news

With only a few weeks in Congress under her belt, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D–Mich.) has several initiatives planned.

Dingell hopes to help create new jobs in Michigan, boost the middle class and improve higher education during her term, she said in an exclusive interview with The Michigan Daily Thursday.

Dingell took over her husband John Dingell’s seat in Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, which includes Ann Arbor, two weeks ago when the 114th session of Congress commenced. Dingell is the first woman to succeed her husband in Congress while he is still living.

She emphasized that in every position she has held during her career, she has always been a woman leader in a male-dominated atmosphere, forcing her to work hard to overcome the stereotypes associated with that dynamic. This session there are 84 women in the U.S. House out of 435 seats.

“I’ve been someone that’s always out there that’s trying to ensure that women are treated equally,” Dingell said. “I’ve worked just as hard — sometimes I feel like I’ve had to work three times as hard — than the person next to me.”

To aspiring female leaders, Dingell said it was important for women to work together with one another, adding that the younger generation does a better job than women in her generation.

As a representative, she identified several legislative priorities for the upcoming term, including creating new jobs and continuing to build the economy in Michigan. A former president of the General Motors Foundation and executive director of Global Community Relations and Government Relations at GM, she specifically noted a desire to help diversify Michigan’s economy.

“While the auto industry has been the backbone of Michigan’s economy, we need to try to attract new industries,” Dingell said. “I think people look at Michigan and they go: ‘labor state,’ and sometimes don’t realize what a competitive state it is to do business in.”

Click here to read the full story.