REP. SANDER LEVIN (MI-12, D)
Serving on the House Ways and Means Committee
"(H)e has won considerable respect as a judicious legislator determined to find the right answers even if they are not the simple answers." Politics in America, 1996 Edition
Sander Levin currently serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over all tax, trade and economic growth policies and entitlement spending, including Social Security, Medicare, welfare and unemployment compensation. He is the Ranking Democrat on the Social Security Subcommittee. He also serves on the Trade subcommittee.
He is known as a leader on trade issues — seeking ways to use trade policy to shape globalization. He has persistently challenged unfair trade practices that threaten U.S. manufacturers and U.S. jobs. He also works on a variety of health care issues from children’s health care, transitional Medicaid, and mental health (He was recently appointed by Governor Granholm to the State’s Mental Health Commission). He is a leader on welfare reform issues and the federal unemployment insurance program and has introduced legislation to include preventative services in Medicare, and to create a national public service campaign on gynecologic cancers.
Public Service
Sander Levin was elected to the State Senate in 1964, serving on the Education and Labor Committee. He was Senate Minority Leader (1969/70).
In 1970 and 1974, Levin was the Democratic candidate for Governor. After a four year assignment as Assistant Administrator in the Agency for International Development, he was elected to Congress in 1982.
Representing the 12th Congressional District of Michigan
"Sandy Levin: The guy I'd want for my Congressman and neighbor: hard-working, thoughtful, effective and honest." James Gannon, Detroit News, July 17, 1994
Sander Levin has represented Michigan’s 12th Congressional District since 1992. The District now includes almost 60% of Macomb County and spans from Clinton Township/Mount Clemens and Lake St. Clair to Southfield.
At home he is working to help communities create coalitions to combat drug and alcohol abuse among teenagers. From this experience, Levin co-authored the federal Drug Free Communities Act which has funded over 400 of these programs nationwide. His work on the Anti-Crime bill has resulted in over 70 additional community police officers, a new multi-jurisdictional unit, and $17 million for a consortium of 44 police agencies in Oakland County to upgrade crime-fighting technology at local police departments. Levin served on the local committee that facilitated the transfer of the former tank plant in Warren to private use. He is actively involved in a variety of efforts to improve water quality throughout the region, including Lake St. Clair and numerous other local projects.
Background
Born in Detroit, Levin graduated from Central High School. He earned his B.A. at the University of Chicago, his M.A. in international relations from Columbia University and a law degree from Harvard University. Sander Levin and his wife, Vicki have four children and seven grandchildren. His brother, Carl, serves in the United States Senate.
In 1944, at the age of 18, the younger Dingell joined the US Army and prepared to fight the Axis powers in World War II. He rose to the rank of Second Lieutenant and received orders to take part in the first wave of a planned invasion of Japan in November of 1945. The Congressman has said President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb to end the war ‘saved’ his life.
Dingell finished his military service in the fall of 1946, and then attended Georgetown University in Washington, DC where he studied chemistry. He continued his studies at Georgetown Law School, graduating in 1952. He then worked as a forest ranger, a prosecuting attorney for Wayne County and ran his own private law office. When his father passed away while still a Member of the US House of Representatives in 1955, the younger Dingell stepped up to fill the void, beginning his career on Capitol Hill at the age of 29.
At the beginning of every session of Congress, Congressman Dingell introduces the national health insurance bill his father sponsored when he was a Member.
December 13, 2005 marked Congressman Dingell’s 50 th anniversary in the US House. Only one other House Members has served as long – Jamie Whitten (MS).