University of Michigan
Which school did Dan Benishek go to in 1970?
Dan Benishek Daniel Joseph Benishek ( born April 20 , 1952 ) is an American physician and politician who was the U.S . Representative for from 2011 to 2017 . He is a member of the Republican Party . Early life , education , and medical career . Benishek was born in Iron River , Michigan 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 immigrants . 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 in 1974 with a Bachelor of Science in Zoology . From there , he graduated from Wayne State University School of Medicine in 1978 . Prior to his election to Congress , he was a general surgeon in the Dickinson County Healthcare System . U.S . House of Representatives elections . 2010 election . Benishek formally announced his candidacy for Congress on March 16 , 2010 , running against incumbent Democrat Bart Stupak . Stupaks 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 Stupaks vote for the bill on March 21 , 2010 . Its amazing , I just cant believe it , he said regarding the support he has gotten . I need to use this momentum to repeal this health care bill and Im going to do it . Were going to take over , the Republicans are going to regain the House of Representatives and were going to repeal this health care bill . The American Spectator called him The Most Popular Republican in America on March 21 , in the wake of Stupaks 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 Ellis Boal , and UST Patrick Lambert . Benishek was sworn into office on January 5 , 2011 , as a member of the 112th United States Congress ; he succeeded Bart Stupak . 2012 election . Benishek faced re-election against McDowell in the 2012 election cycle . A September 20 , 2012 Public Policy Polling 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 election . Benisheks opponent for the 2014 midterm elections was Democratic nominee Jerry Cannon . 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 election . After temporarily considering running for a fourth term , Benishek decided not to seek re-election in 2016 ; he endorsed Republican State Sen . Tom Casperson as his successor . U.S . House of Representatives . 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 - Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Legislation sponsored . On January 4 , 2013 , Benishek introduced , a bill identical to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Conservation and Recreation Act ( S . 23 ; 113th Congress ) , 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 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 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 ( 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 dont do their jobs . Political positions . Benishek favors reduced government spending and a smaller government , and is pro-life and pro-gun rights . In 2014 , he received an A+ grade from the National Rifle Association Political Victory Fund . He supports term limits and said before he was elected in 2010 , I am happy to tell voters I strongly favor term limits . Three terms and youre retired seems about right to me . He was also a signatory to a pledge by U.S . Term Limits 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 supports tort reform and allowing insurance companies to compete across state lines without federal regulation . He opposes federal funding for elective abortions . He supports lower taxes and increased border security . Benishek dismisses the scientific consensus on climate change . Caucus memberships . - Congressional Cement Caucus Personal life . Benishek lives with his wife Judy in Iron County . They have five children and four grandchildren .