Daniel J. Morey

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Daniel James Morey
Great Lakes Senator
In Office: 2011 - Present
Preceded by	Orson Pierce (R)
Succeeded by	Incumbent
Congressman for Michigan's 6th District
In Office: 2011
Preceded by	Fred Upton (R)
Succeeded by	Tonya Schuitmaker (R)
Michigan Attorney General
In Office: 2007 - 2010
Preceded by	Mike Cox (R)
Succeeded by	Thomas Blair (R)
Member of the Michigan State House
In Office: 1998 - 2006
Preceded by	Robert Jones (D)
Succeeded by	Larry DeShazor (R)
Born	September 28, 1962 Andrews Airforce Base, Wiesbaden, Germany
Political Party	Republican
Spouse	Married to Carry Morey (née Thompson) since 1981
Children	Matthew, Isabel, Emma
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Roman Catholic

Daniel James Morey (born Sep. 28, 1962) is the United States Senior Senator for the Great Lakes (since 2011). Previously he served as United States Representative for the State of Michigan's 6th Congressional district (2011), Michigan Attorney General (2007 - 2010), Member of the Michigan State House of Representatives (1998 - 2006) and Assistant U.S. attorney (1990 - 1993).

Early Life and Family

Childhood and Early Life

Daniel J. Morey was born on September 28, 1962 on on Andrews Airforce Base, Wiesbaden, Germany, the son of Maria Morey (née Rücker - German citizen), a translator working for the U.S. Airforce and Sean Morey (U.S. citizen), who was a military officer stationed at Andrews Airforce Base in Wiesbaden, Germany. He attended primary school on base and a German highschool. As one of the key moments in his life, Daniel Morey, always mentioned the year 1973 when he (age 13) was visiting Washington with his family and other military families from Michigan and briefly met with President Ford. In 1978 he spent a summer in Michigan with his grandparents and met Carry Thompson from California, whom he fell in love with. Morey had to return to Germany for two more years of school and graduated from a German public school before permanently returning to the United States in 1980. Thereafter, he worked days in the local post office, and nights at a car assembly plant in Detroit.

Family

On March 2, 1981, at St Joseph Catholic Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Daniel and Carry got married. The couple first lived in Detroit then moved to Kalamazoo when Daniel and Carry both enrolled at Western Michigan University. Having lived in Paw Paw for many years the Morey's moved to Blomfield Hills in 2013. Carry studied medicine and completed her degree at Michigan State University. Dr. Carry Morey owns a private practice in Kalamazoo, MI. Carry's family originally came from California. Her parents still live in Newport Beach, CA. There her family owns one of California's largest wineries, now operated by Carry's sister. While Daniel Morey is a devout Roman Catholic his wife is a devout Jew, a religion all three Morey children chose for themselves.

The Moreys have three children, Matthew J. Morey (*1990), Isabel M. Morey (*1993), Emma M. Morey (*1996). Matthew, the oldest and only son, attended public schools in Kalamazoo and after graduation in 2008 enrolled at the University of Notre Dame. In 2012 Matthew completed his B.A. in Business Administration and enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley for grad-school, pursuing a Masters degree in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Isabel graduated high school in Paw Paw in 2011 and enrolled at Michigan State University where she is studying Medicine. Emma first attended high school in Paw Paw and is now attending high school in Bloomfield Hill, MI.

Daniel Morey has two older brothers and a younger sister. The oldest Morey brother, Thomas (*1958) had a promising career as minor league baseball shortstop which ended abruptly when he injured his trowing arm. He then moved to Los Angeles where he entered police academy and joined the force. He moved up to become detective for the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division until in 2006 he left the LAPD, rumored to have ben sacked from his job as a homicide detective because of a drinking problem. The same year his wife, actress Jennifer Morey filed for a divorce. Thomas moved to the small town of Paradise, MA where he accepted a position as Chief of Police. According to himself he has been dry ever since.

The second Morey brother, Maxwell (*1960) entered police academy after high school and worked for the Detroit Police Department since. There he works as detective for the Robbery-Homicide Division. He lives in Detroit with his wife and two children.

The youngest of the four Morey children, and only girl, is Elisabeth (*1970). After high school Elisabeth enrolled at University of Notre Dame and later Yale Law School where she completed her law degree. She has her own legal practice in Chicago, IL.

Daniel Morey's father Sean, Veteran of two foreign wars, tragically died in 2001 at the age of just 61 due to cancer. Maria Morey lives in South Haven, Michigan.

Eduaction, Law Career and other business ventures

Higher Education

Having saved enough money working day and nights in Detroit, seven days a week, Morey entered Western Michigan University becoming the first member of his family to go to university.

