David Camp, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991-2015, has donated the collected materials from his 24 years in office to the Bentley Historical Library.
Camp, a Republican, represented Michigan’s Fourth District beginning in 1993, and previously served one term representing the 10th District.
While in Congress, he served on the House Ways and Means Committee from 1993- 2015, working on tax, international trade, Medicare, Social Security and fiscal policy. As committee chair — one of the most powerful positions in Congress — he introduced the Tax Reform Act of 2014, the most comprehensive tax reform proposal since the mid-1980s.
In 2014, he announced that he would not run for re-election.
Camp’s collection contains photographs, office records, polling data, surveys, notes, promotional materials, committee materials and more, including a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, printed photos throughout his political career, and digital holdings including 140 videos from Camp’s YouTube channel.
His collection also contains numerous get-well cards from congressional colleagues and friends after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2012. He is now cancer-free.
Camp joins numerous other political leaders in the Bentley’s collection, including 31 Michigan governors, 15 U.S. senators and 17 members of the U.S. House.
“I am delighted to be part the Bentley’s collections and to be in such fine historical company,” Camp said. “I am honored to have served the people of Michigan, who mean so much to me.”
Born in Midland in 1953, Camp graduated from Albion College in 1975. He earned a law degree from the University of San Diego in 1978 and practiced law in Midland. He served as special assistant to the Michigan attorney general from 1980-84, then worked on the staff of U.S. Rep. Bill Schuette from 1984-87.
“Dave Camp’s impressive engagement with many of the most important fiscal issues in America during his term will make his papers an important source for those interested in recent American history,” said Terrence McDonald, director of the Bentley Historical Library.
The Bentley Historical Library has officially received the materials and will begin processing the collection to prepare for public use, which may take up to one year.
