Recognizing and Honoring an American Giant: Congressman John D. Dingell, Jr.
RECOGNIZING AND HONORING AN AMERICAN GIANT: CONGRESSMAN JOHN D. DINGELL, JR. -- (House of Representatives - December 13, 2005)
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Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, thank you, Mr. Conyers, for the opportunity to stand and recognize one of the finest men to ever serve in the United States Congress.
John Dingell can be and has been described using a wide variety of adjectives--ranging anywhere from fierce and intimidating to kind and charming and just about everywhere in between. This man has been leaving vivid impressions on those of us he has worked with during his 50 years as a United States Congressman.
Whether one may have come to enjoy the deeply intellectual candor associated with his great knowledge of issues spanning from health care to the environment to labor; or whether one may have become a victim of his witty tongue lashings he has been known to dole out to his opposition or to those testifying before him--either way, these individuals have more than likely walked away from these scenarios respecting Mr. John Dingell all the more.
Mr. Dingell is the Dean of the House because he has spent 50 years working diligently to fight for those who may not be able to fight for themselves. He has fought for vulnerable people and worthy causes with an iron first. He has defended large companies even when allies have criticized him because those companies sustain the jobs his constituents depend on to feed their families. He has stood up for unpopular ideas based on righteous values. He has led wars for universal causes in order to see the eventual acceptance of a fair ideal.
The people of southeast Michigan continue to elect John Dingell to serve and represent them and many others across the country in Congress because he is a good man. He is a shining example as to why term limits are not wise in governance. Consumers would have a hard time investing in a company where a new set of untrained professionals were ushered in to run a major corporation just as their predecessors finally obtained the necessary skills and experiences to truly excel on their behalf.
Each term John Dingell has brought with him another two years of valuable experiences that help him craft better legislation, provide deeper insight, and mentor his colleagues to be more prepared to lead.
Mr. Speaker, I have the proud privilege of not only standing beside Mr. Dingell as a friend and colleague from the great state of Michigan, but I am honored to have found his mentorship in our last 6 terms in Congress as some of the most profound advice I could have received.
Congressman Dingell spent nearly 2 decades heading the Energy and Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation. There he uncovered unparallel fraud and deceptions of companies and government agencies. He drilled witnesses and experts in order to obtain the answers necessary to protect the American people. John Dingell spent his years on that subcommittee with an unwavering, fiery commitment to do the right thing.
When Congressman John Dingell, Jr. was inaugurated after winning a special election to succeed his late father, who had served in the House of Representatives since 1932, he told his new colleagues ``if I can be half the man my father was, I shall feel I am a great success.''
As the new ranking Democrat on the Oversight and Investigation Subcommittee where the great John Dingell accomplished some of the most memorable and most remarkable feats on behalf of the American people, I declare that if I can do half the job John Dingell has done during his tenure in Congress, I shall feel I am too am a great success.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to once again thank Mr. John Dingell of Michigan for being a great leader, example, servant, mentor, and friend. Mr. Dingell and the work he has done in the last 50 years in the United State Congress will be remembered, valued and respected for as long as this great country stands united.
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