Young Daniel Morey, 1983

He later transferred to Michigan State University, where he earned a double degree in philosophy and political science in 1987, as well as a scholarship to Harvard law school. He went on to earn his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Harvard in 1989.

Law Career

Morey was admitted to the State Bar of Michigan in 1990. He worked as an assistant U.S. attorney from 1990 to 1993, successfully prosecuting bank robberies and other cases. Morey was also the campaign manager for Republican Michigan Governor John Engler's reelection campaign in 1994.

In the second half of the 1990s Morey worked as an attorney, with law offices in Lansing, Kalamazoo and Washington, DC, handling personal injury claims and defending people accused of white collar crimes. He also accepted an appointment as member of the Appellate Court Nominating Commission for the State of Michigan (1995–1997).

His clients included the German mining group and Japan's Toyota Motors Corporation. Morey has served on various corporate boards. He also did legal work and served on the board of directors for a large Michigan engineering firm.

In the late 2000s Daniel and his wife invested into a new casino development in Casino. The Moreys also own three of the family vineyards of Mrs. Morey's family in California.

Political Career

Michigan House of Representatives

Morey and his wife moved from Kalamazoo to Paw Paw in 1998. The same year he was elected to the Michigan State House of Representatives.

State Representative Daniel Morey, 1998

As member of the Michigan House Daniel took a strong stance against Governor Jennifer Granholm and established himself as an expert on economic policies. He fought for lower taxes and deregulation for small businesses. One of his key initiatives was the Renew Tourism in Michigan Initiative which was designed to renew the State's attraction for tourists. He was re-elected handily throughout his time in the State House, enjoying great popularity in his home district. In 2002 he was elected Minority Leader in the State House, a position he held until his retirement from the State House in 2006.

Michigan Attorney General

Following his retirement from the Michigan State House of Representatives Morey campaigned successfully for the position of Michigan Attorney General, a position he held until 2010. He was urged by many Republicans in his state to pursue the vacant position and after months of persuasion he agreed to run. He defeated his Democratic Opponent by 3% points, delivering a large upset to the Granholm administration.

As Attorney General Morey fought hard to enforce existing laws and to strengthen law enforcement troops. With his brother serving with the Detroit Police Department he gained inside on police routine and worked hard to give Michigan police what they needed to enforce Michigan's laws. This lead to his high popularity amongst law enforcement troops. He also took a strong stance for continuing the war on drugs while creating programs to support drug addicts and to support their struggles to become clean.

On many occasions Morey had strong disagreements with Governor Granholm but nonetheless he enjoyed great popularity in both parties as he was always seen as a man always willing to talk to both sides.

Congressional Career

In 2011, following a vacancy of the congressional seat in his home district, Morey successfully campaigned in a special election for the U.S. House of Representatives and served as Michigan's 6th Congressional District's representative for about half a year before being appointed to the vacant Great Lakes Senate Seat. Following the sudden resignation of Senator Morrison just a month after Morey had been sworn in, he moved up in Seniority to become the Great Lakes Senior Senator.

First Term in the Senate

In 2011 Governor Allum appointed Congressman Morey to fill the vacant seat as Great Lakes Senator. The Senator's agenda was focused on renewing America's economic strength, supporting General Motors, creating better living-conditions for America's soldiers and protecting America's environment, especially in the Great Lakes. With the new Striving Readers Initiative the Senator also began his fight for the largest literacy initiative in well over a decade. Senator Morey also was the only member of Congress to openly call for military intervention to save the three American teenagers who had been taken hostage by terrorists in Mexico.

Notable legislation authored by Senator Morey which was signed into law during the 2011 - 2013 session includes the Morey Military Pay Improvement Act which provides a 1.0 percent increase in the rates of military basic pay for members of the uniformed services above the pay increase proposed by the Department of Defense, as required by the United States Code, so as to ensure at least a minimum pay increase of 4.4 percent for members of the Armed Forces, further narrowing the pay gap that exists between the military and private sector pay scales. For his staunch fight for this act the Aerospace and Defense PAC, America's leading National Security think tank, pronounced the Senator to be "a Friend of the American Soldier" for fighting that "the commitment that Washington made to our soldiers is not cast aside at the first opportunity." Senator Morey was the only Washington politician to receive that honor.

Another legislation signed into law during the Senator's first term in office was the Beaver Basin Wilderness Act of 2012 which designated specified land and inland water within the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan as wilderness and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System, which shall be known as the Beaver Basin Wilderness.

