From:  The News Herald

SOUTHGATE — He only mentioned Barack Obama once during Tuesday’s address to the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber, but it was clear U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-15th District) was stumping for the president as he seeks a second term.

Dingell never openly advocated the president’s re-election but raised Obama’s health care legislation and Michigan’s declining unemployment rate as signs the president and his Democratic colleagues have plenty to run on this fall.

“We’ve taken steps in what is the worst recession since the 1929 crash and we’ve begun to see significant advances, economically, to make it better for our people,” he said at Crystal Gardens.

He went on to tout Obama’s 2010 health care overhaul, which includes prescription savings for seniors on Medicare, an extension for young adults to remain on their parents’ insurance plans until age 26, tax credits for small businesses to cover insurance premiums and the elimination of pre-existing condition limitations imposed by health insurance providers.

The funding is there, he added, to begin setting up health insurance exchanges to allow people and companies to shop for the most optimal coverage.

“Michigan has already received funding for a health insurance exchange, which is critical to the individual or small business seeking health coverage,” Dingell said. “Michigan cannot afford to drag its feet.

“If Michigan does not move forward in this area, it is quite possible that the federal government will have to act and set up its own exchange.”

The state’s unemployment rate has dropped from 14 percent to 9.3 percent, he said, adding there’s more that can be done.

“We need to make sure that tax laws are fair and that everyone pays their fair share,” Dingell said, echoing the president.

Small growth in manufacturing jobs, including the investment in an electric-car battery plant in Woodhaven, he added, can only help the region and the state’s economic recovery.

Dingell also looked ahead, citing federal funding for the Dearborn rail station that should make his home city a key stop on proposed high-speed rail service between Detroit and Chicago and his hopes for a second Detroit River span linking metropolitan Detroit and Canada.

“We need it,” he said of the proposed international crossing south of the Ambassador Bridge.

Asked why Congress has not been able to submit a budget for three straight years, Dingell was succinct.

“I’ll give you the number of my friend (Republican Speaker of the House) John Boehner,” he said, to laughter.

Dingell, the longest serving member in the history of the House, recently announced plans to seek an unprecedented 30th term.

Read this at The News Herald