Rep. John Dingell, who is serving his 30th term in the House of Representatives, is poised to break the record next week as the longest-serving member in the history of the U.S. Congress.
Next Friday, June 7, Dingell will eclipse the late Sen. Robert Byrd, having served 57 years, 177 days.
That's 20,996 days, to be exact.
Throughout his career, Dingell has served with 22 percent of all members who have ever served in the lower chamber -- 2,419 of 10,989 lawmakers -- casting more than 25,000 votes through 11 presidential administrations while attending 50 State of the Union addresses.
Dingell, 86, first took office on Dec. 13, 1955 at the age of 29 after winning a special election to replace his late father, John Dingell Sr., as the representative for Michigan's 15th Congressional District.
Dwight Eisenhower was serving his first term as president and had not yet signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956. John F. Kennedy was still a U.S. senator and had not yet published his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Profiles in Courage." Barack Obama would not be born in Hawaii for almost six more years.
57 years in congress and all they can say about him is that he was there a long time. Personally, if I was served during a period when your state was a economic powerhouse of the US to a crumbling welfare state, I would be embarrassed.
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