Honoring Congressman John Dingell on His Retirement
Floor Speech
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Ms. DeGETTE. Thank you so much.
Mr. Speaker, in 1997, when I was a 39-year-old freshman, John Dingell took a risk on me. He put me on the Energy and Commerce Committee as a freshman. Since that day, I have learned at his knee every single day. He has become a friend; he has become a mentor--and like so many of us on both sides of the aisle, our experience here in Congress would not be the same without him.
A lot of us know about the long arm of John Dingell. Over the years, when Chairman DINGELL would put his long arm around your shoulders, and he would say, ``Diana, I have a little chore for you,'' you knew that that little chore was anything but little. It was a part of something much, much bigger. Whether he was just moving a minor amendment to a bill or a large bill itself, and no matter what the issue was, it was always an honor to work together with John Dingell to get something done for the American people.
As the now-ranking member on John Dingell's subcommittee, the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of Energy and Commerce, I feel a special responsibility to his legacy. John Dingell, over the years, held powerful people from all around the country, from every part of industry, accountable to the American public. And today, it is up to all of us, as members of his distinguished committee, to take up the great mantle of that legacy and to make the powerful tell the truth to the American public.
I commit myself today, along with all of us, to carry on his legacy, to do just that, to make this committee a committee that John Dingell will be proud of.
I am going to miss my dear friend, my wise mentor, and my trusted colleague. All of us will. We all recognize the great contributions he made to this institution and, most importantly, to this country.
Few retirements are as well deserved, with such distinguished service as Mr. Dingell's. And so I want to say, JOHN, job well done. Godspeed.
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