Doc Hastings

Richard Norman "Doc" Hastings, a Republican, has represented the Fourth Congressional District of Washington in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1995.

Iraq War
Hastings voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Abramoff Contributions
In 1997, Jack Abramoff gave $500 to the campaign of Republican Congressman Doc Hastings. The New York Times reported that Abramoff made an additional $500 donation to Hastings and that the Seattle law firm Abramoff worked for, Preston Gates and Ellis, donated $13,000 to Hastings' campaign and had a "close relationship for years" with the law firm.

Preston Gates and Ellis, which had also hosted fundraisers for Hastings, issued a statement saying, "Preston Gates has the largest lobbying practice of any Pacific Northwest law firm. ... Members of the firm have hosted fundraisers for Rep. Hastings as we have for many other members of the Northwest Congressional delegation."

Firing of U.S. attorneys
On March 6, 2007 during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, former U.S. Attorney John McKay stated that Ed Cassidy, then-chief of staff to Hastings, called him in 2004 to ask whether he was investigating allegations of voter fraud after a Democrat won the Washington state governor’s race in a third recount. At the time, McKay was serving as the chief federal law enforcement officer in Seattle. 

McKay said he responded to Cassidy’s initial questions with "publicly available information and then tried to stop the line of questioning when pressed." McKay further explained that he thought Cassidy’s questions were related to internal U.S. attorney decisions about an investigation and were therefore improper under Justice Department ethics rules.  McKay said he stopped the conversation by asking Cassidy whether the aide was truly asking on behalf of his boss about an internal investigation or whether he was trying to lobby McKay to launch one, which would have been improper. Cassidy agreed that such questioning would be unethical and finished the conversation “in a most expeditious fashion,” McKay said. 

House ethics package confusion
In a letter sent to all Chairs and Ranking Members, Ethics Committee Chair Stephanie Tubbs Jones and Ranking Member Doc Hastings, asked their colleagues for guidance on a provision of the Democratic ethics package. The letter cites in particular a new provision requiring members to register their earmarks and certify that neither they nor their spouses have a “financial interest” in the provision. The letter said that the ethics panel is considering how to define the term “request” and noted that the Rules Committee of the last Congress chose to defer to the incoming committee chairmen on the matter.

Bio
Hastings was born February 7, 1941 in Spokane, Washington. He attended Columbia Basin College and Central Washington University and earned a degree in business.

He served in the Washington State House of Representatives from 1979 to 1987, and was Assistant Majority Leader. Hastings was elected to the House in 1994 after being defeated in a 1992 bid.

Congressional career
Hastings, usually a "behind the scenes" kind of legislator, has recently been thrust into the spotlight as the chairman of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, commonly known as the Ethics Committee. According to the Seattle Post Intelligencer, "Hastings has become a central figure in an intense political knife fight, a struggle being played out on a national scale involving Majority Leader Tom DeLay, the second-most-powerful Republican in Congress."

2006 elections
In 2006, Democrats nominated Richard Wright to face Hastings in his November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Hastings retained his seat.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct - Ranking Member
 * House Committee on Rules

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on Rules
 * Subcommittee on Rules and Organization of the House - Chairman
 * House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct - Chairman

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Founder, Congressional Nuclear Cleanup Caucus
 * Assistant Majority Whip
 * Western Representative, Republican Steering Committee

2008 Campaign Contact Information
Officials Hastings for Congress campaign website

Friends of Doc Hastings P.O. Box 2926 Pasco, Washington 99302

Phone: 509-736-1510

[mailto:info@dochastings.com info@dochastings.com]

Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website
 * Technorati Search: Doc Hastings
 * Google News Search: Doc Hastings
 * Yahoo! News Search: Doc Hastings
 * Power Trips: How much did Doc Hastings travel?
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Articles

 * Larry Margasak, "House Ethics Panel Chair Fires Two Lawyers," San Francisco Chronicle, February 16, 2005.
 * Charles Pope, "Hastings Thrust into Uncomfortable Spotlight in Ethics Dispute," Seattle Post-Intelligencer, April 25, 2005.
 * Michael Hedges and Samantha Levine, "Hastings Connected to Abramoff Law Firm," Houston Chronicle, June 9, 2005.
 * Alicia Mundy, "Ethics Claims Target Hastings," Seattle Times, June 25, 2005.
 * Les Blumenthal, "Critics Call House Ethics Panel a Failure," The News Tribune, January 16, 2006.
 * Susan Crabtree, "Senior aide implicated" The Hill, March 7, 2007.
 * Jackie Kucinich “More House ethics confusion reigns, this time on earmarks” The Hill, March 19, 2007.
 * "CREW releases 'Beyond DeLay: The 22 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and two to watch)'," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, September 18, 2007.