Camp was diagnosed with early-stage non-Hodgkin's large B-cell lymphoma in 2012. After several months of chemotherapy, Camp announced he was cancer-free in December 2012.[3][4]
When U.S. Congressman Schuette of Michigan's 10th congressional district decided in 1990 to run for the U.S. Senate against incumbent U.S. Senator Carl Levin, Camp ran to replace him and won the endorsement of his former boss. In the Republican primary he faced former U.S. Congressman James Dunn and former State Senator Alan Cropsey. Despite trailing Dunn in early polls, Camp won the Republican primary with a plurality of 33%.[6] He defeated Cropsey (30%), Allen (19%), Dunn (18%), and Simcox (1%).[7] He won the general election with 65% of the vote.[8]
After redistricting, he decided to run in Michigan's 4th congressional district. He won the general election with 62% of the vote.[9] He never won re-election with less than 61% of the vote and never had a primary challenge.[10]
Camp served on the House Committee on Agriculture. For his work on behalf of Michigan agriculture, Camp received the Golden Plow Award in 1998, the American Farm Bureau Federation's highest honor given to only one Member of the House in each Congress.[citation needed]
Camp was the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Health, and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures, respectively. He served seven terms as a Member of the Subcommittee on Human Resources, and six terms as a Member of the Subcommittee on Trade. As a junior Member of the committee in 1996, Camp played a role in the passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act.[citation needed]
111th Congress
Camp served as Ranking Member of the full committee on Ways and Means. Camp was one of three House Republicans appointed by then-Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) to serve on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, known as the Bowles-Simpson Commission, formed in February 2010. It was charged with identifying policies to improve the U.S. fiscal situation in the medium term, and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long term. While on the Commission, which failed to achieve its aims and did not see enactment of any of its proposals, Camp co-led the Tax Reform Working Group and was a member of the Mandatory Spending Working Group.[citation needed]
"I'm a conservative on fiscal policy, but I'm a moderate on some other issues," he told Congressional Quarterly in 2006. He told National Review in 2007 that he feels "more at home" with the conservative Republican Steering Committee. Camp is part of the moderate bloc through his participation in the Main Street Partnership. He generally voted along party lines in the House, siding with Republicans 93.7 percent of the time during the 111th Congress.[14] The American Conservative Union gave him a lifetime rating of 89 percent, his score with the Club for Growth is considerably lower. Camp voted for both the North American Free Trade Agreement and the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Camp opposes abortion and same-sex marriage. He voted twice for President George W. Bush's tax cuts, and supports their full extension. He pushed for private accounts for Social Security and he supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Camp supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he backed President Bush's decision to send more troops to Iraq in 2007 with some reservations. In August 2013 Camp announced his support for cutting benefits to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.[15]
Camp introduced the Tax Reform Act of 2014 on February 26, 2014.[16] The congressional nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation calculated the bill would allow 95 percent of filers to get the lowest tax rate possible by claiming the standard deduction,[17] would create up to 1.8 million jobs and increase gross domestic product by up to 1.4% in 2023.[18]
When the Chicago office of the Environmental Protection Agency took action against Dow Chemical regarding dioxin pollution of waterways leading into the Saginaw River, he had regional EPA director Mary Gade fired in 2008. The resulting reluctance of that EPA regional office to take action regarding major environmental issues led to their inaction in the Flint Water Crisis. Camp's wife was Dow's attorney.[19]
Post-political career
Approximately one year after announcing his decision not to run for re-election to Congress, it was announced that Camp would be joining prominent accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior policy advisor.[20]