19 Facts About Doc Hastings

Richard Norman Hastings was born on February 7,1941 and is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who served as the US representative for from 1995 until his retirement in 2015.

In February 2014, Doc Hastings announced that he would not run for re-election in 2014.

Richard Norman Doc Hastings was born in Spokane, Washington to Ivan and Florene Doc Hastings; he is of part Norwegian ancestry on the maternal side of his family.

Doc Hastings served in the United States Army Reserve from 1964 to 1969.

Doc Hastings studied business administration at Columbia Basin College and Central Washington State College, but did not graduate from either.

Doc Hastings was named Columbia Basin Alumni of the Year in 2001.

Doc Hastings returned to Central Washington as commencement speaker in 2008.

In 1978, Doc Hastings ran for Washington's 16th House District.

Doc 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.

Doc Hastings won three of the district's ten counties.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer considers Doc Hastings to be a "down-the-line supporter of the House Republican leadership".

Doc Hastings has served as Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources since January 2011 and is a proponent of increasing domestic production of oil and gas, including drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

Doc Hastings is rated as one of the most pro-business representatives in Congress, according to the United States Chamber of Commerce which gives Doc Hastings a score of 94 out of 100 based on his 16-year voting record.

Doc Hastings has received mixed ratings from some national agricultural groups.

Doc Hastings was instrumental in 2002 in building the case that led to the expulsion of Congressman James Traficant from the United States Congress.

Doc 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".

In 1996, lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his firm had as many as 36 contacts with Doc Hastings' office, resulting in as many as 85.57 billed hours regarding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Doc Hastings came under fire during his chairmanship of the Ethics Committee, due to claims by Democrats of inaction regarding then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

In 1967, Doc Hastings married his wife, Claire, in Sacramento, California; the couple has three children: Kirsten, Petrina, and Colin, and has 8 grandchildren.