support and care once they are born. this is infanticide. there is no other way to say it. this is an affront to life. we must demand more from our country and our citizens. we must ensure protections for the youngest and most innocent of our citizens. both inside and outside the womb. we must take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. we must take care of our children. we must take care of and respect and cherish life. i yield back the end of my time. thank you. mrs. walorski: i now yield to the representative from ohio's sixth district, bill johnson. mr. johnson: as a proud father of four and grandfather of six, i rise today in strong support of those who cannot defend themselves. the most innocent and

defenseless among us, the unborn. i share the pro-life views of those i serve in eastern and southeastern ohio. a few weeks ago, many ohioans joined more than 100,000 pro-life americans at the annual march for life here in washington, d.c. . although with so little national media coverage of this major event, some may have missed this passionate and growing movement made up of men and women, boys and girls, from all walks of life. recently we have witnessed the inhuman policies introduced by multiple states permitting late-term abortions. even, unbelievably, all the way up to birth. it's past time that congress pass legislation banning this horrific practice. i strongly urge my colleagues on infantside o reject nd defend the isn't a --

infanticide and defend the sanctity of life. mrs. rodgers: thank you so much. i rise to join my colleagues this afternoon in celebrating the dignity and the value of every human refrigerate -- life. i'm a monday of three young kids. cole, grace and brinn. and i can testify that becoming a mom, bringing a life into the world, is the most amazing thing ever. and with technology today, we can look into the womb, we can see day by day how that baby, how a baby is developing. it's a miracle to witness. as human hat we beings are not defined by our a beings are not defined by our limits. we are empowered by the potential that we have and who we can become. so, mr. speaker, i am frightened and i am heartbroken that anyone would oppose the born-alive

abortion survivors protection act led by congresswoman wagner. just as the science is undeniable, it should be unthinkable to deny life-saving care to a newborn baby. unthinkable. we have amazing technology, we can do more than ever. it is limitless. i urge my colleagues across the aisle to take a step back, to look at the science and let this bill come to the floor. it's the right thing to do. you know, since our founding we have been a country that cherishes every person's inalienable human right and it's the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. it's in all of us to uphold those values. and ensure that we are protecting the dignity of every person as god intended. so thank you, congresswoman jackie walorski, for your leadership. thank you for bringing us all together so that we could be warriors of human dignity and human value.

thank you. mrs. walorski: thank you. mr. speaker, i'd like to again inquire on how much time i have remaining. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman has 11 minutes remaining. mrs. walorski: thank you of i now yield to my friend from illinois -- thank you. i now yield to my friend from illinois' 18th district, representative darin lahood. mr. lahood: thank you. i want to say thax to -- thanks to jackie walorski for yielding me the time and for your leadership in putting together this special order and your tireless fight for life. mr. speaker, i come to the floor today in defense of life and the unborn. over the last few weeks, we've witnessed extreme abortion views pushed in states across the country. in new york, the state legislature passed and the governor signed into law an abortion bill so broad it effectively allows abortion on-demand until birth. while removing protections for infants born alive during an abortion. barbaric legislation such as this is nothing to cheer about.

in virginia, the governor tried to soften the blow of his infanticide endorsement by saying, quote, the infant would be kept comfortable, unquote, while a decision was made on whether to abort the infant. these disturbing and extreme trends seeping into the mainstream of the democratic platform underscore the need for its leaders in congress to stand up, to fight for life in the face of these abhorrent actions. now more than ever leaders in washington need to stand up for life. i stand committed with the millions of pro-life advocates around the country to make sure infanticide is condemned. and the voiceless are given a voice. yield back. mrs. walorski: thank you. i'd like to yield to my friend from north carolina, epresentative mark walker.

mr. walker: thank you. the born-alive survivors protection act protects the lives of babies who survive abortions by requiring the health care practitioner to safe the life of the baby. sounds pretty much commonsense, doesn't it? i'm a proud co-sponsor of mrs. wagner's bill fighting for the sanctity of life. as a former pastor, i value each and every life that is brought into this world and that is why it is imperative that we pass this legislation and put an end to the senseless murders of innocent babies. earlier this week i asked for the unanimous consent before being gaveled out to bring the born-alive survivors protection act to the house floor for a vote. unfortunately my democratic colleagues put their party leadership and affiliation over voting for what is morally right. the statistics are staggering. in just looking at a few states, we found 25 children that were born alive that survived a botched abortion just in 2017. it's concerning to think how much higher those numbers would be if we looked throughout the entire country.