The Senate also passed the Establishing the Center for the Study of Women and Workplace Policy Act which seeks to establish pay equity for women in the workplace and for that purposes seeks to direct the Secretary of Labor to make a grant to a public university to establish the Center for the Study of Women and Workplace Policy. Aim of this is to compile a comprehensive study to find ways to effectively create total pay equity for women in the workforce. The bill also takes into account the Panel Study of Income Dynamics housed at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Further the House passed Senator Morey's New Capital Investment Incentives Act which seeks to provide incentive for major capital investment across the United States through exempting the net taxable value of all property of a taxpayer in excess of three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) located within a single county from property taxation and any special assessment, but only to the extent that such property constitutes a new capital investment (investment of at least $500,000). Another bill authored by the Senator and passed by the Senate was the Great Lakes Safe Drinking Water Act which is designed to prevent acid mine drainage into the Great Lakes and so too keep the drinking water of the entire region clean and safe. This bill was passed by the Senate just before the end of the session after Senator Morey successfully pushed for unanimous consent.

The most notable debate performances of Senator Morey during his first term include the debate on the Locally Mandated Drinking Age Act during which the Senator took a passionate stance for keeping the national drinking at at 21 and the debate on the Religious Liberty Sustainment Amendment, a bill sponsored by Senator Morey, during which he fought for every America's right to freely express their religion in public.

During his first term Senator Morey joined the newly formed Common Sense Conservative Group, a political action group within the Republican Party dedicated to common sense policies rather than the purely partisan approach. The Senator also joined the Caucus for American Education Reform, seeking reform of America's education system through making the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) stronger, more effective, and less intrusive.

Throughout his first term in the Senate, Senator Morey maintained one of the highest activity records, overall having been the fourth most active Senator in the Senate, the most active Great Lakes Senator and the second most active Midwest Senator, closely behind Senator Jameson of Illinois.

During his first term Senator Morey served on both the Senate standing committee on Domestic Affairs (DAC) and the Senate standing committee on the Judiciary (S-JUD).

Election Campaigns

2012 Senate Election

In late 2011 Senator Morey announced his intention to seek a full term as Senator back home in Michigan by giving a passionate speech and by touring the Great Lakes region. His original opponent withdrew in 2012 and the Democratic Party chose the Secretary of the Treasury Cameron Ferejohn to challenge the popular incumbent Senator. At that time the Secretary had already been exposed of having been untruthful to the American people through Congressional hearings concerning the budget crisis of 2012. Further Secretary Ferejohn had been indicted by the Supreme Court as two cases had been brought against him and President Jack Magruder concerning the President's veto of the Government Operations of FY2013 act.

Senator Morey received strong support during the months prior to elections and was able to raise significantly more funds that his opponent. In addition Senator Morey received endorsements and support from a great variety of Public Action Committees, both conservative and liberal ones, while his opponent received no endorsements and no support. The Senator was endorsed by the Aerospace and Defense (A&D) PAC, America's leading defense think tank; by America's leading economic think tank the Club for Growth and by the Christian Coalition. He also received support from the AFL-CIO, representing America's workers; and received strong support from the Sierra Club, America's leading PAC for environmental issues.

Only a few weeks before election day, when the Morey campaign had created incredible momentum Secretary Ferejohn suspended his campaign, handing Senator Morey an uncontested election victory and so a full term as Senior Great Lakes Senator.

In Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Senator celebrated the victory with his family, supporters and campaign staffers. In his speech he expressed his gratitude. "I'm completely overwhelmed and deeply moved" the Senator said. "The Great Lakes have spoken, and I am deeply humbled by the trust and the confidence of my fellow citizens."

"With that trust comes a duty to serve all the citizens of the Great Lakes" Senator Morey continued. "And I will do my utmost best to fulfill that duty every day as your Senator." He thanked his supporters, his campaign staff and his family dedicating the election victory to his deceased father. In his speech the Senator also addressed the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who are currently serving overseas and at home. "Allow me to give special thanks to all our men and women of the Great Lakes who are fighting for our freedom and security and that of others elsewhere tonight" he said. "We are extremely proud of you and this Senator will never let you down. That's my special promise to you."

Senator Morey stressed his determination to continue fighting for the Great Lakes to "restore America's economic strength, secure thousands of jobs and create many thousands of new jobs, reform our outdated tax code, strengthen the Social Security for the next generation, make public schools all they can be" and promised that he will fight to "uphold our deepest values of family and faith." The Senator also promised that he will fight to strengthen emerging democracies such as in Afghanistan, "so they can grow in strength and defend their freedom."

Mr. Morey concluded his speech with a special note to the State of Michigan and its people. "It was you who first started me on this journey and you have known me the longest. When I was looking for a home, when I was desperate you took me under your wing, gave me work and love and the opportunity to live the American dream. I will forever be grateful to you for all of this."