Congressman John D. Dingell has made a career of fighting the fights that matter to the working families of Southeast Michigan.  As ‘Dean of the US House of Representatives’ and Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, Dingell continues to make his mark as a champion for the workers who keep America’s factories strong, a crusader for America’s environment and natural heritage, and the leading voice in Congress for making health care affordable to all families. While working for the people of his district, Congressman Dingell has become a leader respected throughout Michigan and the nation for his ideals and his ability to get results.

During his long and distinguished service, Congressman Dingell has written some of the best known laws protecting human health and the environment, as well as the rights of workers and consumers. He was the primary force behind enactment of such cornerstone laws as the Endangered Species Act, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Clean Air Act of 1990, and the Mammography Quality Standards Act.
In addition, few legislators can demonstrate a record of fighting government waste and corporate corruption like Congressman Dingell. A leader in the effort to toughen corporate accountability after the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals, Dingell has also taken the lead in exposing government waste and abuses of tax dollars, including the investigation of Halliburton contracts in Iraq.

Congressman Dingell continues to build upon his unparalleled record of achievement by enacting such laws as “Do Not Call” to help families fight back against unwanted telemarketing.  In January of 2007 he passed through the House the “Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act” to require Medicare negotiate cheaper prescription drugs. An avid conservationist and outdoorsman, he has been using his legislative prowess and membership on the Migratory Bird Commission to successfully build the nation’s first international wildlife refuge to protect thousands of acres of natural habitat in southeast Michigan and Canada.

John D. Dingell was born July 8, 1926 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1932, Congressman Dingell’s father, also named John, was elected Congressman for Michigan’s 15th district.

The younger Dingell split his time between the Detroit area and Washington until he turned 18. That year – 1944 – he joined the US Army and prepared to fight the Axis powers in World War II. He rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant and received orders to take part in the first wave of a planned invasion of Japan in November of 1945. The Congressman has said President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb to end the war ‘saved’ his life.

Dingell finished his military service in the fall of 1946, and then attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC where he studied chemistry. He continued his studies at Georgetown Law School, graduating in 1952. He then worked as a forest ranger, a prosecuting attorney for Wayne County, Michigan and ran his own private law office. When his father passed away while still a Member of the US House of Representatives in 1955, the younger Dingell answered the call to step into his father’s chair. He won a special election at the age of 29.

Congressman Dingell and his wife, Debbie, own a home in west Dearborn and both commute weekly for job responsibilities in Michigan and Washington. He has two sons and two daughters, as well as three grandchildren.