III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 75 

Honoring the life, achievements, and distinguished public service of John 

David Dingell, Jr., and expressing condolences to his family on his passing. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 14, 2019 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. PETERS, Mr. BLUNT, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. 

MARKEY, Mr. CASEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARPER, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. BROWN, Mr. LEAHY, Ms. HARRIS, Mrs. 

FEINSTEIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. REED, Mrs. BLACKBURN, and Mr. BURR) 

submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life, achievements, and distinguished public 

service of John David Dingell, Jr., and expressing condolences to his family on his passing. 

Whereas, on February 8, 2019, the death of Representative 

John David Dingell, Jr. (referred to in this preamble as 

‘‘John Dingell’’), former Chairman of the Committee on 

Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, 

brought a sense of deep personal loss— 

(1) to his family, including his wife, Representative 

Deborah ‘‘Debbie’’ Dingell of the 12th congressional district of Michigan, and his children and grandchildren; 

(2) to his many former colleagues and friends; 

(3) to Members of Congress; and 


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•SRES 75 ATS 

(4) to the people of the United States; 

Whereas John Dingell represented the people of southeastern 

Michigan with distinction in the House of Representatives for 59 years, from December 13, 1955, to January 

3, 2015, making John Dingell the longest serving Member of either chamber of Congress in the history of the 

United States; 

Whereas the father of John Dingell, the late John David Dingell, Sr., preceded John Dingell in service as a Member 

of the House of Representatives from March 4, 1933, to 

September 19, 1955; 

Whereas the wife of John Dingell, Deborah Dingell, succeeded John Dingell on January 3, 2015, and continues 

to serve as a Member of the House of Representatives; 

Whereas the people of southeastern Michigan have entrusted 

John David Dingell, Sr., John Dingell, and Deborah Dingell together to serve as their voice in Congress for the 

past 86 years; 

Whereas John Dingell was raised from the age of 6 in southeast Michigan, the home State of the parents of John 

Dingell, and the State that John David Dingell, Sr., was 

elected to serve in the 73rd Congress; 

Whereas John Dingell was fiercely proud of his Polish-American roots and throughout his life shared the joys of his 

heritage with others, including by delivering paczki pastries to colleagues, staff of the House of Representatives, 

and visitors to the Capitol; 

Whereas John Dingell had his first taste of public service and 

participation in government as a page for the House of 

Representatives; 


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•SRES 75 ATS 

Whereas John Dingell, while serving as a page for the House 

of Representatives, in the Hall of the House of Representatives on December 8, 1941, witnessed President 

Franklin Roosevelt deliver the iconic address asking for 

a declaration of war against Japan following the bombing 

of Pearl Harbor; 

Whereas John Dingell was drafted into the United States 

Army at the age of 18 and served honorably; 

Whereas John Dingell received a Bachelor of Science degree 

and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University; 

Whereas, prior to being elected to the House of Representatives, John Dingell worked— 

(1) in private law practice; 

(2) as a park ranger with the National Park Service; 

and 

(3) as an assistant prosecutor; 

Whereas John Dingell was elected to the House of Representatives following the death of John David Dingell, Sr., in 

1955 and was reelected 29 times; 

Whereas John Dingell— 

(1) advocated for affordable health insurance coverage for seniors in the United States, a cause championed by John David Dingell, Sr.; and 

(2) worked to secure the enactment of the Medicare 

program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 

U.S.C. 1395 et seq.) in 1965, presiding over the passage 

of the Social Security Amendments of 1965 (Public Law 

89–97; 79 Stat. 286) in the House of Representatives; 

Whereas John Dingell witnessed President Lyndon B. Johnson sign into law the Social Security Amendments of 

1965 (Public Law 89–97; 79 Stat. 286), which enacted 


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the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.); 

Whereas John Dingell was a crusader for the environment, 

helping to author and shepherd to passage— 

(1) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

(2) the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

(3) the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Public Law 92–500; 86 Stat. 816), which 

formed the basis of the modern Federal Water Pollution 

Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

(4) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

1531 et seq.); and 

(5) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300f et 

seq.); 

Whereas John Dingell fought to make civil rights a part of 

the platform of the Democratic Party in 1960, standing 

up to people who believed it would alienate certain voters 

and declaring that making civil rights a platform issue 

was the right thing to do; 

Whereas John Dingell was a strong supporter in the House 

of Representatives of— 

(1) the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (Public Law 85– 

315; 71 Stat. 634); 

(2) the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (Public Law 86– 

449; 74 Stat. 86); 

(3) the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000a 

et seq.); and 

(4) the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 

et seq.); 

Whereas John Dingell served as chairman of the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce of the House of RepresentaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:25 Feb 14, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR75.ATS SR75

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tives from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 1995, and 

again from January 3, 2007, to January 3, 2009, and 

served as the ranking minority member during the years 

in between, making John Dingell the senior Democratic 

member on that Committee for 26 years; 

Whereas, during every Congress in which he served, John 

Dingell introduced legislation to provide universal access 

to health care; 

Whereas, in 2010, John Dingell invited Speaker Nancy Pelosi 

to use the gavel with which he presided over passage of 

the Social Security Amendments of 1965 (Public Law 

89–97; 79 Stat. 286), which included the Medicare program under title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 

U.S.C. 1395 et seq.), to preside over passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 

18001 et seq.) in the House of Representatives; 

Whereas John Dingell, over the course of his tenure in the 

House of Representatives, served with the following 11 

Presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, 

Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy 

Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, 

George W. Bush, and Barack Obama; 

Whereas John Dingell served as Dean of the House of Representatives from January 3, 1995, to January 3, 2015; 

Whereas John Dingell retired from the House of Representatives in 2015 and was succeeded by his beloved wife, 

Deborah, whom he referred to as his ‘‘lovely Deborah’’; 

Whereas Deborah Dingell carries on the legacy of John Dingell and now serves as co-chair of the Democratic Policy 

and Communications Committee in the Democratic Caucus; 


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Whereas, in 2014, President Barack Obama awarded John 

Dingell the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest 

civilian honor of the United States; 

Whereas John Dingell, both before and after retirement, 

gathered a large following on Twitter, where he demonstrated wit, wisdom, and clever commentary on politics 

in the United States while promoting greater civility, patriotism, tolerance, justice, and inclusion; and 

Whereas John Dingell was held in the highest esteem by 

Members of Congress from both parties because of his 

record tenure in office, sharp intellect, good humor, congeniality, and belief in working together to achieve consensus through trust and camaraderie: Now, therefore, be 

it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) honors the life, achievements, and distin3 guished public service of John David Dingell, Jr.; 

4 and 

5 (2) expresses condolences to the family of John 

6 David Dingell, Jr., on his passing. 

Æ 


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