[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 29 (Thursday, February 14, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S1375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING JOHN DINGELL

  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I arrived in the U.S. Congress in 
January 1983--a new Congressman from downstate Illinois, the son of an 
immigrant mother--and I was in awe.
  Just listen to this list of House Committee chairmen back then: 
chairman of the Rules Committee: Claude Pepper; Judiciary chairman: 
Peter Rodino; Veterans Affairs chairman: Sonny Montgomery; Interior 
Committee chairman: Mo Udall; Ways and Means Committee chairman: Danny 
Rostenkowski.
  Yet even among these legends, John Dingell, chairman of the House 
Energy and Commerce Committee, stood out. He was a giant among giants, 
and not just because he stood 6 foot 3. A 26-year veteran of the House 
at the time, he was revered as the architect of Medicare and a driving 
force behind some of the most important civil rights and environmental 
laws in America's history. He went on to become the longest serving 
member of Congress in American history. But it is the quality and 
courage of John Dingell's service, even more than its length, that made 
John Dingell one of the most influential legislators of all time. He 
helped write most of the Nation's major environmental and energy laws. 
He helped save the American auto industry twice: in 1979 and again 
during the great recession.
  His nickname--``Big John''--was a reflection not only of his 
commanding height but also of his moral stature. Of the more than 
25,000 votes he cast in Congress, the one he as most proud of was his 
vote in support of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. That vote led to a brutal 
reelection fight later that year. It was the second time John Dingell 
ever had a cross burned on his lawn and the closest he ever come to 
losing a race. But John Dingell was unbowed. He went on to champion the 
Voting Rights Act of 1965 and--many more major civil rights laws.
  John David Dingell, Jr, was born in 1926, the eldest of three 
children. His family, he once said, was as ``poor as Job's chicken.''
  In 1932, when John was 6 years old, his father was elected to 
Congress, where he became a leading champion of the New Deal. He stood 
behind FDR as he signed the law creating Social Security.
  In 1943, John Senior introduced America's first national health 
insurance bill--to help seniors and children from poor families. The 
bill never passed.
  In 1955, John Senior died in office from tuberculosis. That same 
year, at the age of 29, his son was chosen in a special election to 
finish his father's term.
  At the start of every new Congress, John Dingell introduced a bill to 
create a Medicare Program to provide health insurance for older adults. 
He never gave up on fulfilling his father's dream. When Medicare 
finally came up for a vote in 1965, he was given honor of presiding 
over the House, in memory of his father. He lent the gavel he had used 
that day to Speaker Nancy Pelosi when the House voted to pass the 
Affordable Care Act in 2010. John Dingell sat by President Obama's side 
when he signed the Affordable Care Act into law in 2010. Millions and 
millions of Americans can afford to see a doctor today and retire with 
a bit of security and dignity because of John Dingell.
  Chairman Dingell's father taught him that public service through 
politics can be a noble calling. He treated everyone with dignity. He 
cared about people who struggle, as his own family struggled when he 
was young. The priest who officiated at his funeral mass in Dearborn 
yesterday told a story about a woman who approached him recently and 
told him, ``If not for John Dingell, I would not have been able to put 
food on the table.''
  Last week, on the day he died, John Dingell dictated some reflections 
to his wife, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell. She was John's partner and 
his rock for 40 years, and she now holds the seat that John and his 
father once held. John's ``parting thoughts,'' as he called them, were 
published in the Washington Post. They are profoundly moving and wise. 
One in particular stands out for me. Chairman Dingell said that it 
always grated on him to hear it said that a person ``has'' power. ``In 
democratic government,'' he wrote, ``elected officials do not have 
power. They hold power--in trust for the people who elected them.''
  I'll close with one last story--one final more bit of wisdom--from my 
friend John Dingell.
  In 1944, when he turned 18, John enlisted in the U.S. Army. The 
following year, he was supposed to be among the first wave of American 
soldiers to invade mainland Japan. Only the surrender of Japan saved 
him from what would have been near-certain death. All of his life, he 
remained proud of his service and deeply committed to other veterans 
and to their families.
  When President George H. W. Bush died shortly after Thanksgiving, 
Chairman Dingell wrote a posthumous tribute--the last World War II 
veteran to serve in Congress, writing to honor the last World War II 
veteran to occupy the Oval Office. It was published in the Detroit 
News. This is what John Dingell wrote:

       Both of us understood how fragile this American democracy 
     was and the atrocities that were occurring in the world. Both 
     of us signed up immediately when war was declared and knew 
     our moral responsibility to defend America and fight for the 
     freedom of mankind.

  He went on to say:

       We were from a political generation that understood 
     delivering for the American people was more important than 
     political wins. The success of government and good public 
     policy is the success of hard-working men and women.

  He closed with a plea, almost a prayer:

       May the stories of my good friend help us find our way back 
     to a society that promotes dialogues, not demagogues, and 
     that it helps us to remember we, the people, have the ability 
     to restore this great nation to common ground rather than 
     letting it continue its downward spiral into constant chaos.

  In closing, Loretta and I send our deepest condolences to John's 
wife, the love of his life, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell moreover, to 
John's three surviving children: Chip, Christopher, and Jennifer; and 
their families, including John's three grandchildren; to his brother 
and sister; his countless friends and the countless more who thought of 
him as a friend and mourn his passing.

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