simply put, i stand with 80% of americans who support legislation to protect the life of a baby who survives a failed abortion. at a time when states like new york and virginia are matching abortion laws of north korea, and making it easier to perform abortions until the birth of a child, it is absolutely necessary for us to stand in unity and fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. with that, i yield back. mrs. walorski: thank you. i now yield to my friend from georgia's 12th district, representative rick allen. mr. allen: thank you, congresswoman walorski, for your efforts in organizing this important special order. you know, as -- madam speaker, as the proud father of four and grandfather of 13, i rise here this evening joined by many of my republican colleagues to recognize that we have a moral duty, an obligation to protect the most vulnerable among us. those who cannot yet protect or

speak for themselves. but as we stand here tonight, democrats in state legislators -- legislatures across the country are celebrating legislation to deny medical care to an innocent baby who is born alive after a failed abortion. we cannot stand idly by and allow this to happen. how have we come to this point in our country where infanticide is something we disagree on? each and every one of us has a right to life. even an innocent newly born gift from god. and i will continue to stand up and fight for that right to life every step of the way. we must continue to be proactive in bringing commonsense, pro-life legislation to the house floor. and i hope to have an opportunity to offer my full support for these bills and protect the sanctity of life. with that, i yield back. mrs. walorski: thank you. i'd like to yield to my friend from texas, 22nd district, representative peter oleson. mr. olson: i thank my friend

from missouri. the012, ashley and tony got best news parents can hear. they're going to have a baby girl. they got an ultrasound at 16 weeks. they saw the outlines of their new daughter. she was gorgeous. they had pure joy. ght after they left, the stenographer rushes to the doctor. this little gift from god has a condition, her heart is outside of her body. this condition is usually fatal. the doctors tell ashley she has two choices. either abort the baby or keep going and pray for the best.

ashley had to act quickly because texas law prohibits abortions after 20 weeks. this happened at 17 weeks. she felt the baby in her womb. kicking and thriving. and she thought, quote, who wants to take a life away? who wants to stop a beating heart? that is true love. the baby was born alive. ashley saw her, gave her a kiss, and then she was rushed off to the cardiac intensive room for babies, the i.c.u. little audrina had surgery the very next day.

here's a picture of her i printed out. in the hospital. that beautiful young girl, her heart behind that plate. her first year of life, there are wires everywhere. she was on oxygen and had to eat through a feeding tube. but here that beautiful girl is today. with a sign that says, speak now for the kids. this is a sign for audrina and every kid facing abortion. congress, american people, speak now for the kids. support the bill, born alive survivors protection act. don't kill babies. i yield back. mrs. walorski: mr. speaker, i'd like to thank my colleagues for joining me this evening to stand up for the most vulnerable among us. we stand together to defend the sanctity of life, to speak out against a radical anti-life agenda that would effectively

legalize infanticide. i have long fought to defend the unborn, but i'm shocked that i now have to defend the right to life of newborn infants. these precious children are in peril, they're rights are under -- their rights are under attack, their lives are under attack and this house has a responsibility to act. tonight the american people heard our call to action. it's time to vote on the born-alive abortion survivors protection act. will the leadership of this house listen or will the democratic majority continue to allow this march toward legalized infanticide? if we don't send a strong message that every baby has been endowed by its cretter with anhe will -- in-- creator with inalienable rights, then we are not defending the constitution. if we don't protect these children from harm, we're abandoning the basic truth of our humanity. i want to thank my colleagues for standing with me here tonight. i urge the support of the house bill, h.r. 62, the born-alive

abortion survivors protection act, and to stand against infanticide. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2019, the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the ma jordan leader -- majority leader. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today and will be joined by a number of my colleagues from the state of michigan to pay tribute to a person that i have known of and got to know as an adult, but i've known congressman john dingell virtually all of my life. having grown up in michigan and grown up in a family involved in politics in michigan, i was aware of john dingell from my earliest days. and he served in this house with incredible dignity and great distinction longer than anyone else in the history of this

country, of this government. in fact, nearly one out of four members of the house of representatives in its entire history, nearly one out of every four, served with congressman john dingell. yesterday several of us made an attempt to fly, we left andrews air force base in a storm, and attempted to fly to michigan and were unfortunately unable to land due to the weather. we are here and will be able to also him this evening, and honor him tomorrow at the funeral that will take place here in washington. so our thoughts go to the dingell family, especially to our colleague, john's wife, congressman dingell's wife, whom he often referred to as the lovely deborah. she is a friend and a colleague,

i've known her myself as well as long as i can possibly remember. i'll have more to say about congressman dingell. but i think there are just a few aspects of his career that i just want to make sure are noted for the record. the longest serving member of this house. known not just for the longevity and the quantity of his time here, but for the incredible impact that he had on our country, on our nation, and on the policies that he abbreviate believed in and -- that he believed in and stood for. he served as the chairman or ranking member on the house energy and commerce committee very 981 to 2008, shaping important legislation on clean air, clean water, protecting endangered animals, advocating for national health care. in fact, in every congress that he served in, he continued the legacy of his father who preceded him in congress, by introducing legislation that would guarantee health care for

every american. some of the legislative highlights, the national wilderness act of 1964, the water quality act in 1965, the national environmental policy act in 1970, the endangered species act of 1973, the natural gas policy act of 1978, prescription drug marketing act, 1988. clean air amendments, 1990, energy independence and security act, 2007. instant criminal background check system improvements, 2008. patient protection and affordable care act, 2010. f.d.a. food and safety modernization act, 2011. any one of these would onstitute the highlight of a legislative career. and that every one of them are attributable to the work of congressman john dingell. and before i yield to my colleagues, i want to mention one other piece of legislation.

