59 Years of Advocacy: Thank you Congressman Dingell

I can only hope that when I decide to retire I will have half of the accomplishments of Congressman John Dingell (D –Dearborn). On Monday, February 24, 2014 the 29 term Congressman announced his plans for retirement after a distinguished career that spanned 11 presidents, 2,419 House colleagues and included more than 25,000 votes.

The NASW Code of Ethics calls on each social worker to be politically active and to be advocates for change in legislative and policy arena. "Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice (Code of Ethics, 6.04).” Social workers are charged to help end discrimination, acknowledges differences, encourage respect, expand choice and organize communities. While not a social worker himself, Congressman Dingell has lived the ideals and ethics many of us in the profession strive for.

Since his first election in 1955, Congressman Dingell has helped pass, if not write, the most iconic pieces of legislation of the last six decades, from the Civil Rights Act and Medicare (the gavel he used still sits on his desk) to the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Patient's Bill of Rights, the Children's Health Insurance Program and the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. In 2010, Congressman Dingell voted in favor of the Affordable Care Act (he was also the lead author), after introducing his own national health care legislation at the beginning of every Congress he was a part of.

NASW has been proud to work with Congressman Dingell over the past decades and thanks him for his years of leadership. President Barack Obama said "the people of Michigan — and the American people are better off because of John Dingell’s service” and we at NASW Michigan could not agree more.

Duane Breijak, LLMSW is the Director of Member Services & Development for the National Association of Social Workers –Michigan Chapter