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When Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell discuses environmental issues, she walks a fine line.

On one side, the Democrat heaps praise on the legacy of her husband, former Rep. John Dingell (D), a conservationist who played a major role on several of the country's bedrock environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act and National Environmental Policy Act, during his nearly 60 years in the House.

On the other, she emphasizes that the environment has played a defining role in her life from childhood, well before she met John. Debbie Dingell grew up in St. Clair, a small town in southeast Michigan along a river bearing the same name.

That water, she says, "was my life." In the summer, she would float down the river in an inner tube. In the winter, she'd skate on it.

A look at members of Congress who work on energy and environmental issues -- and whose political families influenced their thinking.
"The water matters to me," she said during a recent interview. "If I could dream of one thing that I just wanted to do to feel carefree, it is to go back on that inner tube and float down that water."

Dingell was elected to her husband's seat in 2014, becoming the first spouse to succeed a living husband in Congress. But she's no political novice. Dingell has been a power broker in Michigan politics for years, previously considered a run for the Senate and has been mentioned as a potential candidate for governor in 2018.

She says her background -- a childhood spent outdoors, decades as an auto industry executive and years in politics -- makes her qualified to defend her husband's legacy, which she says is "decidedly under attack" by the Republican-controlled Congress.

"I take the responsibility very seriously when all of the major laws of the '60s have the Dingell name on it," she said.

Dingell's congressional office has dark red walls and countless photos of her, John and presidents dating back four decades. Sitting on her coffee table are three Ford Mustang models in red, white and blue.

Her heavily Democratic district stretches from the Detroit suburbs west to Ann Arbor and is a hub of the American auto industry. It's a good fit for a congresswoman who refers to herself as a "car girl."

"I'm proud of it," she said.

Dingell, 61, grew up in a conservative family and is a descendant of the Fisher family of Fisher Body fame, one of the founding members of General Motors in the early 20th century. She worked as a lobbyist for the auto industry for years, eventually meeting her future husband on a flight. She later moved to GM's philanthropic foundation after marrying John 34 years ago and stayed there until 2009.

Like her husband, who was known as a brazen, if at times brash, "Old Bull," Dingell has a direct manner. She is currently the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations and has developed a reputation as a tough questioner willing to do her homework before hearings.

For example, while she praises the auto industry for technology advances that have increased fuel efficiency, she is also quick to criticize car companies for not speaking with a unified voice in response to the Obama administration's more ambitious environmental goals.

"You've got companies saying they can make the standard," she said. "Every member of Congress -- from [Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman] Fred Upton [R-Mich.] to me -- is saying, 'Hey, guys, you can't say you are going to meet the standard then come to Congress and whine. You've said you were going to meet the standard. We're taking you at your word.'"

"How's that for bluntness?" she added.

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