Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Contact: 313-791-2707
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dearborn, MI - Congressman John D. Dingell (D-MI15) will travel to Lansing this Thursday, March 27 to file his re-election nominating petitions with the Secretary of State's Office. The petitions allow Dingell to seek the 15th Congressional District of Michigan's Democratic nomination, and he has collected the permitted maximum of 2,000 signatures from registered voters in the 15th District. Congressman Dingell will kick-off his campaign with a fundraiser and rally with hundreds of supporters in Ypsilanti, Michigan when he returns from Lansing Thursday evening.
Said Dingell: "The problems we face across Michigan and the 15th Congressional District aren't news to the families here. The skyrocketing cost of gas and groceries, the mortgage crisis, the cost of sending your child to college, the cost of health insurance, jobs being eliminated or shipped overseas – these aren't news stories, they are the reality here. For seven years we've had a President and Administration actively hostile to addressing these issues, and I've fought them every step of the way. It's time to put the interests of our families ahead of Wall Street and the hedge fund operators who profit from the misery of others. I'm going to keep fighting for our families because we can do better and we must. We can create the jobs of the future right here in Michigan, and we will. We can make healthcare affordable again, and we will. We can address the problems of working men and women and put their interests first, and we will. I have been blessed to serve the people of Southeast Michigan for many years and I spend a lot of time listening to their concerns, hopes and fears so that I can best represent them in Washington. This week when I kick-off my re-election campaign I will be again asking for their support and their vote so that I can continue to fight on their behalf."
Congressman Dingell is the Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and has been an instrumental legislator in many of Congress' major accomplishments in the past year including House version of a bill that would force the government to negotiate for prescription drug prices for Medicare, the Consumer Product Safety & Modernization Act and the Children's Health Insurance bill that Congress passed twice but was vetoed by the President. Congressman Dingell helped pass legislation that will help ensure that individuals like Virginia Tech gunman Cho Sun Hui, who was adjudicated mentally ill by the state of Virginia, are included in the National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS). Additionally, Congressman Dingell brokered a compromise on the Energy Security & Independence Act, a historic achievement with bipartisan support that requires a 40 percent increase in the fuel economy of our motor vehicles, but doing so in a way that gives manufacturers the flexibility they need to get the job done and preserves American jobs. Along with the efficiency standards for homes, appliances, and lighting, the law will help remove more than 10 billion tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by 2030. That is the equivalent of taking all cars, trucks, and planes off the road and out of the skies for five years. Congressman Dingell was called a "hero" by the New York Times Editorial Board for his work on crafting the energy bill compromise.
Congressman Dingell also authored a bill calling for a withdrawal of American troops from Iraq by January 20, 2009; President Bush's last day in office. He has also taken the lead on providing more money and support to the millions of Iraqi refugees displaced by the ongoing sectarian conflict in Iraq. In the coming months, Dingell will continue his work on comprehensive climate change legislation that will seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60-80% by 2050 and he will introduce legislation to increase the safety of food and drugs imported from foreign countries.
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