmark piece of legislation of the last half 
century, including the legislation creating the U.S. Civil Rights 
Commission, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 
1965, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Americans With 
Disabilities Act, Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe 
Drinking Water Act, the Social Security Amendments of 1965 which 
created Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act to name just a few.
  As Chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee for sixteen 
years, John Dingell shepherded through to passage the Endangered 
Species Act, the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act, among 
other pieces of legislation.
  And for more than a half century, John Dingell honored the memory and 
passion of his father and congressional predecessor--John D. Dingell, 
Sr.--in introducing at the beginning of each new Congress legislation 
providing for universal healthcare.
  His persistence was rewarded in 1965 when he was chosen to preside as 
Speaker Pro Tempore on the day the House passed the legislation 
creating Medicare and Medicaid.
  Madam Speaker, John Dingell's service to this institution began in 
1938 when he became a House page at 11 and he was in the chamber on 
December 8, 1941, when President Franklin Roosevelt announced that a 
state of war existed between the United States and Japan following the 
attack on Pearl Harbor.
  A member of the Greatest Generation, John Dingell enlisted in the 
U.S. Army during World War II where he rose to the rank of Second 
Lieutenant.
  After the war, John Dingell went on to earn his undergraduate degree 
in chemistry and law degree from Georgetown University in 1949 and 
1952, respectively.
  After law school John Dingell returned to his hometown of Detroit 
where he worked as a Wayne County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney before 
winning the special election in 1955 on to fill the unexpired term of 
the congressional seat that had been held by his late father since 
1933.
  John Dingell was elected to a full term in 1956 and reelected to each 
of the succeeding 28 Congresses.
  Madam Speaker, as we mourn the passing of our friend and colleague, 
we also celebrate a remarkable life of honorable and extraordinary 
service to our nation.
  As he reminded us in his farewell message published after his 
passing, his work was not done alone, and the fight to make ours a more 
perfect union requires the work of Democrats as well as Republicans, 
who put country over party.
  And, of course, John Dingell was forever grateful for the love of his 
life, his wife Deborah--who would be his partner the last forty years 
of his life and carries on the proud Dingell family tradition of 
representing southeast Michigan in the United States Congress.
  I ask the House to observe a moment of silence in memory of the 
Honorable John David Dingell, Jr., of Michigan.