Measles Outbreak

In this Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015, photo, pediatrician Charles Goodman holds a dose of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine at his practice in Northridge, Calif. The vaccine is 99 percent effective at preventing measles, which spreads easily through the air and in enclosed spaces. Symptoms include fever, runny nose, cough and a rash all over the body.

(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

U.S. Reps. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Township, and Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Amid the ongoing measles outbreak that includes a case in Michigan, one area congressman supports vaccinations and says the federal government can play a key role in the discussion.

U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, believes parents should vaccinate their children, his spokesman Brian Patrick said.

"Education is a critical aspect of this ... making the public aware of the importance of vaccination to public health," Patrick said.

In the halls of Capitol Hill, talk about vaccinations is gaining traction among members, Patrick said, noting a similar discussion surrounding Ebola's public health threat last year.

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash's position, however, is less clear. Spokesman Will Adams emailed a statement Tuesday, but did not reply to several attempts for clarification on Amash's position.

"There are no federal regulations that require vaccinations, and this isn't a federal issue," Adams wrote.

Related: Unvaccinated students excluded from class after whooping cough reported at Greenville High School

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official recently called the outbreak "frustrating" as it has largely been driven by those within the small but vocal anti-vaccination movement.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who's viewed as a likely 2016 presidential candidate, helped spark the debate this week by contending vaccines should be voluntary.

Amash, R-Cascade Township, and Paul share many of the same libertarian values and have been able to influence policy during their terms despite while working in two separate chambers of Congress. Paul once told MLive that he and Amash "see eye to eye on a lot of stuff."

Michigan ranks in the Top 5 of states with the most kindergartner vaccination waivers for 2013-14, according to a recent MLive investigation. It also is one of 20 states that allow parents to obtain a waiver for reasons beyond religious or medical concerns.

Although the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics assert vaccines are safe and effective, some parents who choose not to immunize their children say the agents inside the shots are linked to autism.

That claim usually is attributed to a late 1990s British study of only 12 children, which was redacted and its author stripped of his medical license, according to NPR.

Andrew Krietz covers breaking, politics and transportation news for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at akrietz@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.