Joe Heck
Encyclopedia
Joseph John “Joe” Heck is the U.S. Representative
for Nevada’s 3rd congressional district
and is a member of the Republican Party
. He is an osteopathic physician and former Nevada State Senator
.
The district includes the cities of Henderson
, Boulder City, parts of Las Vegas
and North Las Vegas, unincorporated Clark County
, and several smaller towns and cities in the Southern Nevada region. He resides in Henderson, Nevada.
. He received his Doctor of Osteopathy in 1988 from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and obtained a residency in Emergency Medicine
in 1992 at the Albert Einstein Medical Center
. He earned a Masters of Strategic Studies
degree from the U.S. Army War College
in 2006.
Heck is a Colonel
in the United States Army Reserve
and commands a Medical Readiness Support Group overseeing more than 2,000 soldiers in 6 western states. He continues to serve in this capacity while in Congress. He has served in Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Noble Eagle
, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. His last deployment was January, 2008.
From 1998 to 2003, Heck served as the medical director of the Casualty Care Research Center of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
in Bethesda, Maryland, where he provided medical support for several federal law enforcement agencies and oversight for the medical response to acts of terrorism.
Heck started his medical career as a volunteer firefighter and ambulance attendant in rural Pennsylvania. He volunteered as a Medical Team Manager with the Nevada Urban Search & Rescue Team - Task Force 1 and as a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Search & Rescue team. He has also served as a tactical physician with the LVMPD SWAT team.
Heck served as a member of the Nevada State Homeland Security Commission Sub-committee on Health, the American Osteopathic Association's
Task Force on Bioterrorism, and as the Medical Director for the Nevada Hospital Association’s Hospital Preparedness program. He also served as the Medical Director for the Southern Nevada Health District's Office of Public Health Preparedness.
Shirley Breeden
by a margin of 46.57% to 45.81% and a plurality of 765 votes. Libertarian T. Rex Hagan received 4754 votes (8.4%).
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 won by a margin of 48.16% to 47.44% and a plurality of 1922 votes, defeating Democratic incumbent Dina Titus
. Titus had only held the position for one term after she defeated incumbent Republican Jon C. Porter in 2008.
Votes
Environment
In 2011 Heck voted in favor of bills requiring the EPA to consider the costs and feasibility of air quality standards and delay their regulation of cement manufacturers. He also supported amending the clean water laws to instill looser standards, repealing energy efficiency standards currently in place for incandescent light bulbs, and preventing an energy tax. He voted against repealing provisions currently in place that limit funding for the Endangered Species Act. In a public statement released in January of 2011, Heck expressed his opinion on environmental regulation, stating that, “With the current restrictions on our ability to utilize domestic oil and natural gas resources, Nevadans are forced to pay a high premium on energy costs…restrictions on our ability to utilize domestic oil and natural gas resources only drive up energy costs.”
Business
In 2011 Heck voted in favor of Free Trade Agreements and Trade Promotion Agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama, expressing a desire to revitalize the role of the United States in the global economy. He also voted against requiring public disclosure of employee bonuses, and the instillation of crowd funding intermediaries to disclose methods of compensation to investors.
National Economy
Heck voted against increasing the debt limit and supported a separate bill that expressed disapproval of the President’s authority to raise the debt limit. He released a public statement saying, “Raising the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts will only prolong the uncertainty preventing an economic recovery.”
National Security
In 2011 Heck strongly voiced his opinion against 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.” He also voted against removing troops from Afghanistan.
Abortion
In 2011 Heck voted in favor of amending the federal health care law to prohibit abortion coverage, prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion, and prohibiting the use of federal funds for Planned Parenthood.
Interest Group Ratings
Heck has yet to receive ratings for his actions in the House of Representatives. His most recent ratings available are from 2007, when he served as a Nevada state senator, and was given a rating of 100% from the Nevada National Federation of Indepenent Business and the Nevada Prosperity Project- Positions on Economic Growth and Jobs, a coalition of business and associations in Nevada, and a 75% approaval rating from the Nevada Environmental Conservation League. He has never received a rating from a prominent interest group, as determined by Congressional publication “The Hill.”
Partisan committees:
Source:
Council 13456 and Catholic War Veterans Post 1947.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
for Nevada’s 3rd congressional district
Nevada's 3rd congressional district
The 3rd Congressional District of Nevada is a congressional district occupying the suburbs of Las Vegas, including Henderson, parts of North Las Vegas and Summerlin, and much of unincorporated Clark County...
and is a member of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. He is an osteopathic physician and former Nevada State Senator
Nevada Senate
The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada. The Senate consists of 21 members from 19 districts, two of which are multimember. Each senator represented approximately 94,700 people as of the 2000 census, although 2006 Census Bureau...
