John Dingell knows a bit about our nation's political history. He was six years old when his father, John Dingell Sr., was elected to Congress from Detroit. The elder Dingell was one of FDR's strongest Congressional supporters, and a
sponsor of the Social Security Act. The younger Dingell first worked in Congress in the late 1930's--as a page--where he witnessed the backlash against the later initiatives of the New Deal and the opposition to FDR's attempt to pack the Supreme Court. Dingell later served in the army, worked as a park ranger, and was an assistant county prosecutor when, after the death of his father in 1955, he was first elected to Congress.
Dingell was mentored by Sam Rayburn and others veterans of the legislative process, and he began working his way up the ranks. He held the gavel when the House passed Medicare. In 1964, after redistricting put him into a seat held by the only Northern Democrat to oppose the Civil Rights Act, he won a decisive victory based on his support of labor and civil rights. He eventually sponsored many of the legislative pillars of our environmental laws--the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, The National Wildlife Refuge Administration Act and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. Under his chairmanship, 40% of all bills went through his Energy and Commerce committee, inlcuding the break-up of AT&T. Dingell's position was "if it's sold, moves or burns, it's mine."
Dingell particularly relishes investigations, where his sharp mind and pugnacity strike fear in lazy bureaucrats and unscrupulous contractors. It was Dingell's committee that discovered that Stanford University charged the federal government for the wedding of the daughter of the University's president, and it was Dingell who found out the Pentagon had paid $640 for a toilet seat.
In every Congressional session for fifty years he's introduced for a single-payer national health care program similar to Canada's. He's personally known our last twelve presidents. If he remains in Congress until 2009--and he's expressed no intention to retire--he will become history's longest-serving member of Congress. Only Ted Kennedy can come close to matching the continued legislative influence that Dingell has exerted over the last half-century. And based on this letter, it's safe to conclude that there isn't much that he forgets:
Mr. Leslie Moonves
President and CEO
CBS Television
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019
Dear Mr. Moonves:
I write to you with regard to your upcoming mini-series "The Reagans." I share the concerns expressed by others that it may not present an accurate depiction of the Reagan administration and America during the 1980s. I trust that CBS will not be a party to a distorted presentation of American history, and that the mini-series will present a fair and balanced portrayal of the Reagans, the 1980s and their legacy.
As someone who served with President Reagan, and in the interest of historical accuracy, please allow me to share with you some of my recollections of the Reagan years that I hope will make it into the final cut of the mini-series: $640 Pentagon toilets seats; ketchup as a vegetable; union busting; firing striking air traffic controllers; Iran-Contra; selling arms to terrorist nations; trading arms for hostages; retreating from terrorists in Beirut; lying to Congress; financing an illegal war in Nicaragua; visiting Bitburg cemetery; a cozy relationship with Saddam Hussein; shredding documents; Ed Meese; Fawn Hall; Oliver North; James Watt; apartheid apologia; the savings and loan scandal; voodoo economics; record budget deficits; double digit unemployment; farm bankruptcies; trade deficits; astrologers in the White House; Star Wars; and influence peddling.
I hope you find these facts useful in accurately depicting President Reagan's time in office.
With every good wish,
Sincerely yours,
John D. Dingell
Member of Congress