U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 2010 Although Heck had earlier announced he would challenge incumbent Republican
Jim Gibbons for governor, he decided against it in favor of a run for
Nevada's 3rd congressional district. He defeated incumbent Democratic U.S. Congresswoman
Dina Titus, 48% to 47%, a difference of 1,748 votes. Titus only held the position for one term after she defeated incumbent Republican
Jon C. Porter in 2008.
2012 After redistricting, Heck decided to run in the newly redrawn 3rd district, which Obama won in 2008 with 54% of the vote. On November 6, he defeated Speaker of the
Nevada Assembly John Oceguera 50% to 43%.
2014 Heck won reelection easily, beating Democrat Erin Bilbray by a margin of 61% to 36%.
Tenure Heck was one of three freshmen named to the
House Republican Steering Committee in the 112th Congress. He was re-elected to the Republican Steering Committee in both 2012 and 2014. Heck was ranked as the 74th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives during the
114th United States Congress (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nevada) in the Bipartisan Index created by
The Lugar Center and the
McCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).
Energy and environmental policy In 2010, he signed the
Americans for Prosperity's No Climate Tax pledge. He supports an "all of the above" energy policy which includes natural gas, domestic oil production, and alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal and nuclear. In 2011, as a representative, Heck voted to prevent the
EPA from regulating
greenhouse gases. In 2012, when asked about climate change and regulating carbon dioxide, he stated: "When you start looking at trying to regulate something like carbon dioxide, which is a natural, biological process, you start running into areas of confusion" and "I think certainly over the millennia, we've seen changes in our climate both ways, and I think throughout the future millennia we will continue to see climate change that goes both ways. But the issue for this election is not what's going to be happening in the next 200 years, it's going to be what's happening in the next 12 months." He is in favor of the
Keystone XL Pipeline. Heck voted to ease the exploration and extraction of minerals and energy resources from
Native American lands, and restrict the ability of non-resident tribal members to vote on these issues.
Economic policy Heck supports an audit of the Federal Reserve and a
balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. Heck voted against increasing the
debt limit in 2011, stating "Raising the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts will only prolong the uncertainty preventing an economic recovery". In 2011, Heck called
Social Security a "
pyramid scheme". The remark aroused a political controversy in Nevada, and Heck clarified that he meant to refer to it as an "inverted pyramid". He has suggested that today's young people may need to retire later to keep the program fiscally viable. In 2015, Heck voted to eliminate the estate tax. In 2010, he signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge by
Americans for Tax Reform. He has been critical of Governor
Brian Sandoval's Commerce Tax.
Education policy Heck supports the use of education vouchers for use in private or public schools. He voted for a budget bill which called for a 10-year freeze to the maximum
Pell Grant award to college students. He favors expanding refinancing options for student loans, enhancing income-based repayment plans, and providing loan forgiveness for civil service. In 2011, Heck voted not to withdraw American troops from the
war in Afghanistan. Heck opposed United States involvement in Libya, saying, "We are already engaged in military operations on two fronts, and Libya opened a third. We cannot afford the troops or taxpayer dollars—especially without a national security objective." Heck opposes the
Iran nuclear deal framework, calling it unenforceable, and has voted to censure and block President Obama's nuclear treaty with Iran. Heck has voted for the
Patriot Act and has endorsed the indefinite military incarceration of alleged terrorists. He voted to end the bulk collection of metadata from phone calls by the NSA. Heck authored the Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act which prevents disabled veterans who receive in-home care from the VA from having their housing benefits reduced. The bill became law in 2016.
Gun policy Heck opposes most laws which restrict the sale of firearms. He is in favor of expanded and perhaps universal
background checks. Following the
Isla Vista massacre, Heck co-sponsored an amendment to increase funding for criminal background checks. He voted against restricting gun sales to those on terror watch lists. He voted to prevent
Washington D.C. from implementing many provisions of
gun control.
Health policy Heck was an original co-sponsor of the attempt to repeal the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. His stated priorities include protecting the patient-physician relationship, reducing health care costs, and working to protect
Medicare for Nevada's seniors and preserving it for future generations; by training more physicians and increasing the use of
health savings accounts.
Immigration policy In August 2014, Heck broke ranks with the Republican Party and voted against a bill that would have dismantled the
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. In 2015, he voted to more strenuously police immigration from Syria and Iraq.
Social policy In 2011, he voted to prohibit federal funding of
National Public Radio, and to support the continuing use of federal funds for
NASCAR sponsorships. In 2012, he voted to reauthorize the expiring
Violence Against Women Act. During his time in the House, Heck has voted in favor of prohibiting federal funding of abortion, and prohibiting the use of federal funds for health services at
Planned Parenthood.
Campaign finance policy Heck is opposed to the
DISCLOSE Act, which would require funders of political ads to put their names on advertisements. He is a supporter of the
Citizens United v. FEC U.S. Supreme Court decision. The land used to be a mine and now needs significant
environmental remediation and reclamation. •
Vulnerable Veterans Housing Reform Act of 2013 (H.R. 1742; 113th Congress) – a bill that would change the way the
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) calculates a veterans' income to exclude some aid that some veterans receive from the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill would also change utility allowances. •
Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act of 2013 (H.R. 2166; 113th Congress) – a bill that would require the federal government to issue the appropriate permits within 48 hours to volunteer search and rescue groups to allow them to search
federal lands for
missing persons.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Armed Services •
Subcommittee on Military Personnel •
United States House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chair) •
Committee on Education and the Workforce •
Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training •
Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions •
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence •
United States House Intelligence Subcommittee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence (Chair) ==2016 U.S. Senate campaign==