.
The district includes the cities of Henderson
Henderson, Nevada
-Demographics:According to the 2000 census, there were 175,381 people, 66,331 households, and 47,095 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,200.8 people per square mile . There were 71,149 housing units at an average density of 892.8 per square mile...
, Boulder City, parts of Las Vegas
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
and North Las Vegas, unincorporated Clark County
Clark County, Nevada
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
, and several smaller towns and cities in the Southern Nevada region. He resides in Henderson, Nevada.
Early life, education, and military service
Heck was born in Jamaica, New York in Queens and raised in Pennsylvania. In 1992, he moved to Clark County, Nevada. He graduated from Penn State University in 1984 with a degree in Health EducationHealth education
Health education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health...
. He received his Doctor of Osteopathy in 1988 from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and obtained a residency in Emergency Medicine
Emergency medicine
Emergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...
in 1992 at the Albert Einstein Medical Center
Albert Einstein Medical Center
Albert Einstein Medical Center is a tertiary care teaching hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. An important aspect of the medical center is that of educating graduating physicians. The medical center offers residency and fellowship training programs in many specialized areas...
. He earned a Masters of Strategic Studies
Strategic studies
Strategic studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to topics concerning the relationship between politics, geography and natural resources, economics, and military power, such as the role of intelligence, diplomacy and threats in the preparation and use of force...
degree from the U.S. Army War College
U.S. Army War College
The United States Army War College is a United States Army school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks...
in 2006.
Heck is a Colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
in the United States Army Reserve
United States Army Reserve
The United States Army Reserve is the federal reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the reserve components of the United States Army....
and commands a Medical Readiness Support Group overseeing more than 2,000 soldiers in 6 western states. He continues to serve in this capacity while in Congress. He has served in Operation Joint Endeavor, Operation Noble Eagle
Operation Noble Eagle
Operation Noble Eagle is the name given to military operations related to homelandsecurity and support to federal, state, and local agencies...
, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. His last deployment was January, 2008.
Medical career
Heck was the president, owner, and medical director of Specialized Medical Operations until 2011. The company provided quality medical training, consulting, and operational support to law enforcement agencies, EMS, and military special operations. Heck has lectured and is published on special operations medical support, the medical response to acts of terrorism, and emergency preparedness and response.From 1998 to 2003, Heck served as the medical director of the Casualty Care Research Center of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences is a health science university run by the U.S. federal government. The primary mission of the school is to prepare graduates for service to the U.S. at home and abroad in the medical corps....
in Bethesda, Maryland, where he provided medical support for several federal law enforcement agencies and oversight for the medical response to acts of terrorism.
Heck started his medical career as a volunteer firefighter and ambulance attendant in rural Pennsylvania. He volunteered as a Medical Team Manager with the Nevada Urban Search & Rescue Team - Task Force 1 and as a member of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is a joint city-county police force for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada. It is run by the Sheriff of Clark County, elected every four years. The current Sheriff of Clark County is Douglas C...
Search & Rescue team. He has also served as a tactical physician with the LVMPD SWAT team.
Heck served as a member of the Nevada State Homeland Security Commission Sub-committee on Health, the American Osteopathic Association's
American Osteopathic Association
The American Osteopathic Association is the representative member organization for the over 78,000 osteopathic medical physicians in the United States...
Task Force on Bioterrorism, and as the Medical Director for the Nevada Hospital Association’s Hospital Preparedness program. He also served as the Medical Director for the Southern Nevada Health District's Office of Public Health Preparedness.
Nevada Senate
Heck served one four-year term in the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County’s 5th district.Elections
Heck was first elected to the Nevada Senate to represent Clark County’s 5th district in 2004, after defeating Senator Ann O’Connell in the Republican primary. Heck narrowly lost reelection to DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Shirley Breeden
Shirley Breeden
Shirley Breeden is a Democratic member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County District 5 since 2009. She won her first term in 2008, when she narrowly upset incumbent Republican Joe Heck....
by a margin of 46.57% to 45.81% and a plurality of 765 votes. Libertarian T. Rex Hagan received 4754 votes (8.4%).