in my first term, the only term i served with congressman dingell, we celebrated the anniversary of the 1964 civil rights act. late that evening, commemorating that day, i happened to turn on c-span. videotape hing old of the signing ceremony where president lyndon johnson stood there with civil civil rights leaders of our nation, legislative leaders. and i saw this tall figure walk into the shot, walk into the frame, shake president johnson's hand, and receive the president's congratulations for his work on that historic piece of legislation. and i went to bed and the very next day i got up and walked over here in session and i sat right in that chair right there next to the one that congressman john dingell sat in

for all those years and i speak to the guy with i -- who i saw the night before in a moment of american history and he was still here. still here fighting for the very same things that he'd fought for for so long. i took that as a personal privilege. i took it as a personal privilege to have been able to serve with him. as i said, this is a tremendous loss for our country. it's a tremendous loss for me personally. debbie. goes out to i want to now yield to my colleague, congressman walberg of michigan, we have a few other members who are here who will speak. so i now yield to congressman walberg. mr. walberg: i thank the gentleman from flint and appreciate the opportunity that we have to stand on the floor tonight as a bipartisan delegation of republicans and democrats who are joined together by a love of a great

state, the greatest state, pure michigan. but the history that is there that includes a gentleman, a leader, like john dingell. this is a vision that too often is not seen by constituents back in the district, isn't it? they often think if you're a republican or a democrat, you're automatically an antagonist for the other side. that's just not true. especially as we work together as a delegation. i learned one thing, of many thing, but one thing i'll share tonight from john d. dingell jr. i'll let that rest a little bit and let it build, what in the world i learned specifically from john dingell that was unique and special and important to me and i hope i never forget. it was in 1983 that i first met john dingell. i was a freshman in the state

house of representatives. and i was in atreian, michigan, the county seat of the house district i represented. and we were there for a ribbon cutting. i heard a commotion going on hrough the room. and the commotion was there, big john dingell is about here, he's about to arrive. i'd never met big john dingell, or john dingell at all. like you, dan, i knew it was a historic moment. and sure enough, soon he came in he swept into the room. and i met a man who yes, indeed, was 6'4", strong of appearance an presence, he commanded a presence in the room. and yet he shook everybody single hand in the room incruding -- including this freshman member of the state legislature who has he had never met, maybe even never heard my name yet there was a

warmth about that. i learned something from that. over the year, seeing him in operation and ultimately coming here in 2007ing, my first term, and having a chance to go up and sit where he always sat, right over there, and sit and talk with him and initially very timid, asking legislative questions, but then we got down to important things like, what's your favorite shotgun? what's your favorite hunting sport? who fitted your shotgun to you? and then as we began to talk about things later on, when it became apparent that with redistricting i was going to lose calhoun county in the district and i was going to pick up monroe county, which was john dingell's county, which had been his father's before him. and i was going to be given an opportunity to represent that county as part of the seventh district of michigan. i remember asking john about monroe county.

he talked about the marshland he talked about the fact that i -- if i were going to come into, he expected me to feel the same way about waterfowling and about protecting the resources there and about making sure that the wildlife refuge continued to grow and expand and meet the needs of coming generations. we talked about that. and we shared those things together. i found out about the river basin battlefield national park where a significant war, a loss to the united states, took place there. at the river but it became the rallying cry that ultimately i believe led to the winning of the war of 1812. so this became part of my district but it became part of sharing with john dingell. i remember this is what i learned that i'll never forget. i hope none of us forget it. because it's the way of life that i think leads to a valued

life of service. because i had the chance of serving with his son chris in the state legislature. that was a dingell who served and went on to be a circuit court judge. i have the privilege now of serving with debbie dingell, our great friend and colleague who we expressed our love to in the last few days even more than before. but to serve with john dingell, i said to him, congressman, he said, john, i said, i'm going to be getting, i believe, if the election goes as i think, i'm going to get monroe county. that's been your county for many years. you've loved it. you've loved all about it. i'm giving up calhoun county. how are you going to deal with that, giving away minnesota roe county? and he said this to me. this is what i'll never forget. he says, my young friend, i

never gave away a friend. i never give away a friend. he said, you the, it's going to be your district. it's going to be your county. but i will never give away my friends in monroe county. you should never give away calhoun county either. marvelous advice. i think it would be good for all of us to remember that in our relationships not only with our district, and districts that may change, but our relationships with our colleagues, democrat, republican, independent, delightful, onry, whatever. these are friends. and the way we respond to them is the same way john dingell responds in such a way that he had a life that made an impact. and remember, he served almost 60 years. 59 years and 21 days. historic. not because he chose that.

