David Bonior, a long serving congressman from Michigan, was the Democratic Whip in the U.S. House of Representatives for most of the 90s. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and a leader on the issues affecting the working families that populate his blue collar district.

Bonior was born in 1945 and grew up in the working class Detroit suburbs of Hamtramack and East Detroit, now East Pointe (home of Eminem). He was the starting quarterback for his Catholic high school in the 1962 season, was stationed in California while serving in the Air Force, and earned a masters degree in history. He returned to Michigan and within a year was elected to the state assembly. While in the state legislature he authored the famous and pioneering Michigan 'Bottle Bill' requiring a 10 cent deposit for plastic and glass bottles.

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1980, and re-elected every year since. His district includes Macomb County, the blue collar white ethnic working class heart of Metro Detroit, as well as St. Clarie County, a more rural region. During his years in Congress, Bonior has championed the cause of Vietnam War veterans, pushed for an increase in the minimum wage and incrased funding for college scholarships, and has been an outspoken opponent of destructive trade agreements such as NAFTA and the unconstitutional Presidential Trade Promotion Authority that leads to them. However, he is a major proponent of U.S.-Canada trade. His district includes the Port Huron, MI-Sarnia, ON border crossing, one of the major ports of entry for Canadian goods.

help from http://davidbonior.house.gov

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.