Doc Hastings

Richard Norman "Doc" Hastings
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 4th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 1995
Preceded by	Jay Inslee
Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Nick Rahall
Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Joel Hefley
Succeeded by	Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 16th district
In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1987
Preceded by	Charles Kilbury
Succeeded by	Bill Grant
Personal details
Born	(1941-02-07) February 7, 1941 Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Claire Hastings; 3 children
Residence	Pasco, Washington, U.S.
Alma mater	Pasco High School
Occupation	Former small businessman
Religion	Presbyterian
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army Reserve[1]
Years of service	1963–1969[1]
Rank	Specialist 4[1]

Richard Norman "Doc" Hastings (born February 7, 1941) is the U.S. Representative for Washington's 4th congressional district, serving since 1995. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district includes much of central Washington including the Tri-Cities, Yakima, and Moses Lake.

Early life, education, and business career

Richard Norman Hastings was born in Spokane, Washington to Ivan and Florene Hastings.^[2] He served in the United States Army Reserve from 1964 to 1969.^[3]

He studied business administration at Columbia Basin College and Central Washington College, but did not graduate from either. He was named Columbia Basin Alumni of the Year in 2001.^[4] He returned to Central Washington as commencement speaker in 2008.^[5]

Before being elected to Congress, Hastings ran his family-owned small business, Columbia Basin Paper and Supply. He was an active member of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, the Pasco/Kennewick Rotary Club, the Pasco Downtown Development Association, and the Pasco Jaycees. He served on the Board of Directors of Yakima Federal Savings. ^{[citation needed]}

Washington House of Representatives

Elections

In 1978, Hastings ran for Washington's 16th House District (seat 2). He defeated incumbent Democrat State Representative Charles Kilbury 62%-38%.^[6]
In 1980, he won re-election to a second term defeating Democrat Dorothy Miller 70%-30%. ^[7]
In 1982, he won re-election to a third term defeating Democrat Sandy Dodd 55%-45%. ^[8]
In 1984, he won re-election to a fourth term defeating Democrat Bill Grant 52%-48%. ^[9]

Tenure

Hastings served in the Washington House of Representatives from 1979 to 1987, where he was selected by his colleagues to be Assistant Majority Leader and Republican Caucus Chairman. In 1983, he challenged the constitutionality of the state's 1.1% sales tax hike.^[10] He voluntarily left the Legislature, claiming family reasons.^[11]

Committee assignments

He served on the House Tax Advisory Committee.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

1992

Incumbent U.S. Congressman Sid Morrison, of Washington's 4th congressional district, decided to retire in order to run for Governor of Washington. Hastings ran, but lost in the general election to Democratic State Representative Jay Inslee, 51%-49%.^[12] Although Hastings carried the Tri-Cities, he lost the rest of the district. He won three (Benton, Franklin, and Adams) of the district's ten counties.^[12]

1994

Hastings sought a rematch against Inslee in 1994, and defeated Inslee, 53%-47%, winning eight of the district's ten counties.^[13]

1996

He won re-election to a second term, defeating Democrat Rick Locke 53%-47%. ^[14]

1998-2008

During this time period, he has won re-election with at least 60% of the vote. ^{[citation needed]}

2010

Hastings was challenged by Democrat Jay Clough, a nuclear waste cleanup contractor and USMC veteran. Hastings defeated him, 68%-32%.^[15]

2012

He won reelection against Democrat Mary Baechler with 66% of the vote.^[16]

Tenure

Controversies

Hastings was instrumental in 2002 in building the case that led to the expulsion of Congressman James Traficant (D-OH) from the United States Congress. As Chairman of the Investigative Subcommittee of the United States House Committee on Ethics, Hastings was tasked with reviewing the file from Traficant's trial and other material to determine if there had been a violation of House rules. Hastings said on the floor of the House, "After considering all of the evidence, I concluded that Mr. Traficant's offenses were so serious and so purposeful that expulsion from the House is the only appropriate sanction". The measure to remove Traficant from the House passed 420-1.^[17]

In 1996, lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his firm had as many as 36 contacts with Hasting's office, resulting in as many as 85.57 billed hours regarding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.^[18] Abramoff bragged to the CNMI of having "excellent" ties to Hastings.^[19] Hastings' 2004 campaign had received $1,000 from Abramoff personally and an additional $5,647 from Abramoff's lobbying firm, which was also one of the largest law firms in the State of Washington, Preston Gates. Preston Gates, Microsoft's law and lobbying firm, also contributed to Washington Democrats during that cycle, including to Seattle's Jim McDermott.^[20]

Following Hastings' work that led to Traficant's removal from the House, he was named to the Chairmanship of what was then a dysfunctional United States House Committee on Ethics. Soon after being named Chairman, two senior staff members for the committee were fired, and Hastings attempted to place his office Chief of Staff, Ed Cassidy, onto the Ethics Committee staff. Democrats cast this a partisan move, while Republicans pointed out that such a change in staff is the norm with the naming of a new committee chairman. The claim that Hastings fired the entire committee staff to protect Tom DeLay remains unsubstantiated. Hastings came under fire during his chairmanship of the Ethics Committee, due to perceived inaction regarding the unethical conduct of then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. By rule, the House Ethics Committee's work, votes, and investigative findings are kept strictly confidential.^[21]

In 2008, Hastings, by now the ranking member of the Ethics Committee, pushed the investigation of Charlie Rangel.^[22] A four-person investigative subcommittee was formed with Hastings as co-chair. The subcommittee's subsequent report led to Rangel's loss of the chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee and censure by the House in 2010.