but his constituents chose that. and they made it possible for him to serve those years. they chose not to term limit him. but to say, thank you. for representing us well. so then, my friending thank you for giving us the opportunity to do this tonight. for a great man. a human, but a great man who loved this country, who served this country, and i'm not going to give away as a friend. i yield back. mr. kildee: thank you, congressman. i think it says a lot about john dingell that the affection that we feel for him not only spans the middle aisle here, crosses party lines, but it transcends it. it's meaningless in some ways he had a relationship with people here based on -- just based on the human touch that

he had. he was a wonderful, wonderful person. youle of had a close relationship with him. i would now like to yield to my colleague, we have democrats and republicans here, cookwoman haley stevens, freshman but a person who did not have a chance to serve directly with him but knew him and admire him. congresswoman stevens. ms. stevens: it is with profound honor and great humility that i rise on this floor, this his foric floor, to recognize and honor the great chairman john dingell. the day after the birthday of the great president lincoln, might i add. it is clear that john dingell's life manifested michigan. he depicted all that rich legacy that our state symbolizes. mr. dingell was a veteran, a

man of dignity, honor, and great fortitude. and he most assuredly represented a great america. that great generation. and it was his life, his long life, that is compounded by its beginning and its end and that arc of progress of which he certainly represents. mr. dingell loved life. he loved life. and he loved this body. he loved this house of representative. he was the man of the house. he was the dean of the house. i lovingly refer to him as the dean. and as we remember the honorable john dingell and reflect on what he mept to this body, to this nation, and to our great state of michigan, as somebody who is now representing parts of southeastern michigan, that

touched the auto industry he so loved, we can remember his steadfast support of our domestic automakers over the decades. john dingell understood the fate of the auto industry and the fate of southeastern michigan and michigan as a whole as being forever intertwined. so many michigan workers depended on the success of our -- that depend on the success of our auto industry from general motors to ford and chrysler, all the way down the supply chain. i had the privilege, not as a member of the house of representatives, but as as a white house appointee in the administration of barack obama, in the united states department of tremendous the treasury, on the team that was responsible for saving general motors and chrysler, we were called the uto rescue team, 10 years ago,

when mr. dingell was raising his voice and leading conversations and standing up for that auto industry and just as he always had been a ferocious advocate, he was then a ferocious advocate for the federal initiative to save our automakers from liquidation, to save over 200,000 michigan jobs, and to stand up for michigan and everything we represent. today there are thousands of families in michigan who have kept their jobs because of john dingell, whose value of work is respected and understood because of john dingell, and to him, that was just another day of work. to him, public service and doing right by his constituents was simply second nature. any elected official in our

country and there are 535 of us who sit in the house of representatives and the senate, we would all be wise to study john dingell's passion, his astery of legislating, his dedication to public service, and his record of achievement. in an era that has sometimes felt polarizing, somehow this great unifier and we saw that. in his passing. we saw that when we welcomed his casket to the capitol. and we will see that tomorrow at his funeral in washington, d.c. john dingell knew how important it was to bring industry and labor to the table during the policymaking process. he knew that the auto industry

needed a friend, needed a champion for everything that was right by our country and frankly our state's origins. he made our big three stronger by pushing them to adopt fuel emissions standards. complicated policymaking brings all the stake holders to the table and john dingell knew how to do that, he knew how to do that for the environment, he knew how to do that on safety and he certainly contributed to a safer, more sustainable industry that has its moonshot views of the future, divisions of the future, around zero emissions and zero accidents that are now being shepherded by the workers and the innovation and the talent in our state. john dingell john dingell always strived to do the most good. he understood what service meant

. he understood what doing the most good for the most people meant. he fought for our water. he fought for our infrastructure guarantee, and he fought for universal health care every day he was here. he had such a profound respect for his colleagues, even when he disagreed with them. and he loved his wife. he loved his wife for all 40 years. and we, her colleagues, from this michigan delegation, we celebrate and we share that love for the great debbie dingell. who has been such a pillar of strength, of openness, of vulnerability. i told congresswoman dingell, i told her, you are every woman today. you are every woman in your grief. and as we recognize your incredible husband, as we

recognize him here today in this codified moment, and as we car his torch forward, because that is -- carry his torch forward, because that's what we do through the generations, we pick up the torch and keep carrying it forward, we will also continue to carry congresswoman dingell forward in her grief and in her adjustment and in the memory of her hulls. and as such, john dingell -- husband. and as such, john dingell, most assuredly, will always be remembered in our great state of michigan. watching the people come to pay their respects, the service men and women, the thousands of people who felt connected to his life and his life's work, it is what vice president biden referred to as his great dignity. his respect for his friends, for his neighbors, for his fellow man. his contributions to this nation

will not be forgotten and they will certainly be felt for generations to come. so today, in a very official y, i say, good-bye, to the chairman, to the dean, to the congressman, to the veteran, john dingell. thank you. we will miss you dearly. mr. kildee: thank you, congresswoman stevens. yesterday as we stood on the east front steps of the capitol, i stood next to congressman paul mitchell, as congressman dingell and congresswoman dingell and the motorcade came by and it was an emotional moment that we shared with one another. and i know that he meant a lot to you. so i now yield to congressman paul mitchell. mr. mitchell: thank you. i appreciate it. i join all of our delegation, rising to recognize the life and legacy of the chairman, john dingell.

