Telecom ‘Giant’ Dingell Announces Retirement from House
Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., long one of the top members of the House on communications policy, said Monday he won’t seek reelection. Dingell had been considered a candidate for top Democrat on the House Commerce Committee, a committee he long chaired when Democrats ran the House. “That time has come,” Dingell, 87, said Monday in his State of the District speech to the Southern Wayne County Regional Chamber of Commerce, according to prepared remarks (http://1.usa.gov/1eq1uHv). “I have ten months more in Congress, and I'm not going to waste a minute. There’s still a lot to be done and a lot I want to do.”
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The role of top Democrat on the committee is expected to open following the 2014 midterm elections with the retirement of current ranking member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., who said last month he will step down. Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo of California and Frank Pallone of New Jersey have both said they want the position. Dingell, who would be the senior-most Democrat on the committee, had not ruled out the option, but on Monday news broke that the 87-year-old lawmaker, too, would retire. Dingell was chairman before Republicans took control of Congress in the 1994 elections and regained that post in 2007, before losing an intraparty fight two years later to Waxman. Observers said last month any push from Dingell to lead House Commerce Democrats would deserve serious attention (CD Jan 31 p5).
Dingell called the current Congress “a great disappointment,” with little productivity. “For too long, bad politics has allowed this Congress to careen from one manufactured crisis to another, whether it’s a stubbornness to agree on a budget, a necessary raise of our debt ceiling, or any other matter that would restore certainty,” Dingell said. Dingell was previously the long-time chairman and ranking member of House Commerce and is the longest-serving lawmaker in Congress. Fifteen Democrats and 21 Republicans in the House have said they won’t run for reelection in the November midterm elections.
Dingell has played a role in congressional telecom debates for decades. One trademark habit Dingell has developed is asking witnesses a series of rapid-fire questions requiring a yes or no answer. Another tradition was Dingell’s annual congressional holiday jingle, which this past December he uploaded to the website BuzzFeed as a user (http://bzfd.it/1ple5Vh). “We've neglected the public, their best interests, their wishes,” the latest song lyrics said, lamenting “bickering so vile.” Dingell, who was elected to Congress in 1955, was chairman of the House Commerce Committee for a total of 18 years, and ranking member for 12. He was one of the lawmakers responsible for putting together the 1996 Telecom Act, the only major rewrite of the 1934 Communications Act.
"Dingell was a giant who cast a long shadow over American communications policy,” said former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell. “He was a bipartisan watchdog regarding FCC process. He believed in transparency and took both Democrat and Republican FCC chairs and commissioners to task if he thought the process was being abused.” Several industry officials noted that when Dingell had questions of regulators he would fire off a list of pointed questions in what became known as a “Dingell-gram."
"It’s a day I never thought would occur, but thank god it has, because it marks the beginning of a great new era in the business of this nation and the business of the world,” said Dingell, then ranking member of House Commerce, at the Feb. 8, 1996, signing ceremony for the Telecom Act. He recounted the “fits and starts” in trying to overhaul the act going back many years. “If there’s an attempt made to update the Communications Act, I will offer my support,” Dingell said during a January House Communications Subcommittee hearing on revisiting the act. The January U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision vacating FCC net neutrality rules is “proof” that Congress needs to update telecom law, Dingell added. “Only clear direction from Congress will strengthen consumer protections, promote competitions and give industry the regulatory certainty it needs to innovate in the future.” He cautioned Congress to proceed “with great care,” with action based on evidence, Dingell emphasized. “Public interest” should remain the core guiding principle to the Communications Act, Dingell said.
"Broadcasters will be losing a great friend, but Congress and the American people will be losing a patriot and living legend,” said NAB President Gordon Smith in a statement. The telecom industry is “better off” for Dingell’s service, said AT&T Executive Vice President-Federal Relations Tim McKone, noting his “toughness and thoroughness.” House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., praised Dingell, as did Waxman, Eshoo and Pallone, as other members tweeted about Dingell’s service. “I was honored to have served with Rep. Dingell,” said Comptel CEO Chip Pickering, a former Republican representative from Mississippi. “His love of and respect for the institution of Congress and of the Energy and Commerce Committee are irreplaceable.” American Cable Association President Matthew Polka said that “no one saw as much change in the telecommunications space as Rep. Dingell, whose career in office was bracketed by Sputnik and Spotify.” Competitive Carriers Association President Steve Berry said Dingell had been “a critical part of every aspect of telecom policy for decades.” President Barack Obama issued a statement calling Dingell “one of the most influential legislators of all time.” ,