Honoring the 50th anniversary of the Honorable John D. Dingell's service in the House of Representatives.

Thank you very much, 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. As we celebrated at the National Building Museum before, I am pleased to join you once again in congratulating John Dingell. It is 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.

As I mentioned, Mr. Speaker, you and 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. Everyone in the bipartisan group, President Clinton, Vice President Cheney, Governor Granholm of Michigan, and so many of John's colleagues in the 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 tonight we could really be celebrating his 54th anniversary in the House because from age 12 to 16, he served here as a page, the longest-serving page in 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 key 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. He was a very young man at the time, still is.

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 has done as much to clean up government as he has to clean up the environment. For the last 50 years, Federal agencies have checked their mail with one eye squinted open hoping they have not 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 inquires, 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 on December 13, 1955, John Dingell took over the seat that had been opened by his father. After hearing his father's colleagues eulogize John, Sr., John stepped up and said, ``My father loved and respected the House and all of its Members. If I can be half the man that my father was, I shall feel that 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 am sure that John Dingell, Sr., is very, very proud. We may call John Dingell the Dean of the House, as the Speaker has done; but for many of us here tonight he has also 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.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 594) honoring the 50th anniversary of the Honorable John D. Dingell's service in the House of Representatives, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is important for the House to recognize important milestones. Tonight, the Democratic leader and I on behalf of the House take this brief time to honor our colleague John Dingell.

If Members would also like to add words of congratulations, I would encourage them to insert remarks as part of the Congressional Record or partake in a Special Order following votes tonight.

I rise in support of this resolution saluting and congratulating our good friend, John Dingell, for 50 years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives.

As the Clerk said, only two other House Members have made the 50-year milestone, Jamie Whitten and Carl Vinson. For a half century, John has walked the Halls of this Capitol doing the business of the people of southeast Michigan. And I must say the Congress is a better place because we have men like John Dingell.

I first met John when I came to the House in 1986, and he had already been here three decades at that time. We really got to know each other better when I started my third term when I was named to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. I knew him as Mr. Chairman. In fact, I think I only started to call him John after I became Speaker.

Mr. Dingell earned my respect early on. He knew the issues under his committee's jurisdiction, which was just about everything. He knew their legislative history. He knew how to count votes. He knew how to get legislation through the process. He was tough, but he was fair.

His congressional work has done much to benefit the American people. During his time in the House, he has left his mark on historic legislation like the Clean Air Act of 1990, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and every other major energy and telecommunications bill since the 1970s. In fact, during the 1980s, he oversaw the investigation into the safety of the Nation's blood supply, including the procedures that we now have to ensure that donated blood is disease free.

As Dean of the House, John Dingell administers the oath of office to the Speaker. The Speaker then administers the oath of office to all the Members as well. I could not be more proud to have had John Dingell administer my oath four times.

Mr. Speaker, in this age of sound-bite politicians, John Dingell is the real deal. You always know where he stands, and you can always rest assured that he stands for something. And so today we salute John Dingell for 50 years of service with dignity, with dedication, with courage, with principle, and with honor. I thank you, John, for your good work.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader, for her remarks.

Mr. Speaker, today, December 13, 2005, John D. Dingell, Jr. marks 50 years of distinguished service to the people of Michigan. I have enormous respect for my friend, the gentleman from Michigan, who serves the people he represents, and the country, well and with distinction.

I was a member of this body when the last gentleman to serve 50 years in the House was acknowledged--Congressman Jamie Whitten. And the tribute Mr. Dingell paid to Mr. Whitten also is fitting in tribute to Mr. Dingell--For all the wisdom the gentleman from Michigan has displayed during his tenure in the House, his constituents have shown even more wisdom in returning him to Congress 25 times.

Upon reflecting on Mr. Dingell's career, I am reminded of the quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. who said, ``the quality, not the longevity, of one's life is what is important.''

After half a century of service in this body, serving with 10 presidents and in 25 Congresses, all marvel at the longevity of the gentleman's career. But it is the quality of Mr. Dingell's service that his colleagues, his constituents and the American people remember.

And let us not forget in celebrating the gentleman's past accomplishments and distinguished service that his career is far from over.

True, his efforts on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement, the American laborer and our Nation's neediest individuals helped shape the second half of the 20h Century.

But as we look to the future, a future where John Dingell will undeniably play a significant role, we are comforted by the fact that the gentleman from Michigan, always true to his word and with a quick wit, will continue to lead us for many years to come.

I am proud of my friend John and thank him for many years of personal kindnesses and professional courtesies.

Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be in Washington, DC, yesterday, and part of today. As a result I missed several votes. Had I been able to vote I would have voted in support of H. Res. 487, S. 1047, H. Res. 594, for the motion to recommit H.R. 3199, and against final passage of H.R. 3199. I would have voted against H.R. 3010.