Dingell Is Longest-Serving House Member

Rep. John D. Dingell (D-MI) today becomes the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives in history, but his honor comes just as his colleagues have effectively declared that his time of grand power has passed. Dingell's 19,420-day career representing the western suburbs of Detroit has been remarkable not just in length but also in accomplishments. The 82-year-old held the gavel in 1965 when the House passed the legislation that created Medicare, he helped write the 1973 Endangered Species Act, and he led dozens of investigations into waste and abuse in federal agencies. But the onetime chairman of the House Committee on Commerce, who is known for pointing to a satellite picture of Earth when asked about his committee's jurisdiction, is no longer the giant on Capitol Hill that he was. After the election last fall, House Democrats dumped Dingell as chairman of Commerce, where he had been the top Democrat for almost three decades. The fear was that Dingell would not act quickly to push through environmental legislation that could hurt the Detroit automakers he has long represented.