Title: Honoring the life, achievements, and distinguished public service of John David Dingell, Jr., and expressing condolences to his family on his passing.
Policy area: Congress

Summary:
This resolution declares that the House of Representatives honors the life, achievements, and distinguished public service of John David Dingell, Jr., former Representative of Michigan, and expresses condolences to his family on his passing.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 120 Engrossed in House (EH)]

<DOC>
H. Res. 120

                In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

                                                     February 11, 2019.
Whereas the death of former chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 
        Representative John David Dingell, Jr., on February 8, 2019, brought not 
        only a sense of deep personal loss to his family, including his wife 
        Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan's 12th Congressional District 
        and his children and grandchildren, to his many former colleagues and 
        friends, but also to the institution of the House of Representatives and 
        to the Nation;
Whereas John Dingell represented the people of southeastern Michigan with 
        distinction in the House for 59 years, from December 13, 1955, to 
        January 3, 2015, making him the longest serving Member of either chamber 
        of Congress in its history to date;
Whereas John Dingell's father, the late John David Dingell, Sr., preceded him in 
        service as a Member of the House from March 4, 1933, to September 19, 
        1955, and his wife Debbie Dingell succeeded him on January 3, 2015, and 
        continues to serve, and Michiganders have entrusted John Sr., John Jr., 
        and Debbie Dingell together to serve as their voice in the Congress for 
        the past 86 years;
Whereas John Dingell was raised from the age of six in southeast Michigan, his 
        parents' home State, and where his father was elected to serve in the 
        Seventy Third 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 delivering paczki pastries to colleagues, House staff, and 
        visitors to the Capitol;
Whereas John Dingell's first taste of public service and participation in 
        government was as a page for the House of Representatives;
Whereas John Dingell, while serving as a House page, was in the Hall of the 
        House on December 8, 1941, to witness President Franklin Roosevelt 
        deliver his 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 both his B.S. and J.D. degrees from Georgetown 
        University and then served in private law practice, as a park ranger 
        with the National Park Service, and as an assistant prosecutor before 
        his election to the House;
Whereas John Dingell was elected to the House following the death of his father 
        in 1955 and was reelected 29 times;
Whereas John Dingell took up the mantle of advocating for affordable health 
        insurance coverage for the Nation's seniors, as championed by his 
        father, and worked to secure the enactment of Medicare in 1965, presided 
        over its passage in the House, and was on hand to witness its signing 
        into law by President Lyndon Johnson;
Whereas John Dingell was a crusader for the environment, helping to author and 
        shepherd to passage the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe 
        Drinking Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National 
        Environmental Policy Act;
Whereas John Dingell fought to make civil rights a part of Democrats' platform 
        in 1960, standing up to those who believed it would alienate certain 
        voters and declaring that it was the right thing to do;
Whereas John Dingell was a strong supporter in the House of the Civil Rights Act 
        of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and 
        the Voting Rights Act of 1965;
Whereas John Dingell served as chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce 
        from January 3, 1981, to January 3, 1995, and again from January 3, 
        2007, to January 3, 2009, and served as its ranking minority member 
        during the years in between, making him 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, and he invited 
        Speaker Nancy Pelosi to use the gavel with which he presided over 
        passage of Medicare in 1965 to preside over the Affordable Care Act's 
        passage in the House in 2010;
Whereas John Dingell, over the course of his tenure, served with eleven 
        Presidents (Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, 
        Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama);
Whereas John Dingell served as Dean of the House from January 3, 1995, until 
        January 3, 2015;
Whereas John Dingell retired from the House in 2015 and was succeeded by his 
        beloved wife, whom he referred to as his ``lovely Deborah'', who carries 
        on his legacy and now serves as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and 
        Communications Committee in the Democratic Caucus;
Whereas, in 2014, President Barack Obama awarded John Dingell the Presidential 
        Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian honor;
Whereas John Dingell, both before and after his retirement, gathered a large 
        following on Twitter, where he demonstrated his wit, wisdom, and clever 
        commentary on the Nation's politics, while promoting greater civility, 
        patriotism, tolerance, justice, and inclusion; and
Whereas John Dingell was held in the highest esteem by Members of the House from 
        both parties, not only because of his record tenure in office but 
        because of his sharp intellect, good humor, congeniality, and belief in 
        working together to achieve consensus through trust and camaraderie: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the life, achievements, and distinguished public service 
        of John David Dingell, Jr.; and
            (2) expresses condolences to his family on his passing.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.