the longest serving member in the history of this congress. over his nearly six decades in congress, he touched tens of thousands of americans. frankly, impacted this nation so many ways. you were talking about the bills that he had authored and led. i was listening to that list. the endangered species act of the i was still in high school. and i'm not a young -- act. i was still in high school. and i'm not a young man anymore. the legacy he left for this nation is massive and will be for a long time. i first met the congressman years ago when i represented the governor of michigan and came to washington to talk with members about work force development education. i was a bright-eyed 22-year-old, eager, ready to go. i'm sure the chairman was wondering what i was doing there, talking to him and representing the governor. he agreed to meet with me because the govern heir called and said i was the guy -- governor had called and said i was the guy to talk to about that. so here was the chairman meeting with a 22-year-old about work force development.

kindest man. listened. we talked about it. i respected a republic governor and there's no question that john dingell was a democrat. but partisanship wasn't priority for john dingell. he always focused on getting things done effectively for people. it was people over politics. something sometimes we should take to heart around here, we've talked about that. his question was always, what's good for the people of our state? another question he often had, as was referenced, is that, what's good for our auto industry? because lord help you if you're going to take a shot at our auto industry. we're the auto capitol and he defend -- capital and he defended that fiercely. a memory i have of meeting with the chairman, one that stands out for me, was 20 years later, believe it or not, i calm in as a lead staffer. he came out of his office. he was going to vote, i believe. he looked over, he goes, i should know you. i explained why i was there. what i was there to talk about.

he goes, i can't sign that letter to the white house, i know what you're talking about. but i can do one better. i can call the white house and tell them they need to pay attention to this. don't mess up the people of my state. he made that call. he was a man of his word. when i joined congress, i had the opportunity to talk a little more with john dingell. early on he said to me, just call me john now. unlike many in d.c., he cared to hear what others thought. listened to others speak. not just himself. and he always asked me, how's your family, how are they dealing with you coming to congress? he will be remembered as one of the greatest modern day legislators. he got things done. he wouldn't just talk about it and lord knows sometimes around here they do. he found compromises and solutions, he tackled them, he'd rangel them, he'd find a way to bring it to a compromise and solve the problem. he worked across the aisle. i don't believe his dedicated

service to this country will ever be met again. he left an enormous mark on this institution, our country, and the world, that we'll all remember. so i say, god bless this great nation with john dingell and may god bless you, john david dingell jr. thank you. i yield back. mr. kildee: thank you so much, congressman. i remember as well when he told me, i used to call him mr. chairman. mainly because i was afraid of him most of my life. when he told me to call him john, i think it might have been a full year before i developed enough courage to call him by that name. another one of our members who i know is very close to john, has worked in michigan politics and knew john dingell for a long time, is our colleague, congresswoman brenda lawrence. congresswoman lawrence, i yield to you. mrs. lawrence: thank you. to my colleagues and to all who

my entire life i had john dingell's name as congressman john dingell in my atmosphere. growing up in detroit, knowing about his work and his tireless defending of people. john dingell served in congress of dedication and a sense duty, an earnest sense of duty to his constituents, his country, and his solemn oath of office. as a michiganders, support of the auto industry was a high priority of his. from staring the original corporate -- steering the original corporate average fuel economy act in 1975 to his efforts on the energy and commerce committee, john dingell helped to build a legacy of laws in strong support of michigan

manufacturing work force and the american auto industry. a champion for the auto industry, a champion for our veterans, and for what our government can do when we truly work together for the people. he was a man of many accomplishments on and off the hill. and while many may forget the thousands of votes that he voted throughout his career. many may lose track of the legislation he promoted in support of the american people. but as we heard from so many colleagues, staff, family and friends, people never forget an uplifting voice in a time of need, or a simple act of kindness that brightens up their day. there are many times that people forget but they often never forget how you made them feel. john dingell was well known for his sense of humor, friendly spirit, and how he treated

everyone with dignity and respect. this is the legacy that we all can only hope to achieve. john dingell is and always will be a shining star for the state of michigan. a north star of direction for us as members of congress. and a superstar to all his family, his wife and my colleague, debbie dingell, and all of his friends. his life, his legacy, an example of true patriotism, will never fade. john dingell will never be forgotten and john dingell showed this country, while so many say this house doesn't work or there's not a sense of respect for our government, this is the time, as we reflect on his life, to understand that this government is important,

that the things we do every day matter to people, and that if we do our job, do it together, we will be contributors to why this is such a great country. thank you so much. mr. kildee: thank you so much, congresswoman lawrence. -- i know that congressman fred upton was a very close friend with john dingell. they served together, they served on the same committee together. they were one another's chairmen at different times. but i know first and foremost, they were just real friends. and so i would now like to yield to the dean of the michigan delegation, congressman fred upton. upup -- mr. upton: i thank my fellow dean, my bipartisan dean, on the other side. i have so many stories to tell. so i'm going to watch the clock here a little bit. because i'm going to ramble.

