Daniel Joseph Benishek (April 20, 1952 – October 15, 2021) was an American
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and politician who served as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for from 2011 to 2017. He was a member of the
Republican Party.
Early life and education
Benishek was born in
Iron River, Michigan
Iron River is a city in Iron County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,029. The city is situated at the southeast corner of Iron River Township, but is administratively autonomous. Iron River is the ...
, in 1952,
the son of Helen (née Kovaleski) and Joseph Benishek. Three of his paternal great-grandparents were
Bohemian (Czech) immigrants, while his maternal grandparents were
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
. His father was killed in local iron mines in 1957, so Benishek was raised by his widowed mother and extended family. He worked in the family business, the Iron River Hotel, until he went to college. He graduated from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in medicine. From there, he graduated from
Wayne State University School of Medicine
The Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSUSOM) is the medical school of Wayne State University, a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It enrolls more than 1,500 students in undergraduate medical education, master's degree, P ...
in 1978.
Early career
Prior to his election to Congress, he was a
general surgeon
General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on alimentary canal and abdominal contents including the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix and bile ducts, and often the thyroid g ...
in the
Dickinson County Healthcare System.
Benishek was inspired to run for Congress after the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) (), nicknamed the Recovery Act, was a stimulus package enacted by the 111th U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in February 2009. Developed in response to the Gr ...
was signed into law.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2010
Benishek formally announced his candidacy for Congress on March 16, 2010, running against incumbent
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Bart Stupak
Bartholomew Thomas Stupak (; born February 29, 1952) is an American politician and lobbyist. A member of the Democratic Party, Stupak served as the U.S. representative from from 1993 to 2011.
Stupak chose not to seek re-election in 2010. He dep ...
.
Stupak's vote in support of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act fueled an outpouring of support for Benishek, who had no Internet presence aside from a basic website on the day the bill was passed. He received more than $50,000 in unsolicited donations in the first 48 hours after Stupak's vote for the bill on March 21, 2010. "It's amazing, I just can't believe it," he said regarding the support he has gotten. "I need to use this momentum to repeal this health care bill and I'm going to do it. We're going to take over, the Republicans are going to regain the House of Representatives and we're going to repeal this health care bill." ''
The American Spectator
''The American Spectator'' is a conservative American magazine covering news and politics, edited by R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr. and published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation. It was founded in 1967 by Tyrrell, who remains its editor- ...
'' called him "The Most Popular Republican in America" on March 21, in the wake of Stupak's yea vote. Stupak announced his retirement on April 9, 2010. Benishek won the Republican primary against State Senator
Jason Allen by 15 votes.
On November 2, 2010, in the general election, Dan Benishek defeated Democratic nominee State Representative
Gary McDowell, Independent Glenn Wilson,
Libertarian Keith Shelton,
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
Ellis Boal, and
UST UST or Ust may refer to:
Organizations
* UST (company), American digital technology company
* Equatorial Guinea Workers' Union
* Union of Trade Unions of Chad (Union des Syndicats du Tchad)
* United States Television Manufacturing Corp.
* UST Gr ...
Patrick Lambert. Benishek was sworn into office on January 5, 2011, as a member of the
112th United States Congress
The 112th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2011, until January 3, 2013. It convened in Washington, D.C. on January 3, 2011, and ended on January 3, 2013, 17 ...
; he succeeded Bart Stupak.
2012
Benishek faced re-election against McDowell in the 2012 election cycle. A September 20, 2012
Public Policy Polling
Public Policy Polling (PPP) is an American polling firm affiliated with the Democratic Party. Founded in 2001 by businessman Dean Debnam, the firm is based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Debnam currently serves as president and CEO of PPP, while T ...
poll showed the race as a statistical dead heat, with McDowell leading Benishek 44% to 42%. Benishek was re-elected by a margin of 2,297 votes, less than 1% of the total votes cast.
Benishek endorsed
Herman Cain in the 2012 Republican presidential primary.
2014
Benishek's opponent for the 2014 midterm elections was Democratic nominee
Jerry Cannon
Nelson "Jerry" Cannon is a retired military general and the former sheriff of Kalkaska County, Michigan. In 2014, Cannon ran for Congress in Michigan's 1st congressional district, losing to Dan Benishek. Cannon is a member of the Democratic Party ...
