Heather Wilson



Heather A. Wilson, a Republican, has represented the First Congressional District of New Mexico in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1998 (map). She lost her primary bid for the Senate seat.

Iraq War
Wilson 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

Links to Delay and Abramoff
Contributors to Wilson include former House majority leader Tom DeLay's political action committee ARMPAC, convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff (along with 200 other members of Congress), and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Wilson was the fourth largest recipient of former House Majority Leader DeLay's ARMPAC campaign contributions. DeLay is being prosecuted on charges of felony money laundering of campaign finances and conspiracy to launder money. To date, Wilson has returned less than a quarter of the $46,959 she received from ARMPAC. 

Involvement in U.S. attorney scandal
In March 2007, Rep. Wilson (R-N.M.) confirmed that she had contacted former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias in regard to a federal investigation. She maintains that she did so after her constituents contacted her saying that, "David Iglesias was intentionally delaying corruption investigations." 

The House Judiciary Committee has launched hearings into the incident which were scheduled for March 6 2007.

Domestic spying
On February 7, 2006 Heather Wilson broke ranks with President Bush and Congressional Republicans when she called for a full congressional inquiry into the NSA warrantless surveillance. Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times suggested that "the congresswoman's discomfort with the operation appears to reflect deepening fissures among Republicans over the program's legal basis and political liabilities"

Wilson's appeal for more oversight came nearly two months after existence of the citizen spying program first became publicly known. Marie Horrigan of CQPolitics suggested Wilson's late outcry may have resulted from pressure mounted by Demoractic opponent Patricia Madrid, who was "giving the incumbent a serious challenge," and due to flagging support for President Bush in New Mexico. In the days before Wilson spoke up, Madrid's campaign released both a | fund-raising report showing Madrid had out raised Wilson in the previous financial quarter and a poll putting the two candidates in a statistical tie.

Background
Born in Keene, New Hampshire on December 30, 1960, Wilson joined the Air Force at the age of seventeen, graduating from the Air Force Academy in 1982. A Rhodes Scholar, she continued her education at Oxford University, earning a Ph.D. in International Relations.

Upon leaving the Air Force in 1989, Wilson became Director for European Defense Policy and Arms Control on the National Security Council. She founded Keystone International, Inc. in 1991 to promote business development in the United States and Russia. She is the former Secretary of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Family Department.

While she was Secretary of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Family Department, she was caught lying on camera to Larry Barker, reporter for an Albuquerque TV station. In 1995, she ordered a file regarding her husband, a foster parent, moved from a department warehouse to her office. When Mr. Barker asked Wilson if she had removed the file, she denied it.

Wilson later admitted to removing the file, but denied reading it, and said she had been "suspicious for some time, based on rumors, that someone had attempted to steal information from the department regarding" her family.

Congressional Career
Wilson was elected to the House of Representatives in 1998 in a special election to replace the late Steven Schiff. She was the first woman to represent New Mexico since Georgia Lusk in the 1940s.

In 2004, Wilson generated some controversy when she denounced CBS and Viacom following Janet Jackson's halftime performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII in which Jackson revealed her nipple. ("You knew what you were doing...creates a buzz.") Her specific words, "It was nasty", have become a well known soundbite.

During Wilson's re-election campaign in 2004, her political opponent Richard Romero ran advertisements which suggested her votes in Congress aided Osama bin Laden because she had voted against a bill to require the screening of cargo holds. Wilson's campaign countered with an ad stating "Richard Romero opposes death penalty for child molesters who kill their victims". Wilson won the election by a 10% margin over Romero, the same margin of victory she had against Romero in the 2002 election.

In her first national campaign, the Republican National Committee provided a great deal of Wilson's campaign funds because local Republicans were unsure about an untested candidate who had so recently moved to New Mexico from out-of-state. Wilson countered: "I'm a mail-order bride. I've now lived in New Mexico longer than I've lived anywhere else."

2006 elections
In 2006, the Democrats nominated Patricia Madrid to face Wilson in her November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) The election was very close, as Wilson held a lead of slightly less than 1,500 votes following an initial count. The count, however, did not include 2,698 provisional ballots. 

Wilson to seek Domenici seat
According to a source familiar with the decision, Wilson would reportedly run for the New Mexico Senate seat that opened up when Sen. Pete Domenici announced his resignation. Domenici cited health concerns at a press conference on October 4, 2007. “I am not willing to take a chance that the people who have so honored me with their trust for 40 years might not be served as well as they deserve in the United States Senate,” he said. Wilson had reportedly been taken under Domenici’s wing and her name had topped a list of potential heirs. As a strong campaigner she survived several multimillion-dollar challenges in the swing state including a win by under 1,000 votes in the 2006 election, however she also faced the U.S. Attorney scandal that may have affected a Domenici run.