i don't have a prepared speech. i'm delighted to be here. i'm delighted that you were able to get this time for some of us to speak in honor of a legend. when you think about this last year, man, we've lost some really terrific ones. president bush, john mccain, others. certainly john dingell joins those ranks as a distinguished american who really made a mark on everyone's life in this country. i want to insert into the record just a wonderful piece that the editor of the detroit news wrote this last week, nolan finley. i'm going to put that into the record. i'm going to also read to you an email that i got just an hour or two ago from his wife, debbie, our colleague, who received this from the ford family. this is from mike ford. of course his father was jerry ford, our great man, president, michigan ander. and he wrote this --

michigander. and he wrote this, since learning of john's recent passing, my thoughts and prayers have been zoon -- constant with you and your extended family. rough my reading of the many remembrances of, i've been moved and blessed to relive his remarkable legacy of leadership and service to the people michigan and to all of our nation. john and my father, though identified from competing political parties, held so much in common as men of wisdom, integrity, compassion and selfless service for all of humanity and their friendship was true and enduring through a shared lifetime calling of public service. john dingell and jerry ford represent what is good, in our e and decent country. please know of our ford family's grace, giving wishes and prayers for you and all the dingell

family at this time of loss and grief. may you know of god's abiding comfort, love and hope this day and always, mike ford. good guy that, again, some of us know, particularly those of us on the west side safety. you know e our dean. and when i became the dean of the michigan republican delegation, i was in -- that was in the early 1990's, i got to say, i was just adding them up here sitting with tim, i was probably in thousands of meetings with john. our delegation is close. we stand together on a host of issues from the great lakes to the autos. our offices were across the hall from each other. for a lot of years. and of course we've known deborah forever and a day as well. i had the chance to talk to john dingell the day before he died. talked to him a number of times over the last number of weeks. i read his book, which i would recommend to folks.

might put the r rating next to it in terms of his language. you can hear him speak. but he had a genuine sense of humor. so many stories. i was asked a little bit earlier today, what about his tweeting? you know, he tweeted until literally the last day or two. for those of you watching tonight, get on google and mlivedingelltweet. this weekend they ran the top 20 tweets that he did. and they will make you laugh. they really will. especially the one with the bulldog, all you animal lovers make sure you find that one. people said how could a 92-year-old do all this?

one is our committee. we forced the broadcasters, it was a dingell bill a lot of years ago, i had an amendment that was critical there, but we passed the bill, he cared so much about bipartisanship, we changed, we forced the broadcasters to go from an log to digital. that allowed us all to have devices like. this iphone the internet, instead of using a shoe for your phone, you've got something like this. we forced them to go to the digital that allowed things to happen. guess what, john dingell, in congress, he'd sit down, we all meet in detroit. let's face it. our delegation. we come from someplace. you from flint, you actually south, y, i come from

from kalamazoo. generally we fly delta to detroit, become to d.c. we're sull ate tissue're wall sitting in that, probably 875, the gate, there's john dingell, he's on his blackberry, zimming away, typing as fast as you can imagine. communicating with people around the world. it's because of the work that he did in our committee that makes our lives what it is today. but whether it's that, whether it's the environment, whether it's health care, whether it's pipeline safety, you name the issue, we're sorry he went to the ways and means committee. debra chose right she went to energy and commerce you went to the dark side. our committee has jurisdiction over so much. he was such a leader. and he didn't care about who got the credit. he just wanted to get the job

done. he did say right over here. when you'd come over and ask for his advice, make sure you're on his good ear, he'd talk and remember things. can remember taking the congressional record for some big debates, the voting rights act and others. i would sit with him here we'd go through the names. particularly the michigan delegation, why they voted this way or that way. he would tell the history. he was here our lifetime. our lifetime. and he was a gentleman to the very end. knew the rule, had the respect from both sides of the aisle. he was a guy that we will never see replaced here in this house. in closing, let me just say there's a reason, you know, even at the end, he was wondering did i make a difference? of course he did. but here was a guy that made such a difference and a guy that really never thought he'd

be in this institution. when his dad died, a week before his dad died, he didn't think he was going to run for that seat. and it was people at home that encouraged him to run. when he chose to retire, he didn't push deb bra, nudge debra to run for that seat. but can you imagine 86 years of a tin goal representing southeast michigan. what a tribute to a family and to folks that love not only our state, certainly his constituents, that have made such a difference here in this body. thank you, dan, for taking this time. i yield back. mr. kildee: thank you so much. i recall yesterday when we were attempting to get to the funeral in detroit, congressman upton anticipated an impromptu observance for congressman dingell at 30,000 feet as we flew become to washington because of our failure to land.

i'll never forget that. another one of our colleagues who i know, like me, has known this family, the dingell family and congressman john dingell for as long as he can remember, whose father served with congressman dingell and was also at once the dean of the michigan delegation, congressman andy levin. i know this means a lot to you. i yield to congressman levin. mr. levin: thank you so much. i say to the gentleman from st. joseph in this special order, we're a little different than from michigan. the gentleman from st. joseph, if kildee went to the dark side, levin will come to energy and commerce. i appreciate that. we get that all lined up so we can take care of that right here. and you know -- >> yes, sir. mr. levin: we rib dave camp bout this too.

