In 1994, he stepped down as chief of police and ran for Congress as a Republican against incumbent
Democrat David Price, besting Price in the "
Republican Revolution" of 1994. After a single term in the
104th Congress (January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1997), Heineman was defeated for re-election in 1996 by Price. Two bills introduced by Heineman were passed by the House of Representatives: H.R. 1499, The Consumer Fraud Prevention Act of 1995 passed on September 25, 1996; and H.R. 3852, The Comprehensive Methamphetamine Control Act of 1996 passed on September 26, 1996. He also co-sponsored 174 bills during the 104th Congress. Heineman cast 1,287 votes (95.8%) and did not vote 56 times (4.2%). He compiled an unshakably conservative voting record, with a lifetime record of 92 from the
American Conservative Union. He came under fire when he claimed that despite making a combined $183,000 from his NYPD and Raleigh pensions and his congressional salary, he was part of the "lower middle class." He further argued that anyone making between $300,000 and $750,000 was a member of the middle class. == Death ==