Money in politics
cid=N00006546&cycle=2006

Committees

 * House Committee on Energy and Commerce
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality
 * Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Materials
 * Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
 * House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

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

 * House Committee on Energy and Commerce
 * House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Coalitions and Caucuses

 * Air Force Caucus
 * Congressional Internet Caucus
 * Juvenile Diabetes Foundation Children's Congress Congressional Committee
 * Republican Policy Committee
 * Reserve Components Coalition
 * Rural Health Care Coalition
 * Western Caucus
 * Wireless Telecommunications Caucus

Boards and other Affiliations

 * Association of Commerce and Industry, 1992-1995
 * Chamber of Commerce, 1992-1995
 * First United Methodist Church
 * Member, Kiwanis Club of Albuquerque
 * Board of Directors, Quality New Mexico

Contact
DC Office: 318 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515-3101 Phone: 202-225-6316 Fax: 202-225-4975 Web Email Website

District Office - Albuquerque: 20 First Plaza North West, Suite 603 Albuquerque, NM 87102 Phone: 505-346-6781 Fax: 505-346-6723

Official Wilson for Senate website

Wilson for Senate Phone: 505-323-9017

Resources

 * Official website
 * Open Secrets - 2006 congressional races database

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Bush administration U.S. attorney firings controversy
 * Freedom's Watch

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Democracy for New Mexico
 * New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan
 * NewWest.net -- A Refreshing, new kind of journalism.

Articles

 * jesselee, "NM-01: The Truth Hurts," The Stakeholder, August 31, 2006.
 * Michael Abramowitz, "GOP Candidates Claim Degrees Of Separation From President," Washington Post, September 5, 2006.
 * Jennifer Talhelm, "Wilson helped oversee House teenage gofers," Associated Press (FreeNewMexican.com), October 3, 2006: "New Mexico Rep. Heather Wilson served on the board that oversees House pages between April 2001 and January 2005, but says she wasn't aware of former Rep. Mark Foley's interaction with the high-schoolers who serve as gofers in Congress."
 * James W. Brosnan, "Madrid: Wilson failed to protect pages," The Albuquerque Tribune, October 6, 2006.
 * "Heather Wilson Had Oversight Over Page Program, Did Nothing to Stop Sexual Misconduct," American Chronicle, October 28, 2006.
 * "Heather Wilson Can't Get Her Story Straight on Iraq," American Chronicle, October 28, 2006.
 * "Rep. Wilson getting help from debate, 5-foot duck," The Hill, October 31, 2006.
 * Jennifer Talhelm and Tim Korte, "Iraq, Bush Trouble for N.M. Candidate," Associated Press (Forbes), November 2, 2006.
 * Michael Coleman, "Wilson Opposes Troop Increase," ABQJournal.com, December 31, 2006. re troop surge in Iraq
 * "Lawmaker: U.S. catching, releasing top terror targets," CNN, January 5, 2007.
 * Jonathan Weisman, "Bush losing Republicans over plan for Iraq war," Washington Post (The Seattle Times), February 15, 2007.
 * David Espo, "GOP Opposition to Bush Plan Forms," Associated Press (ABC News), February 15, 2007. (See page 3.)
 * Jeff Zeleny,"12 Republicans Break Ranks on Iraq Resolution," New York Times, February 15, 2007.
 * Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo, March 1, 2007: "Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias has now all but named Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) as the two members of Congress who pressured him to indict a New Mexico Democrat before the November election." re Bush administration U.S. attorney firings controversy
 * David Johnston, "Senator Sought Dismissal of New Mexico Prosecutor," New York Times, March 5, 2007.
 * Dan Eggen, "Domenici Says He Contacted Prosecutor," Washington Post, March 5, 2007.
 * "N.M. senator apologizes for inquiry into corruption case. Fired U.S. attorney says he was pressed about probe on Democrat," McClatchy-Tribune (Baltimore Sun), March 5, 2007.
 * Jennifer Talhelm, "Senator Says He Asked Prosecutor About Probe," Associated Press (Boston Globe), March 5, 2007.
 * Marisa Taylor, "GOP ethics under scrutiny. Two lawmakers tried to influence federal probe, sources say," McClatchy Newspapers (CentreDaily.com), March 5, 2007.
 * Josh Marshall, "Running out of time to come clean," Talking Points Memo, March 5, 2007: "There's a decent chance there will be a special election some time over the next twelve months in the first district of New Mexico."
 * Paul Kane and Dan Eggen, "Second Lawmaker Contacted Prosecutor. Wilson Complained About Pace of Probes," Washington Post, March 6, 2007. Statement from Congresswoman Heather Wilson, March 6, 2007.
 * The GOP Hypocrite of the Week: Heather Wilson, BuzzFlash, March 9, 2007.
 * Phoenix Woman, "The Rubber-Stampers’ Latest Contortion," Firedoglake Blog, July 30, 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.
 * "Mired in attorney scandal, Wilson to seek Domenici's seat," Think Progress, October 4, 2007. re Pete Domenici
 * Josh Kraushaar, "Wilson angles to replace Domenici," The Politico, October 4, 2007.
 * kos, "NM-Sen: 'Nipplegate' Wilson to run for Senate," The Daily Kos, October 4, 2007.
 * Murray Waas, "U.S. Attorney Scandal: Feds Probe Domenici For Obstruction of Justice," TPM Muckraker, Feb. 4, 2009.
 * Murray Waas, "The Big Stone Wall: Nine Bush-Era Officials Refused to Cooperate With DOJ Probes," TPM Muckraker, Feb. 18, 2009.