i want to pick up where you left off. i don't want to talk really about john's unbelievable legislative record. i want to talk about two families. the levin family and the dingell family. and really about what the dingell family has meant to my family for almost 80 years. and almost 80 years. my dad has been interviewed about this and asked and my uncle carl but my dad has not revealed really the beginning of his relationship with the dingells. and that's about john's dad. john dingell sr. my father, sander levin's first political memory, aside from listening to fireside chats around the living room radio,

coming from president roosevelt, is of campaigning or john dingell sr. in his knickersing, my dad would have been maybe 10 years old. so this is going back to the late 1930's or early 1940's. nd then in 1946, i think, john dingell sr. recommended to president harry truman that he appoint a lawyer named theodore levin to the eastern district of michigan to be a federal judge. andujarry truman did that. and i was looking at the record with all the time things take these days, dan, the president 3, ated uncle ted on july and he was sitting on july 22.

of either 1946 or 1947. things happen at a different speed in those days. and theodore levin served for many years and he was the chief judge of the eastern district of michigan. but earlier than that, before was chief judge, i think, jolingdulling get -- john dingell's son, john d. dingell jr., clerked for judge levin. it made a profound impact on the chairman. he told me about this all the ime. imagine getting to go see this senior member of congress to find out about your own great uncle. what was he like? mr. dingell loved uncle ted.

so then, john dingell approached, edid whatever you do to name the federal courthouse in detroit after my great uncle. he did not tell congressman sander levin, he did not tell senator carl levin about this at all until it was a done deal he didn't want any sense of conflict of interest, whatever. he was doing this for his own sake, this was his mentor. so if you go to downtown detroit, the courthouse is amed after theodore levin. over the year,000,000 dad served here for 36 years, all senior his beloved colleague was john dingell. and dad rose to be chair of the house ways and means committee and mr. dingell was the chair of energy and commerce. and they worked together on so

many things. things that people from other states wouldn't know about. cleaning up the rouge river. a symbol of industrialism that now is a really much, much cleaner river, really clean river. working to save the auto industry of course. imagine g -- imagine what it meant to be to the my dad to be chairman of the ways and means committee when we passed the affordable care act and getting to work with his legendary and beloved senior colleague from michigan who had introduced universal health care in this country every congress since the -- since he entered in 1955 to get to work together to advance the ball, not achieving universal health care, but achieving so much through the affordable care act. so i don't know how to say good-bye to mr. dingell. like you, dan, he scared the heck out of me. he was gruff. he was big.

and but for the sparkle in his eye, i'm not sure i would have even approached him. but he was always willing to sit down, no matter how big and powerful he was, he was always willing to listen. and the advice he gave was unfailingly honest and direct. and a lot of times you couldn't repeat exactly the advice, all the words of the advice he gave but it was really, really special to me. so i'm not sure i'm willing to say fwoob to mr. d. i'll just say god speed. to someone who to me will always be the dean of the house and represent what this body is supposed to be. down to earth and sophisticated at the same time.

highly principled. and expert at making the sausage. this is the people's house. and john dingell was the people's representative. i yield back. thank you. mr. kildee: thank you, congressman 11. i would like to call on the last of our michigan members to speak. a new member, freshman, someone who i know had a very special relationship with congressman john dingell, congresswoman rashida thrabe. -- tlaib. ms. tlaib: thank you to my colleague from the strong city of flint. i can tell you i had a unique relationship with congressman dingell, who we lovingly call the dean in michigan, because i was a young activist, quote, radical, always out there protesting for clean air, protesting for good paying jobs. and he was a person that even though we had different styles and approaches to various issues he never reduced or

tried to silence my voice and many of the voices of the young people that were really trying to get the clean air act to be put in place to be held accountable. for many of the -- for many of the corporate polluters. as i transitioned office, became a state representative, within a few months of being a state representative, theres after comp rat billionaire who owned a bridge, there was a whole, huge controversy around whether or not he had a permit, whether or not he was following the environmental impact statement process that is there on the federal level. this is a community where one in five children have asthma. it's a community i was raised in. it was the first issue that came before me as a member of the state legislature in michigan. i was at a loss. many people said, congressman dingell, the dean, has historical, institutional knowledge of this company and you should sit down with him and talk to him. i can tell you i was completely taken aback.

