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“ Democratic priorities are clear: we will fight to get the economy back on track, we will create jobs, and we will help unemployed workers. ” |
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Pelosi: ‘John Dingell is a Giant in the Congress’
Washington, D.C. – House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi joined Speaker Dennis Hastert on the House floor tonight to offer a resolution honoring Congressman John Dingell on his 50 years of service to the U. S. House of Representatives and the people of Michigan. Below are her remarks:
"Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join you in co-sponsoring this resolution, honoring the 50th anniversary of the Honorable John D. Dingell’s service in the House of Representatives. It’s impossible to acknowledge his service and congratulate him for his great leadership without also acknowledging Debbie Dingell, who has been his partner in so much of his life’s work.
"I had the privilege of celebrating this milestone with Congressman Dingell at an extraordinary event at the National Building Museum on October 26. Something phenomenal happened that night when Republicans and Democrats came together in unity to praise this great man. Every one in this bipartisan group – President Clinton, Vice President Cheney, Governor Granholm of Michigan, and so many of John’s colleagues in the Congress, House and Senate, including his Chairman Joe Barton, who regaled us with Dingell stories that night – agreed that John Dingell is an American statesman of the highest order.
"President Kennedy could have been describing John Dingell when he said: ‘No government is better than the people who serve it, we want the best, we need the best, and we deserve the best.’ For 50 years, in John Dingell, we have had the best.
"To the pages in the room I want to say that tonight, we really could be celebrating his 54th year in the House because from the ages of 12 to 16, he served here as a page – the longest serving page in Congressional history.
"It was as a page in 1941 that John Dingell was standing on the House Floor when President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. It was World War II that would ultimately call him to service. He served in the Army with distinction, rising to the rank of second lieutenant. John would later say of his service, ‘It taught me the meaning of discipline and respect – two qualities which I believe are the keys to success in the United States.’
"It also began a public life dedicated to making America strong both at home and abroad. A member of the Greatest Generation, John Dingell applied his brilliant mind, his great judgment, and his broad vision to making the future better for generations to come.
"John always made clear that a strong America had to be a healthy America. Continuing a tradition his father began, in every Congress he has introduced a bill for universal, national health insurance. Because of his tireless work in securing health care for the elderly, John presided in the House in 1965, when Medicare was passed into law. The gavel he used that day still sits on his desk.
"As part of his focus on future generations, John was one of the first elected officials to link public health with environmental health, and he has had a hand in almost every major environmental legislation of the past 40 years.
"He’s done as much to clean up government as he has to clean up our environment. For the last 50 years, federal agencies have checked their mail with one eye squinted open, hoping they haven’t received what became known as "Dingell-grams." In the 1980s, the EPA even had an employee whose sole responsibility was responding to Chairman Dingell’s inquiries. And it was recognized that her job was not an easy one.
"To work alongside John Dingell is to be inspired by the history of our institution and humbled by the seriousness of our work. John is a giant in Congress and a symbol of continuity.
"Fifty years ago today, on December 13th, 1955, John Dingell took over the seat that had been occupied by his late father. After hearing his father’s colleagues eulogize John Dingell Sr., John stepped up and said, ‘My father loved and respected the House and all its Members. If I can be half the man my father was, I shall feel I am a great success.’
"On this 50th anniversary, we say that we love and respect John Dingell - and by any measure - his leadership and his success have been unsurpassed. I’m sure that John Dingell Sr. is very proud.
"We may call John Dingell the Dean of the House, but for many of us here tonight, he has been a teacher. I know I speak for all of the Members of the House when I say, we are proud to call John Dingell colleague. We are all so glad that your lifetime of service continues. The best is yet to come. Thank you, John Dingell."
“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
