Camp to retire from Congress after 24 years
U.S. Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, announced Monday he will retire at the end of his current term.
"This decision was reached after much consideration and discussion with my family," Camp said in a statement. "Serving in Congress is the great honor of my professional life. I am deeply grateful to the people of the 4th Congressional District for placing their trust in me."
Camp, 60, was first elected to Congress in 1990 and took over as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in 2011 when Republicans retook control of the House of Representatives.
Camp's retirement, comes at the end of his six-year rein as the top Republican on the committee. He battled non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2012 and recovered.
“During the next nine months, I will redouble my efforts to grow our economy and expand opportunity for every American by fixing our broken tax code, permanently solving physician payments for seniors, strengthening the social safety net and finding new markets for U.S. goods and services,” Camp said.
Camp joins Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Reps. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, and Mike Rogers, R-Howell, as longtime Michigan congressmen leaving the legislative body at the end of their current terms.
As representative, Camp made tax and trade policy his top priority, working with Montana Democrat Max Baucus over the past several months on a major tax overhaul. The proposal ultimately fell apart in February when several proposals, including a deduction on education loans, sparked concern from the Republican caucus.
It is unclear who might run to take over Camp's spot on the Republican ticket in November's elections. A Democrat hasn't won Camp's 4th District, which includes Mount Pleasant, since one-term Rep. George Foulkes in 1933.