. In October 2014, the ''Rothenberg Political Report'' moved the district from one that "tilts Republican" to "Republican favored." Benishek won reelection with 52% of the vote, which was the closest race for a victorious Republican incumbent in 2014.
2016
After temporarily considering running for a fourth term, Benishek decided not to seek re-election in 2016; he endorsed Republican State Sen.
Tom Casperson
Tom Casperson (July 20, 1959 – November 29, 2020) was an American businessman and politician from the State of Michigan. He formerly served as a Republican member of the Michigan State Senate, representing the 38th district, which includes muc ...
as his successor.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Natural Resources
**
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
**
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
*
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
**
Subcommittee on Health The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health is a subcommittee within the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Jurisdiction
The House Subcommittee on Health has general jurisdiction over bills and resolutions relating to pub ...
**
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Legislation sponsored
On January 4, 2013, Benishek introduced , a bill identical to the
, which was introduced into the U.S. Senate by
Carl Levin.
The bill would designate as wilderness about 32,500 acres of the
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is a United States National Lakeshore located along the northwest coast of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan in Leelanau and Benzie counties near Empire, Michigan. The park covers a stretch of Lake Michiga ...
in the state of Michigan. The newly designated lands and inland waterways would comprise the Sleeping Bear Dunes Wilderness, a new component of the
National Wilderness Preservation System.
Benishek expressed his pleasure that
the bill
''The Bill'' is a British police procedural television series, first broadcast on ITV from 16 August 1983 until 31 August 2010. The programme originated from a one-off drama, '' Woodentop'', broadcast in August 1983.
The programme focused o ...
"was developed locally," describing it as "the ideal way federal land management should occur, with input from the local communities."
The Senate version, S. 23, passed the Senate and was signed into law by President Obama on March 13, 2014.
On May 21, 2013, Benishek introduced the
Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act of 2013 (H.R. 2072; 113th Congress), a bill that would require the Inspector General (IG) of the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
(VA) to take additional action if the VA has not appropriately responded to an IG report that recommends actions to be taken by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to address a VA public health or safety issue.
The Secretary would be required to act swiftly on such IG reports, with the bill specifying actions to take.
The Secretary would also be forbidden from giving any bonuses to managers with unresolved issues.
Benishek said that the bill targets "bureaucrats in Washington who drag their feet and don't do their jobs."
Political positions
Benishek favored reduced government spending and a smaller government, and was
pro-life
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respon ...
and pro-
gun rights
The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, including securi ...
. In 2014, he received an A+ grade from the
National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association (NRA). The Fund contributes money to political campaigns of candidates endorsed by the NRA.
Chairman
Chris W. Cox, who has been the NRA's ...
. He supported
term limits and said before he was elected in 2010, "I am happy to tell voters I strongly favor term limits. Three terms and you're retired seems about right to me." He was also a signatory to a pledge by
U.S. Term Limits
U.S. Term Limits is a non-profit, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to enacting term limits for elected officials at every level of government in the United States. It was founded in 1992, and claims to have helped facilitate more ...
that would impose a three-term limit on Congressmen. However, in March 2015, Benishek announced he would break that pledge and run for a 4th term. In September 2015, he reverted course, announcing that he would in fact retire at the end of his current term rather than seeing re-election in 2016. In healthcare reform, he supported
tort reform
Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes a ...
and allowing insurance companies to compete across state lines without federal regulation. He opposed federal funding for
elective abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregnan ...
s. He supported lower taxes and increased border security. Benishek dismissed the
scientific consensus on climate change.
Personal life
Benishek lived with his wife, Judy, in Iron County. They had five children.
See also
*
Physicians in the United States Congress
Physicians in the United States Congress have been a small minority of the members of Congress, with fluctuating numbers over the years. The number of physicians serving and running for Congress has risen over the last 50 years from 5 in 1960, do ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benishek, Dan
1952 births
2021 deaths
21st-century American politicians
American people of Czech descent
American politicians of Polish descent
American surgeons
People from Iron River, Michigan
Physicians from Michigan
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan
University of Michigan alumni
Wayne State University alumni