Political positions

"Top priorities must be creating jobs, getting our economy back on track, and stopping reckless spending that has left our nation with the largest deficit in history," wrote Hastings in response to Project Vote Smart.^[23]

Hastings is Chairman of the United States House Committee on Natural Resources and is a proponent of increasing domestic production of oil and gas, including drilling in the remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. He said, "Promoting new domestic energy production, including in the Arctic, will be a priority," for the House National Resources Committee.^[24]

Hastings is not affiliated with the Tea Party movement and voted against most members of his party to reopen the government and end the United States federal government shutdown of 2013.^[25]

Interest group ratings

Hastings is rated as one of the most pro-business representatives in Congress, according to the United States Chamber of Commerce which gives Hastings a score of 94 out of 100 based on his 16-year voting record.^[26] The fiscally conservative 501(c)4 organization Club for Growth gave Hastings a grade of 94 out of 100.^[27]

The National Taxpayers Union gives Hastings a grade of A.^[28] Hastings has been given an 'A' grade by Keep America Safe, a national security PAC formed by Liz Cheney.^[29] He earned a 95.15% lifetime rating, as of 2010, from the American Conservative Union.^[30]

Hastings is pro-life, demonstrated by consistent ratings of 100% from the National Right to Life Committee. Richard Hastings has received mixed ratings from some national agricultural groups. For 2009-2010 the American Farm Bureau Federation gave Representative Hastings a 66% rating. ^[23] His rating from the National Association of Wheat Growers was 25 percent in 2008.^[23] He rates low with unions. In 2009 and 2010, he received grades of "D" and "F" from the teachers union-affiliated National Education Association, and 0% from the American Association of University Women. He has rated poorly with some environmental groups, receiving most recently 0% from the League of Conservation voters, and only 8% from Republicans for Environmental Protection.^[23] In 2009-10 Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America gave Hastings a grade of "D".^[23]

Committee assignments

• Committee on Natural Resources (Chairman)
  • As Chairman of the full committee, Rep. Hastings may serve as an ex officio member of all subcommittees.

Rep. Hastings was formerly the ranking member of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, also known as the House Ethics Committee, and a past chair of that committee. He replaced Joel Hefley as chairman in 2005 when Hefley's term expired. He chaired the Ethics Committee for the duration of the 109th Congress and switched to ranking member when the Democrats won the majority for the 110th Congress. ^{[citation needed]}

Caucus memberships

• House Nuclear Clean-Up Caucus (Chairman and founder)
• Northwest Energy Caucus (Co-chair)
• Rural Health Care Coalition
• Specialty Crop Caucus
• Hastings is the senior Republican in Congress from the Pacific Northwest.

Legislation sponsored

• On April 12, 2013, Hastings introduced the Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act (H.R. 1526; 113th Congress). The bill would direct the United States Department of Agriculture to establish at least one Forest Reserve Revenue Area within each unit of the National Forest System designated for sustainable forest management for the production of national forest materials (the sale of trees, portions of trees, or forest products from System lands) and forest reserve revenues (to be derived from the sale of such materials in such an Area).^[31] The bill then states that the purpose of an Area is to provide a dependable source of 25% payments and economic activity for each beneficiary county containing System land that was eligible to receive payments through its state under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.^[31]

Personal life

In 1967, Hastings married his wife, Claire, in Sacramento, California; the couple has three children: Kirsten, Petrina, and Colin.

Electoral history

Washington's 4th congressional district: Results 1992–2006^[32]

Year		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct		3rd party	Party	Votes	Pct
1992		Jay Inslee	106,556	51%		Richard Hastings	103,028	49%
1994		Jay Inslee	81,198	47%		Richard Hastings	92,828	53%
1996		Rick Locke	96,502	47%		Richard Hastings	108,647	53%
1998		Gordon Allen Pross	43,043	24%		Richard Hastings	121,684	69%		Peggy S. McKerlie	Reform	11,363	6%
2000		Jim Davis	87,585	37%		Richard Hastings	143,259	61%		Fred D. Krauss	Libertarian	4,260	2%
2002		Craig Mason	53,572	33%		Richard Hastings	108,257	67%
2004		Sandy Matheson	92,486	37%		Richard Hastings	154,627	63%
2006		Richard Wright	77,054	40%		Richard Hastings	115,246	60%
2008		George Fearing	99,430	36.91%		Richard Hastings	169,940	63.09%
2010		Jay Clough	69,512	32.4%		Richard Hastings	145,317	67.6%

See also

• Central Washington
• United States House Committee on Natural Resources

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Doc Hastings.

• Congressman Doc Hastings official U.S. House site
• Chairman House Committee on Natural Resources
• Doc Hastings for Congress
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at The Library of Congress
• Profile at SourceWatch

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Jay Inslee	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Washington's 4th congressional district 1995–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Joel Hefley Colorado	Chairman of House Ethics Committee 2005–2007	Succeeded by Stephanie Tubbs Jones Ohio
Preceded by Nick Rahall West Virginia	Chairman of House Natural Resources Committee 2011–present	Succeeded by Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by Rodney Frelinghuysen R-New Jersey	United States Representatives by seniority 79th	Succeeded by Sheila Jackson-Lee D-Texas

v t e Washington's current delegation to the United States Congress Senators Patty Murray (D) Maria Cantwell (D) Representatives (ordered by district) Suzan DelBene (D) Rick Larsen (D) Jaime Herrera Beutler (R) Doc Hastings (R) Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R) Derek Kilmer (D) Jim McDermott (D) Dave Reichert (R) Adam Smith (D) Dennis Heck (D) Other states' delegations Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Non‑voting: American Samoa District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands

Persondata
Name	Hastings, Richard Norman
Alternative names	Hastings, Doc
Short description	Republican U.S. Representative for Washington's 4th congressional district
Date of birth	February 7, 1941
Place of birth	Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Date of death
Place of death