FranPAC Favorite: Dean Heller

By BEN HEINEMANN According to the International Franchise Association, FranPAC “creates an opportunity for IFA members to provide financial support to candidates for federal office, and a robust PAC means more contributions to candidates who understand franchising and who will promote a legislative and regulatory climate favorable to franchising.” Dean Heller - $10,000 from FranPAC Senator Dean Heller of Nevada, a member of the Republican Party, was elected into office on May 9, 2011, filling the vacant seat left by John Ensign’s retirement. Heller has a long political career in Nevada, serving as Nevada’s Secretary of State and in the Nevada State Assembly, where he represented Carson City, the city he grew up in. Heller received a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Southern California, where he specialized in finance and securities analysis, which aided him in his position as a stockbroker and trader on the Pacific Stock Exchange. Heller serves on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and the Special Committee on Aging. According to his own website, Heller’s top priorities are jobs and the economy, and being a member of these committees allows him “to address climbing gas prices, ensure that Nevada's transportation needs are met, and foster a regulatory climate that does not impede interstate commerce,” all issues that are important to the IFA. Key Votes Since becoming a senator in 2011, Heller has voted along the lines of the IFA on many of the association’s key issues making him a favorite of FranPAC. In 2011 and 2012, Brown voted with the IFA on the following:

• Senate Amendment 927, The 3 Percent Withholding Repeal and Job Creation Act
• Senate Amendment 1465, The Reid-McConnell Amendment to the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012
• S.J. Resolution 36, the Congressional Nullification of the NLRB’s Rule Related to Representation Election Procedures

He did not vote with the IFA on Senate Amendment 392, which was related to Debt Swipe Fees. Although Heller was appointed Senator after some of the IFA key votes had already taken place, when Ensign was still in office, Heller receives an 80 percent score on votes that align with the IFA’s mission. Heller is also very much against Card Check, an act imposed by the National Labor Relations Board that the IFA is fiercely lobbying against. Heller says of Card Check: "This legislation at its core will threaten American jobs and harm small and large businesses alike that are already struggling to make ends meet. In fact, a recent economic study found that if the Employee Free Choice Act becomes law, 600,000 jobs could be lost by the end of 2010. Our country and Nevada cannot afford this. Any further job losses created by the Employee Free Choice Act would be devastating to Nevada workers who in some communities are facing unemployment rates as high as 15.1%." For more information and details on what each of these amendments and resolutions, visit the IFA’s Federal Vote Scorecard website by clicking here.