Stories indexed with the term ‘Congress’

A2: Rebekah Warren

On the website for her Congressional exploratory committee, Democrat Rebekah Warren of Ann Arbor has announced that she does not plan to run for the 12th District seat held by Rep. John Dingell, who is not seeking re-election. Dingell’s wife, Debbie Dingell, announced in late February that she is running for that position. Warren writes: “I want you to know I was not bullied out of this race. I was never afraid of the fight. And I did not take a deal to walk away. That is simply not my style.” Warren plans to run for re-election to the District 18 seat in the Michigan Senate. [Source]

A2: Lynn Rivers

Roll Call has published a feature on former Congresswoman Lynn Rivers, who lives in Ann Arbor and teaches at Washtenaw Community College. From the article: ”Rivers said that maybe she could help a campaign someday, but she doesn’t see herself ever running for anything again. She liked her former lifestyle, but she likes her new one, too. ‘There’s a certain appeal to eating dinner at a table, sleeping in your own bed, having pets,’ Rivers said.” [Source]

Dingell Fields Questions on Health Care

John Dingell, speaking at the Saturday morning meeting of the Ann Arbor Democratic Party.

John Dingell, the longest-serving member of the U.S. House of Representatives, spoke at the Saturday morning meeting of the Ann Arbor Democratic Party. Dingell represents the 15th District, which includes Ann Arbor. (Photos by the writer.)

U.S. Rep. John Dingell got his biggest round of applause at Saturday morning’s meeting of the Ann Arbor Democratic Party when he described his preference for health care reform as a single-payer system – a proposal he’s been pushing for decades.

But during much of the 45 minutes spent talking and fielding questions, Dingell described a compromise working its way through Congress that falls far short of that goal.

Dingell is the lead sponsor on the House of Representatives health care reform bill, which differs in substantive ways from the Senate’s version. Those two versions of the legislation will need to be reconciled over the coming weeks.

President Barack Obama is urging Congress to deliver something for him to sign before he makes the annual State of the Union address, Dingell said, adding that it’s not clear if that deadline will be met.

Dingell covered much of the same ground on Saturday as he did when The Chronicle last encountered him at a meeting of the Obama Caucus of Ann Arbor in August. But by now, the massive health care reform legislation is closer to completion – though it’s not, Dingell reminded his fellow Democrats, a done deal. [Full Story]