wing of the capital, revealing rich architectural details of the senate chamber, private work chases, and elaborate historic meeting rooms. it is filled with beautiful color photos of the art and architecture in the senate space and offers lots of information about the senate's rich history. for justyour copy $18.95 plus shipping, go to our website. former michigan congressman john dingell, the longest-serving member of the u.s. house, has died at the age of 92. he was first elected to the house of representatives in 1955 and served until january of 2015. his wife now holds his seat. 2014, the congressman in talking about his career. >> i've had the privilege of

watching washington change from a little town in the woods to an city ofion, a major international proportions. i have had the privilege of serving with, not under and not for, 11 presidents. from eisenhower to obama. remitd observe that sam is to get strong when people would ask how many presidents he had served under. [laughter] i've had the privilege of testing some 25,000 votes, i've served alongside more than 2400 colleagues, i've sat in the chamber of the house of representatives to witness some 51 state of the union speeches from all of the 11 presidents

with whom i've served. in my service, i've been able to author and pass landmark legislation that help protect the environment, ensures civil rights for all, and help her middle-class to grow and prosper. i'm proud of what i've been able to do. i was thinking as my made up as to whether it was going to run, as to whether i should stay and serve, deborah and i sit to talk about these things. haveke to serve and we completed those things which my dad set out to do when he was here. we've also been able to move forward to complete all of the goals which i had when i started out here. clear, this isit not to brag about my compliments. it simply to show that there was

a time when congress could and did work. and when congress passed major legislation and earned bipartisan support to move the nation forward. when business was done with hard fighting but also with goodwill and mutual respect. things bydo these myself. no man and no women could. we did them with colleagues who were more interested in seeing this nation grow than seeing it falter. people who were willing and able to put partisan labels on the shelf and instead work for greater and common good. the hallmark of those congresses. in those days, that was how it was. in these days, i often remind my

of the very definition of the word congress. it means, coming together. it means, a body which has come together. it is a part of the historic understandings that this country congress which a worked. sadly, however, it has not been doing much coming together lately. i imagine that you have observed this also. this is not a congress that is working, but it could be. frankly, it should be. billsear, we saw some 57 signed into law by the president. that's 57 total. we created as many laws as there heinz's famousf

products. perhaps that's the way we should name that congress. do not get me wrong. getting things done does take time. i remember years ago, i brought up a set of bipartisan clean air commitments. it passed the house with a vote of 401-21. took the housek to complete this effort. folks came up to me afterwards and said, how in the name of common sense did you manage to pass that bill in just 13 hours? i look at them and said, it took bill thats to get a both sides agreed to on the floor. but it took me 13 years to do the work that made that possible.

that tells you how hard legislation is to do. s can testifyffer to the difficulty of the process of compromise, of getting legislation with goodwill. one of the interesting things about the congress is the change. it has become a money chase. an instance where it is the goal of members to have the name of a committee on their letterhead, which draws attention and support politically. it is unfortunate that this is so. importantss is an

national trust. it is something where we have a duty to the people to do what is necessary in the broad public interest. regrettably, it is the case that we do not see that occurring on many instances in the congress. the committees are too large and should be shrunk. the subcommittees are too large. i've served on one committee where i found that the number of subcommittees exceeded the number of members on the full committee. on as to hown and it has gotten so big as to be incapable of carrying out its responsibilities and its functions.

other forces are making things go badly. decision incourt the citizens united case has money tonlimited dark flow into our political system. takene a court that has the most literal approach to so many of these important decisions. the consequences are beginning to have a very serious effect on not only democracy but the trust of people. note that there are still more god-awful cases rattling around in the supreme court that are almost set to do more harm. any layman reading citizens surelywill assume that

this was in no way written by a group of intelligent individuals. [laughter] [applause] or people even remotely aware of what's going on in our current political structure. the decision flies in the face of so much of what our representative government was founded upon. , as corporatee interest groups, and others to spend an unlimited amount of unidentified money has enabled certain individuals to swing any and all elections, whether they are congressional, federal, local, state, or whether they of votes about the creation

some kind of local entity resolution of a local question. that's why we have seen the rise of super pac's. people are now dipping their hot hands into every kind of election. sun that will the get what they want. unfortunately, our -- these goals which are in mine with those of the general public. that there is a very selfish game that is going hasnd that our government largely been put up for sale. we've also had many in congress that wish to do nothing more

than shrink to size -- the size and scope of the federal government. this, without taking into account the families, the veterans, active duty military, the countless others who rely on this government and on our nation. therepeople forget that are more than 300 billion americans, and that those 300 billion americans and more are living in one of the most dangerous times in american history. colleaguesrepublican now find that they must sign a pledge when they run for congress saying that they will carry out his goals to shrink government down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub. these are his words, these are

not my words. pledge and similar litmus tests, these quandaries are only made worse by redistricting where a similar event has occurred before twin able legislatures to be owned by the same special interests. draw --tate legislators legislatures draw our congressional allies with little interest. with small concern about protecting regional boundaries or any blank of consideration for any part of the voting public, which is under attack. they operate simply in the interests and making of majorities for one political party.

and for achieving one particular set of views. as redistricting creates more and more safe seats, we see members focus only on winning primaries. not about the public interest, and not about real discussion. of the concerns that members have or that citizens have. signed, and they attempt to become the ideological image of what their primary electorate sees their political already -- party is or should be with the work product that equals their goals and facilitates their wishes. incentive tono stick one's neck out as a compromise.

it should be noted that many on furtheres can only run on the narrow and partisan bridges. a simple analysis will tell us that this does not help our democracy. before, i would be scared to bring up the 10 commandments for a vote in the congress. i'm not sure they would pass. i'm almost certain that they would have a vast number of amendments laid upon them. unfortunately, i still am compelled to stand on the validity of that concern. we also now know that we have a begunss that is decidedly running policies and legislative priorities out of the speaker's office. over agress was built

long time. achieve particular goals by seeing to it that every member andeverybody in the chamber everybody outside the chamber represented by people in the chamber would have a right to be heard. able to see to it that the congress functioned attendedthat heard and to the fears and hopes and dreams and concerns of every american. >> former congressman john dingell served nearly 60 years in the u.s. house area -- house. he died today at the age of 92. ♪ >> c-span's washington journal, live every day with news, policy

issues that impact you. morning, ariday tennessee republican congressman discusses congressional news of the day and his goals as a freshman member of congress. a new jersey democratic congressman talks about efforts to require presidents and presidential candidates to release their tax returns. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal, live at 7:00 eastern friday morning. join the discussion area -- discussion. matthew whitaker has been acting since november when he replaced the outgoing attorney general jeff sessions. on friday, he will testify before the house judiciary committee on his role overseeing special counsel robert mueller's investigation. watch live friday at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span two, c-span.org or listen live at the seat -- free c-span radio app.

hill, a hearing on the chubb administration's policy of separating migrant children from their parents crossing the southern border. this four hour and 45 minute hearing begins with administration officials talking about how the decision to implement the policy was reached. members of the house energy and commerce oversight committee ar from child health experts on how the separation affects children's mental health. committee will come to order. good morning.