Special Frontier Force pays a respectful tribute to John Dingell the longest-serving member of the US House of Representatives. I acknowledge his support for the Tibetan Resistance Movement from its inception.

Rudranarasimham Rebbapragada

Special Frontier Force

John Dingell on Foreign Policy

Democratic Representative (MI- 15)

Voted YES on deterring foreign arms transfers to China.

To authorize measures to deter arms transfers by foreign countries to the People’s Republic of China, A YES vote would grant the President the ability to place sanctions on any individual or country that violates the arms embargo, including:

• Denial of participation in cooperative research and development
• Prohibition of ownership and control of any business registered as a manufacturer or exporter of defense articles or services
• Removal of all licenses relative to dual-use goods or technology
• Prohibition of participation of any foreign military sales

Reference: East Asia Security Act; Bill HR 3100; vote number 2005-374 on Jul 14, 2005

Voted NO on Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China.

Vote to give permanent Normal Trade Relations [NTR] status to China. Currently, the NTR status for China is debated and voted on annually. The measure contains provisions designed to protect the United States from Chinese import surges and the administration would have to report annually on China’s compliance with the trade agreement. The bill establishes a commission to monitor human rights, labor standards, and religious freedom in China.

Reference: Bill sponsored by Archer, R-TX; Bill HR 4444; vote number 2000-228 on May 24, 2000

John Dingell, the longest-serving member of U.S. Congress, dead at 92

© Reuters/Rebecca Cook FILE PHOTO – Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich, acknowledges the audience during a luncheon in Southgate

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) – John Dingell, a gruff Michigan Democrat who entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 1955 to finish his late father’s term and became a legislative heavyweight and longest-serving member of Congress, died on Thursday. He was 92.

“Today the great State of Michigan said farewell to one of our greatest leaders. John Dingell will forever be remembered as ‘The Dean’ of Congress not simply for the length of his service, but for his unparalleled record of legislative accomplishments,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wrote in a post on Twitter.

Dingell served 59 years in the House before retiring in 2015 because, as he said to a Michigan business group at the time, he could no longer “live up to my own personal standard” for serving in Congress.

On Wednesday, Dingell’s wife, Debbie Dingell, who was elected to succeed him, said on Twitter that she skipped Tuesday’s State of the Union address in Washington to be with him as his health declined.

The Detroit News reported he was in hospice care after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, which he had decided not to treat.

On Wednesday, Dingell dictated a tweet for his wife to write: “I want to thank you all for your incredibly kind words and prayers. You’re not done with me just yet.”

Democratic Senator Debbie Stabenow wrote in a post on Twitter: “We have been incredibly lucky to have you and will miss you dearly.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson, Eric Beech, and Makini Brice; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Bill Trott and Peter Cooney)