i could not believe that congressman dingell reached out to me right away and got my residents at that time a hearing which you don't usually get with the u.s. coast guard, a hearing that happened right in the public school, right in the center of the neighborhood that was directly impacted. we had over 500 residents that finally felt heard. many of them giving testimony after testimony of why a corporation needed to follow the rules, needed to follow the processers in e.p.a., the federal highway administration, the number of entities involved in possibly a new bridge crossing. what i also incredibly loved is, you know, i remember sitting on a panel about immigration reform with congressman dingell at the university of michigan-ann arbor. as a sitting state rep i remember coming in from little capital, driving in about an hour or so, it was a cold day, i believe it was snowing, of course disheveled as i usually am, i look to him if you know congressman dingell, he had the

cane, he would put the cane right between his knees and just sit there and he would look up if his demrses and i look at him and i said congressman dingell, i just don't know how you've been doing this for so long. this is so hard because they lie. he looked at me and he said, you know, i just loved what he said. he turns to me and he always called me young lady he said young lady, there's a saying in india that if you standstill enough at the river banks, standstill, that your enemies will float by you dead. i have no idea why but that calmed me. because he was teaching me stillness but he also was teaching me patience. with had an incredible panel that uploifed our immigrant neighbors. for someone who has such a huge powerful presence. this young activist that carries a bull horn in her car could, sit next to this amazing,

incredible person and feel heard, feel seen, and be on the panel with him and serve with him in so many powerful ways around environmental justice issues. i will forever, ever remember the humbling experience as his last ride in front of the capitol, to have been serving now in this chamber that served for 59 years, 12 different presidents. tifflesing my son, my 13-year-old son, about him. he's like, i'm going to look him up. i said, you need. to because he's a rarity. and i hope -- you need to. because he's a railroadity. and i hope to honor his tremendous -- rarity. and i hope to honor his tremendous legacy by doing the same thing he did. because i know there will be a generation after me that may be different, have a different stifmente i never want to ever shush or silence them in any way and want them to be heard just like he did for me. i want to thank him from the bottom of my heart for teaching me so much and i'm just so

pleased to have been serving along his side in many ways, but also that he served me and my family for so many years. thank you all so much for allowing me to speak about my dear friend, congressman john dingell. thank you. i yield back. mr. kildee: thank you so much, congresswoman tlaib. i now would like to yield to the gentleman who served a very long time, most of his career, here in the house side by side with congressman john dingell. congressman brad sherman from california, who is a member of the financial services committee, and the foreign affairs committee, and a good friend of congressman john dingell. congressman sherrill, -- sherman, i yield. mr. sherman: i was in my office watching these tributes to the dean and after a while i couldn't just sit there and watch. i realized, this is an hour devoted to remembrances from his colleagues from michigan and i thank you for allowing a humble californian to participate.

america is healthier because of john dingell. less tobacco is smoked now than decades ago because of john dingell. our air is cleaner, our water is cleaner, we are healthier. and we are closer to completely universal health care than we have ever been in our history. because of john dingell. not only is our environment healthier, our bodies healthier, our country is healthier because of what john dingell did to bring civil rights, to move forward the fight for civil rights in this country. john is the dean of the michigan delegation, but he belongs to us too. he's the dean of the house, he's the dean of the house for all

time. i doubt that any member will ever match his record of tenure, but i know that no member will ever match his record of accomplishment. sooned we have so many new members come to the house this year -- and so we have so many new members come to the house this year wondering how to learn, how to be an effective member, how to serve their country. they could not do any better than to -- than to study the life of john dingell in his nearly six decades of service to this country and to this house. i'm so pleased that debbie dingell continues to serve the district, a district served by john and john's father. i thank you for inviting a californian member to take just a bit of your time and i yield back. mr. kildee: thank you, congressman sherman. mr. speaker, tomorrow we'll lay congressman john dingell to rest

. and it will be a painful time. but we can take a lot of comfort in the contribution that he has made. not just to this body, but to the quality of life in this country and as individuals, to our own perspective, our own experience here. we can take some comfort in knowing that his wife, the love of his life, will continue his legacy by serving here with us side by side, our heart goes out to to her. i know this is a very difficult time. for the dingell family. but especially for debbie. they loved one another. they were inseparable. they were one. and i know this will be a difficult time for her. we stand with her. john dingell served with 11 presidents. 1 speakers of the house. 2,419 members of congress served with him. this ved 21,551 days in

house. and cast over 25,000 votes. but as he would say and said many times, it's not the longevity that accounts, it's the way you served. he served in a way that brought honor on this congress and made it a better institution. he led in a way that made this country a better place and i know for each of us that came to the floor and each of us that served with him, he not only made us better representatives of the people that we work for, but he made us better people. we honor john dingell's life and legacy. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess subject to the call of the chair.

2020 democratic presidential candidate john delaney on his presidential run. then texas republican congressman chip roy talks about the tentitytive border security deal. and educator school safety network co-founder and director of programs on efforts to improve school safety. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal" live at 7:00 eastern thursday morning. join the discussion. >> our live coverage of the funeral for michigan congressman john dingell continues thursday morning at 10:30 eastern. a funeral mass will be held at holy trinity catholic church in washington, d.c. speakers at the funeral include president bill clinton, house majority leader steny hoyer, and former house speaker john boehner. watch the funeral services for congressman john dingell live on c-span and c-span.org or listen with the free c-span radio app.

>> house democratic leaders earlier today held a closed-door meeting with fellow members on the upcoming legislative agenda. after it was over, caucus chair hakeem jeffries held this briefing with reporters, speaking mostly about border security and government funding. mr. jeffries: good morning. house democrats consistently articulated the position that we needed to reopen the have ent so then we can a mature conversation about border security. the government, after a 35-day reckless shutdown, w