Congressman Bill Huizenga is ready to get to work representing southwest Michigan in Washington once the new term of Congress starts in January. He was just elected to represent the Fourth District, which covers northern Berrien County and points north up to Holland, plus east to Kalamazoo and Battle Creek. Huizenga tells us his old Second District was nearly turned upside down in redistricting, but some things haven’t changed with the new Fourth.
“It’s a very diverse, different district on one hand, yet at the same time, there are a lot of similarities,” Huizenga said. “It’s still a manufacturing district. It’s still a district that is very dependent on ag and ag processing, for example. And, as we all know, anyone who lives along the lakeshore, we are an economy that is dependent on the recreational dollar.”
Huizenga says he’s familiar with Great Lakes issues as the Republican co-chair of the Great Lakes Task Force. He’s worked on concerns like PFAs and coastal erosion. Another issue he’s worked on is the federal debt.
“I’ve helped create a bipartisan group that we informally call the 30 by 30 Group. Originally, it started out as 30 Republicans and 30 Democrats getting together and trying to figure out what we’re going to do and how we’re going to handle this massive, massive debt.”
Huizenga comes from a family of business owners, and owns a gravel company himself. He worked in real estate before entering politics and was elected to the Michigan Legislature in 2003 before he was elected to Congress in 2010. Huizenga says he’s been travelling around the new Fourth District, getting acquainted with those he’ll be representing. A new concern for him is the grape industry. He says he’ll be visible and open to any concerns residents have when the new Congress opens January 3.
Listen to our full conversation with Congressman Huizenga below:
