WASHINGTON – February 7, 2019 – Patrick Butler, president and chief executive officer of America’s Public Television Stations, made the following statement on the death of former Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), the long-time chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and a fervent supporter of public media.
“America’s Public Television Stations mourn the passing of Congressman John Dingell, whose service in the House of Representatives for almost 60 years set a standard of public service that will be difficult to match.
“I recall many meetings with Chairman Dingell over the years, in his office adorned with a photograph of Earth and a caption below it saying, ‘Jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.’
“This expansive view of the committee’s writ tested the boundaries of congressional power, but the Chairman delighted in his role as a central figure in policy matters ranging from environmental protection to telecommunications to interstate commerce to health care.
“He could be a fearsome adversary or a faithful champion, and public television was fortunate to have Chairman Dingell as a stalwart friend from the inception of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which he helped write.
“On behalf of America’s Public Television Stations, and as one who was honored to be his friend, I extend deepest sympathies to the Chairman’s wonderful wife Debbie, who has succeeded him in Congress and is building her own fine reputation there, and to the Dingell family.
“He was one of a kind, an enormously effective servant of the American people, a man of good humor and great integrity, and a giant in the history of the United States Congress. We are grateful that he lived so long and served so well.”
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America’s Public Television Stations (APTS) is a nonprofit membership organization ensuring a strong and financially sound public television system and helping member stations provide essential public services in education, public safety and civic leadership to the American people. For more information, visit www.apts.org.
Contact:
Stacey Karp
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skarp@apts.org