[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1271-S1272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING JOHN D. DINGELL

  Ms. STABENOW. Madam President, I wish to pay tribute to a true 
Michigan and American legend: the Dean of the House and my longtime 
friend, Congressman John D. Dingell.
  Congressman Dingell ably represented his district for 59 years, the 
longest tenure of any Member in history. However, his service to our 
Nation started long before that.
  He was there on the House floor as a page on December 8, 1941, to 
hear President Roosevelt declare that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was 
``a day which will live in infamy.'' Three years later, he joined the 
Army to fight against Nazi Germany. He would have been in the Battle of 
the Bulge if he hadn't been hospitalized with meningitis Later, he was 
3 days away from shipping out to the Pacific Theater to take part in a 
ground invasion of Japan when the atomic bombs were dropped.
  So John Dingell proved his patriotism long before he joined Congress 
in 1955, following the death of his beloved father, who preceded him as 
Representative for Michigan's 15th Congressional District.
  When he joined Congress, there was no Interstate Highway System. 
Alaska and Hawaii were not yet States, and Medicare and Medicaid did 
not exist yet. In fact, he helped vote these lifesaving programs into 
law.
  Congressman Dingell was not merely a witness to history. He was a 
maker of it. His original family name, translated into Polish, meant 
``blacksmith.'' That was fitting because this was a man who hammered 
out our Nation's laws, forging a stronger union that could weather the 
challenges of the future.
  Perhaps his most courageous vote occurred in 1964, in favor of the 
Civil Rights Act. Advisers told him that vote would destroy his chances 
at reelection; yet Congressman Dingell had faith in his constituents, 
and he refused to compromise his principles for the sake of political 
survival.
  Healthcare was one of his passions, one that he inherited from his 
father. John Dingell, Sr., introduced a bill for universal healthcare 
in 1945 and continued to fight for it till the end of his life.
  John Dingell, Jr., adopted that cause from his first day as his 
father's successor. He always believed that every American should have 
access to healthcare, and he never stopped working to make that goal a 
reality.
  As a boy, he lived through America's Great Depression, and as a 
Congressman, he helped to overcome America's Great Recession.
  He witnessed the rise of the automobile industry and saw how those 
unionized workers built America's middle class. Then he led efforts 
with me and others in the Michigan delegation to make sure that 
American autos and American workers could compete on an even playing 
field.
  While scientific consensus was still forming about how pollution 
threatened our air, land, and water, John Dingell wrote the Endangered 
Species Act in 1973 and the major expansion of the Clean Air Act in 
1990.
  He led our efforts to create the first national wildlife refuge in 
North America and teamed up with me and my friend and former colleague, 
Senator Levin, to make the River Raisin Battlefield a national park.
  John Dingell loved Michigan. He understood the connection our people 
have to manufacturing, to agriculture, and to the land and our Great 
Lakes.
  Even during the years he spent chairing the House Energy and Commerce 
Committee, when Congressman Dingell was one of the most powerful 
Members of Congress, you could still find him riding atop a Ford 
Mustang convertible at Dearborn's Memorial Day Parade or at a booth at 
the Monroe County Fair.
  The people of his district never doubted his dedication. That is why 
they would still put ``Dingell for Congress'' signs on their lawn, long 
after his district boundaries had changed. If a piece of Southeast 
Michigan was ``Dingell Country'' once, then it was Dingell Country 
forever.
  This was not a man eager to retire; he loved his job too much. He 
considered it an enormous privilege, one that gave meaning and purpose 
to his life. He fought for his constituents until his health prevented 
him from fighting anymore.
  And he felt great pride and his constituents felt great comfort 
knowing that the district would remain in the hands of his beloved 
wife, Debbie, who was his closest confidant for more than 40 years and 
understood him better than anyone.
  I know that all of us are sending her and their family and many 
friends our love and support at this time.

[[Page S1272]]

  He certainly had many, many friends. He gained a whole new generation 
of fans through his always-pithy Twitter account, and I am going to 
miss reading his take on the news of the day.
  Up until the very end, he was constantly evolving, charging boldly 
into the future, driven by a very simple principle: ``We are put on 
this earth to help people.'' That was just what he did.
  John D. Dingell, Jr., claimed to be the ``luckiest man in shoe 
leather.'' I have to say that Michigan and America were very lucky too.

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