Since taking office, Congressman Heck's top priorities have been creating jobs, growing our economy and keeping the American Dream alive for the middle class and those working to get into it. He has been a vocal advocate for military families and veterans as well as for the health and natural beauty of the Puget Sound’s environment.

Congressman Heck serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the committee in charge of oversight of the seventeen elements of the U.S. Government's Intelligence Community and the Military Intelligence Program. 

Congressman Heck is also the only Member of Congress from the Pacific Northwest that serves on the House Financial Services Committee. He is a member of the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee, and the Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee.

In the decade prior to his election to Congress, Congressman Heck successfully grew several small businesses in Washington State. One of those small businesses, which specializes in workplace education, was started in Olympia with only two employees. Today it employs more than 300 people throughout the United States and has continued to grow in recent years. Congressman Heck was also an original investor in Real Networks, the digital entertainment company that pioneered streaming media on the Internet.

A strong advocate of open government, in 1993 Congressman Heck co-founded TVW to provide the people of Washington State greater accessibility to their state government. TVW has grown into the nation’s preeminent statewide public affairs network. While at TVW, the Congressman hosted the renowned public affairs program Inside Olympia and won an Emmy for a documentary he wrote and produced.

Congressman Heck served his community in the State House of Representatives for nearly a decade. He was chosen by his colleagues to serve as Majority Leader before retiring in 1986. While in the State House, Congressman Heck was one of the prime authors of the state’s historic Basic Education Act. After his time in the Legislature, he served as Chief of Staff to Governor Booth Gardner during his second term.

Congressman Heck is a native Washingtonian and graduated from The Evergreen State College in 1973. He has been married for 43 years to Paula Fruci Heck, an educator who began her career as a teacher and retired as principal at Jefferson Middle School in Olympia. He and Paula have lived in Olympia for 34 years. They have two sons, Bob and Trey, and are grandparents of Maleah.