Political Quotes

“Thank you very much, Congressman Pallone, for recognizing me and for acknowledging the fact that I am the ranking member at the present time, but, of course, you will now take on that job very ably, I am sure, and both of us will follow in the tradition of John Dingell. Mr. Speaker, it is so appropriate that the room where the Energy and Commerce Committee meets is now known as the ``John Dingell Room.'' John Dingell has been the leader of that committee and a leader in the Congress longer than anybody else has served in either the Senate or in the House; yet, what I want to say is from my own personal perspective. I have served on that committee for 40 years, and I have learned more from John Dingell than I have from anybody else I have served with as a colleague. There were times when we had disagreements, and we argued them out and then resolved them and compromised on them; but most of the time, he was a stalwart defender of the interests of the working people of this country, a protector of the environment, a person who led the efforts for civil rights, a man who cared about people and understood that government had a very important role to play in people's lives. From his father, who was active in the New Deal, under President Franklin Roosevelt, who led this Nation to use the government in a positive way--to help people who had nowhere else to turn--John Dingell carried on that tradition. It is the Liberal-Progressive tradition, and I associate myself with it.…”