Heath Shuler

Joseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is a businessman, a former NFL quarterback, and the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 11th congressional district, serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

The district covers the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina and the largest city in the district is Asheville.

Early life, education and career
Shuler was born in Bryson City, North Carolina, a small town in the Great Smoky Mountains on the Tennessee border. His father was a mail carrier and his mother a homemaker and volunteer with the Swain County Youth Association; he has a younger brother, Benjie.

Football career
Shuler's athletic career began at Swain County High School. A standout quarterback who led his team to three state championships and was named the North Carolina High School Player of the Year, he drew plenty of scout attention and accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Tennessee in 1990.

At Tennessee, Shuler gained national attention as one of the SEC's top quarterbacks. He held nearly all Volunteer passing records at the end of his career, although most of them have since been eclipsed by Peyton Manning. In 1993, he came in second in the vote for the Heisman Trophy.

Shuler was a first-round selection in the 1994 NFL Draft, taken by the Washington Redskins with the third overall pick. ESPN rated him the 4th biggest NFL Draft bust of all time. He held out of training camp until he received a 7-year, $19.25 million contract. The Redskins had fallen on hard times since winning Super Bowl XXVI, and Shuler was looked on as the quarterback of the future. However, Shuler's poor play contributed to a quarterback controversy with fellow 1994 draft pick Gus Frerotte. This was evident when Shuler threw five interceptions in a game against the Arizona Cardinals. Shuler started 18 games in his first two years with the team and was benched in his third year, as Frerotte went to the Pro Bowl.

After the 1996 season, Shuler was traded to the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round pick in the 1997 draft and a third-round pick in 1998. Shuler's statistics remained poor. He suffered a serious foot injury during the 1997 season in New Orleans and went through two surgeries. Football statistics site Football Outsiders called Shuler "[t]he least valuable quarterback of 1997."

After being unable to take the field due to his foot injury in his second season in New Orleans, Shuler signed with the Oakland Raiders, where he re-injured his foot in training camp and retired. As a pro, his career passer rating was a 54.3 and in 2004 ESPN rated him the 17th biggest 'sports flop' of the past 25 years.

After retiring from the NFL, Shuler returned to the University of Tennessee and completed his education, graduating with a degree in psychology. He then became a real estate professional in Knoxville. His real estate company is one of the largest independent firms in East Tennessee. In 2003, Shuler moved to Waynesville, North Carolina, where he lives today.

Committee assignments

 * Committee on the Budget
 * Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
 * Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

On economic and environmental matters, Shuler votes more with his party. He is a whip of the Blue Dog Coalition, a caucus of moderate-to-conservative House Democrats.

Not long after his election, he became close friends with Brad Ellsworth, a fellow conservative freshman Democrat from Indiana.

In 2007, Shuler introduced proposed legislation co-sponsored with fellow North Carolina Congressman Walter Jones to require airlines to have sections of the aircraft where large movie screens would not be visible.

Reportedly owing to his success in real estate, Shuler was named chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship during the 110th and 111th Congresses. He has also been a deputy majority whip.

Shuler won his bid for re-election in 2008. He defeated Asheville City Councilman Carl Mumpower by a 62%-36% margin—a massive sophomore surge. He easily carried all 15 counties in the district, including traditionally heavily Republican Henderson County.

Shuler voted against the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 both times it came before the House. He later joined seven other conservative House Democrats in voting against the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, an $819 billion economic stimulus bill proposed by President Barack Obama. Shuler also voted against the Affordable Health Care for America Act, or HR 3962, along with 38 other Democrats, despite voting yes on the Stupak amendment in the same bill, which prohibits federal funds to be used for abortions. In January 2011, Shuler voted against repealing the law.

Shuler voted in favor of HR 2454, the American Clean Energy and Security Act which would implement a cap and trade system aimed at controlling pollution.

In 2011, he co-sponsored HR 3, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, The bill contained an exception for "forcible rape," which opponents criticized as potentially excluding drug-facilitated rape, date rape, and other forms of rape. The bill also allowed an exception for minors who are victims of incest.

In July 2011, Shuler was one of five Democrats to vote for the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act.

Interest in leadership position
During his 2010 campaign, Shuler showed interest in taking the place of Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House, if Democrats maintained their majority. On November 4, after Republicans had won a majority of seats in the upcoming Congress, Shuler predicted Pelosi would no longer be a leader in the House. However, if Pelosi wanted to take the minority leader position, Shuler told Roll Call, he would run against her if there were no "viable candidate".

As expected, Pelosi did run for minority leader, and on November 14, Shuler told CNN he would run against her, though he doubted he would win. Shuler lost to Pelosi 150-43 on November 17, but he was pleased that moderate Democrats showed they must be dealt with. On the opening day of the 112th Congress, Shuler received 11 votes for Speaker of the House, which his political aide called "the most dissenting votes recorded in modern history for partisan defections during a vote for Speaker" (Since 1925 ).

2006
In July 2005, Shuler announced his intentions to seek the Democratic nomination to run against eight-term incumbent Republican Charles H. Taylor. The district covers most of the Western North Carolina mountains where Shuler grew up.

Shuler repeatedly attacked Taylor for not standing up more often for the 11th's interests. For example, he blasted Taylor for missing a vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which only passed by two votes. Shuler pointed out that according to the House roll call, Taylor voted 11 times on the same day CAFTA came up for a vote. Taylor was one of two Republicans who didn't vote on the bill, even though he'd strongly opposed it in the past. Taylor, for his part, claimed that Shuler would be an extra vote for Nancy Pelosi, even though Shuler is almost as conservative on social issues as Taylor.

In the November election, Shuler won with 54 percent of the vote to Taylor's 46 percent. He carried nine of the district's 15 counties, including several areas that had reliably supported Taylor over the years. He even carried Taylor's home county of Transylvania. Shuler was one of only two Democrats to defeat an incumbent in the South that year. His victory gave the Democrats a majority of the state's congressional delegation for the first time since the 1994 elections.

In 2009, a documentary film about the successful 2006 Democratic campaign to retake control of the House, HouseQuake, prominently featured then-Congressman Rahm Emanuel's efforts to recruit new candidates including Shuler. "Mr. Emanuel’s efforts to get him to run offer one of the most revealing moments in the film," including two weeks of frequent phone calls about the balancing of family and Congressional obligations. The film was directed and produced by Karen Elizabeth Price, daughter of Congressman David Price who represents the 4th District of North Carolina.

2008
In 2008, Shuler faced Republican Asheville city councilman Carl Mumpower and Libertarian Keith Smith. Shuler was handily reelected with 62 percent of the vote. He easily carried all 15 counties in the district, including traditionally heavily Republican Henderson County.

2010
In early 2009, he was mentioned as a possible candidate to run against Richard Burr for the United States Senate in the next year's elections. He chose not to do so. Shuler would go on to defeat Republican Jeff Miller to retain his House seat by a margin of 54% to 46%.

Electoral history

 * 2006 Race for U.S. House of Representatives — North Carolina 11th District
 * Heath Shuler (D), 54%
 * Charles H. Taylor (R) (inc.), 46%


 * 2008 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - North Carolina 11th District
 * Heath Shuler (D) (inc.), 62%
 * Carl Mumpower (R), 36%
 * Keith Smith (LIB), 2%


 * 2010 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - North Carolina 11th District
 * Heath Shuler (D) (inc.), 54%
 * Jeff Miller (R), 46%

Personal life
Shuler is married to Nikol Davis, with whom he has two children: a daughter, Island, and a son, Navy.