Committee assignments
He served on the Natural Resources, Human Resources and Education, the Commerce and Labor Committees. He was also the vice-chair of the Transportation and Homeland Security Committee.2010 election
- See also Nevada gubernatorial election, 2010Nevada gubernatorial election, 2010The 2010 Nevada gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of Nevada, who will serve a four-year term to begin on January 3, 2011...
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 won by a margin of 48.16% to 47.44% and a plurality of 1922 votes, defeating Democratic incumbent Dina Titus
Dina Titus
Alice Costandina "Dina" Titus is the former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She previously served in the Nevada Senate and was that body's minority leader from 1993 to 2009....
. Titus had only held the position for one term after she defeated incumbent Republican Jon C. Porter in 2008.
Tenure
Heck was one of three freshmen named to the House Republican Steering Committee in the 112th Congress. His top three legislative priorities are jobs and the economy, healthcare reform, and national security.Votes
Environment
In 2011 Heck voted in favor of bills requiring the EPA to consider the costs and feasibility of air quality standards and delay their regulation of cement manufacturers. He also supported amending the clean water laws to instill looser standards, repealing energy efficiency standards currently in place for incandescent light bulbs, and preventing an energy tax. He voted against repealing provisions currently in place that limit funding for the Endangered Species Act. In a public statement released in January of 2011, Heck expressed his opinion on environmental regulation, stating that, “With the current restrictions on our ability to utilize domestic oil and natural gas resources, Nevadans are forced to pay a high premium on energy costs…restrictions on our ability to utilize domestic oil and natural gas resources only drive up energy costs.”
Business
In 2011 Heck voted in favor of Free Trade Agreements and Trade Promotion Agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama, expressing a desire to revitalize the role of the United States in the global economy. He also voted against requiring public disclosure of employee bonuses, and the instillation of crowd funding intermediaries to disclose methods of compensation to investors.
National Economy
Heck voted against increasing the debt limit and supported a separate bill that expressed disapproval of the President’s authority to raise the debt limit. He released a public statement saying, “Raising the debt ceiling without significant spending cuts will only prolong the uncertainty preventing an economic recovery.”
National Security
In 2011 Heck strongly voiced his opinion against 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.” He also voted against removing troops from Afghanistan.
Abortion
In 2011 Heck voted in favor of amending the federal health care law to prohibit abortion coverage, prohibiting taxpayer funding of abortion, and prohibiting the use of federal funds for Planned Parenthood.
Interest Group Ratings
Heck has yet to receive ratings for his actions in the House of Representatives. His most recent ratings available are from 2007, when he served as a Nevada state senator, and was given a rating of 100% from the Nevada National Federation of Indepenent Business and the Nevada Prosperity Project- Positions on Economic Growth and Jobs, a coalition of business and associations in Nevada, and a 75% approaval rating from the Nevada Environmental Conservation League. He has never received a rating from a prominent interest group, as determined by Congressional publication “The Hill.”
Committee assignments
- Committee on Armed ServicesUnited States House Committee on Armed Servicesthumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
- Subcommittee on Military Personnel
- Subcommittee on ReadinessUnited States House Armed Services Subcommittee on ReadinessHouse Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness is a subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee in the United States House of Representatives.-Jurisdiction:The Readiness Subcommittee exercises oversight and legislative jurisdiction over:...
- Committee on Education and the WorkforceUnited States House Committee on Education and the WorkforceThe Committee on Education and the Workforce is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. From 1947 until 1994 and again from 2007 to 2011, during Democratic control of the House, it was known as the Committee on Education and Labor.-History of the Committee:Attempts were...
- Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training
- Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and PensionsUnited States House Education Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and PensionsThe House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions is a standing subcommittee within the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce...
- Permanent Select Committee on IntelligenceUnited States House Permanent Select Committee on IntelligenceThe United States House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is a committee of the United States House of Representatives, currently chaired by Mike Rogers. It is the primary committee in the U.S...
Partisan committees:
- House Republican Steering Committee
Source:
Personal life
Joe and his wife, Lisa (formerly Matiello), have three children: Monica, Chelsea and Joseph III. Lisa is a registered nurse. Heck is a Roman Catholic. He is active with the Knights of ColumbusKnights of Columbus
The Knights of Columbus is the world's largest Catholic fraternal service organization. Founded in the United States in 1882, it is named in honor of Christopher Columbus....
Council 13456 and Catholic War Veterans Post 1947.
External links
- Congressman Joe Heck official U.S. House site
- Joe Heck for Congress official campaign website
- Senator Joe Heck official Nevada Legislature site (2007 session)