Congressman Dave Camp represents this district, but he may not always have our best interests in mind.
On Tuesday, Aug. 18, Rep. Dave Camp, a Republican, paid a visit to Ferris State University to talk about his “Stimulus That Works” initiative. Camp’s announcement of this new plan to cut taxes was just a very minor part in his press conference with Ferris State President David Eisler and former FSU student Scott Christensen. The actual hidden reason behind Camp’s visit to campus when classes were not in session seems to be to pay thanks to the Friends of Ferris Political Action Committee (PAC).
According to ferris.edu, this committee is the official political action group of Ferris State University. Some of the top donors include President David Eisler, Board of Trustee Member Sueann Walz, and Ferris Vice President for Student Affairs Daniel Burcham. During the course of the 2008 election, the only recipient of funds from Friends of Ferris was Rep. Dave Camp, who has held the fourth Michigan Congressional District since 1991, which includes Ferris State University.
As stated on the Federal Election Commissions (FEC) Web site, the total contributed to Camp in the 2008 election cycle by the Friends of Ferris amounted to $1,241.
During the press conference, Rep. Camp took a few questions from the audience, including one from a Ferris student, but the others were from FSU faculty and staff. Since my question was never answered during the conference, I caught up with Mr. Camp on his way out the door. My question to him was where he stood on the whole health care reform issue. He then stated, “I am not in favor of a public option.”
Camp also went on to say that the figure of 47 million uninsured Americans that is floating around in the media is false. “The actual amount is more like between seven and ten million”, stated Camp. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the correct number of Americans living without health insurance is approximately 46 million. Sorry Mr. Camp, you have your numbers wrong.
This is not a surprise though as he has accepted several donations during the 2008 election cycle from various health care organizations. Some of the top donors include $4,500 from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan PAC; $10,000 from the American College of Cardiology PAC; and $5,000 from the National Association of Psychiatric Health PAC. According to the FEC, Camp’s total amount received from PACs during the 2008 election was just over $1.64 million.
With all of this said, who does Congressman Camp really represent? The working middle class like his Web site claims, or the large PACs that make up 74 percent of his contributions.
Editor’s Note: information for this column was found using the list below.