Dingell Now Longest Serving Congressman in History

weslinder · Feb 11, 2009

Even for someone who believes in term limits, I think this is kinda cool.

http://www.cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?docID=news-000003028989

‘Big John’ Reaches Congressional Milestone
By Edward Epstein, CQ Staff

It was way back on Dec. 13, 1955 — before America had heard of Elvis Presley, Hula Hoops or Sputnik — that a strapping 29-year-old from Detroit was sworn in as a House member.

Exactly 19,420 days later, John D. Dingell will make history Wednesday when he surpasses Jamie L. Whitten Jr. of Mississippi as the longest serving member in the House’s 220-year history.

To mark the historic event, Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday evening hosted a Statuary Hall reception for Dingell, a fellow Democrat with whom she has clashed repeatedly over the years. On Wednesday, the full House will honor the 82-year-old with tributes and a resolution. The flag that flies over the Capitol on Wednesday will be dedicated to him.

“It’s an extraordinary achievement,” Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said of Dingell’s record. “Not only in terms of length of service but also in the quality of service to our country.”

“He will be remembered as one of the most influential members of Congress not to have served as president,” said Rep. Joe L. Barton , R-Texas, who for two decades served with Dingell on the Energy and Commerce Committee, where the Michigander was chairman and ranking member and then chairman again after Democrats took back the House in 2006.

But after the 2008 election, the Democratic caucus voted 137-122 to oust Dingell from his chairmanship in favor of Rep. Henry L. Waxman of California, who wants tougher global warming legislation and has pushed for higher auto mileage standards. Dingell’s stances on such issues often have reflected the interests of the Detroit automakers. For years, he has been their No. 1 ally in Congress.

Dingell, who succeeded his father in the House after his death, has played a key role in many major pieces of legislation. He helped win passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and fought for clean air laws and endangered species laws. He was in the House chair when Medicare was passed in 1965. The gavel from that day has a place of honor in his office in the Rayburn Building.

Like his father, Dingell has regularly introduced legislation calling for universal national health insurance.

“I learned a lot from John Dingell,” former President Bill Clinton said at Tuesday’s reception. “I came not just to respect him, but to genuinely love him.” Clinton noted that he and Dingell butted heads on some issues, especially Clinton’s efforts at gun control. Dingell, a hunter and a former National Rifle Association board member, vigorously opposed Clinton on the issue.

Dingell himself, who noted that he first came into the House chamber with his father when he was six years old, said he has never tired of serving.

“I feel a great honor every time I walk onto the floor of the House,” he said.

“It’s been an extraordinary ride,” added Dingell.

He was a House page and was on the House chamber floor on Dec. 8, 1941, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. He had never run for public office before when his father died in 1955 and he won the seat in a special election. He has held the seat ever since, winning re-election in 2008 with 70.7 percent of the vote.

Dingell has been slowed in recent years by hip and knee replacement surgery and a bad back, but he is still known as “Big John.” He is a proud Polish-American who has “paczkis,” Polish doughnuts, flown in from Hamtramck, Mich., every Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent begins. This year the annual Dingell event falls on Feb. 24.

“To work alongside John Dingell is to be humbled by the history of our institution and the importance of its work,” Pelosi said.

Dingell, who Democrats have given a major role in planning health legislation in this Congress, warned his colleagues that the nation confronts tough times. “We are confronting some of the greatest challenges we have faced since Pearl Harbor or 9/11,” he concluded.
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pgabriel · Feb 11, 2009

Couldn't resist

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lost my fiancé, the poor baby.

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Woman: What?

Elaine: The dingo ate your baby!

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Dingell Now Longest Serving Congressman in History

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