Wally Herger
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's2nd district
In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 2013
Preceded by	Eugene A. Chappie
Succeeded by	Jared Huffman
Member of theCalifornia State Assembly from the3rd district
In office December 1, 1980 – November 30, 1986
Preceded by	Eugene A. Chappie
Succeeded by	Christopher Chandler
Personal details
Born	(1945-05-20)May 20, 1945 (age 79) Yuba City, California, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Diane Herger (Divorced) Pamela Herger; 9 children
Residence(s)	Chico, California, U.S.
Alma mater	American River CollegeCalifornia State University, Sacramento
Occupation	Oil executive
Wally Herger's voice Herger speaks in support of H.R.4, the PRIDE Act of 2003 Recorded February 13, 2003

Walter William Herger Jr. (born May 20, 1945) is an American politician who served as theU.S. representative forCalifornia's 2nd congressional district from 1987 to 2013. A member of theRepublican Party, his district was the state's largest congressional district by area. It covered almost all of interiorNorthern California includingChico,Redding andRed Bluff. On January 10, 2012, Herger announced he would not seek re-election in November.^[1]

Herger was born inYuba City, California. He is ofSwiss descent; his paternal grandfather emigrated to the US from thecanton of Uri in the late 19th century. He is also ofGerman andIrish descent.^[2][3] Herger was raised on his family's 200-acre (0.81 km²) cattle ranch and plum farm in thenorthern California town ofRio Oso (between Yuba City and Sacramento). He worked in the family's oil and gas exploration business.^[4]

He joinedthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when he was about 20 years old.^[5] He graduated fromAmerican River College with an Associate of Arts. He also attendedCalifornia State University, Sacramento for a year. His political career started in 1976, with his election to the East Nicolaus School Board. He also served northern California in theCalifornia State Assembly from 1980 to 1986.

Herger was easily reelected to Congress due to the "safe" Republican voter registration advantage in this district, but his election campaigns were challenged by Democratic candidates in his last campaigns. The district often fields a candidate registered with a third party, such as the Libertarian party and, during the 1990s, the Natural Law Party.

In 2002 and 2004, Herger defeated Democrat Mike Johnson, garnering 67% of the vote in 2004. In 2006, Herger faced Arjinderpal Sekhon and received 64% of the vote.^[6] In 2008, Herger faced Trinity County Supervisor Jeff Morris, who did somewhat better, holding Herger to 57% of the vote.^[7]

In 2010, Herger faced a Republican primary challenge from retired Colonel Pete Stiglich, and ran in the general against Democrat Jim Reed, a lawyer who divides his time between the Bay Area and Fall River. Herger prevailed with 57% of the vote.^{[citation needed]}

Herger served on the influentialUnited States House Committee on Ways and Means since his tenure began as a federal representative. Within Ways and Means, Representative Herger served on two subcommittees, theSubcommittee on Trade, and theSubcommittee on Income Security and Family Support. In the 110th Congress he was named the Ranking Member of the Republican (minority) delegation to the Trade Subcommittee. Representative Herger's participation in full committee is limited to Ways and Means, in accordance with the rules of the Committee on Ways and Means. While he chaired the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support (called the Subcommittee on Human Resources during his watch) beginning with the107th Congress, he played a leading role in the reauthorization and expansion of the 1996 welfare reform law. He sponsored theCriminal Welfare Prevention Act, passed as part of the larger 1996 Welfare Reform Law. This bill gave additional financial incentives to law enforcement agencies that identified fraudulent recipients of aid.^[4][8]

On August 18, 2009, Herger triggered controversy when he attended a town hall meeting in Redding, California, where an audience member introduced himself as a "proud right-wingterrorist"^[9]The person admitted to reporters in a private interview ten days later, after the controversy had reached national attention, that he had misspoken, having intended to say "extremist". Herger did not immediately distance himself from the remark then and there, but, instead, after the constituent's lengthy comment, responded by saying, "Amen. God bless you. There goes a great American." Many people, both inside and outside Herger's congressional district found his failure to respond immediately unacceptable.^[10] Herger's gaffe attained the apotheosis of national media attention when Keith Olbermann picked the story up for his showCountdown with Keith Olbermann on August 28, 2009.

Legislative goals

The 2nd congressional district is driven by agriculture. Herger supported legislation to bolster free and fair trade in an effort to support his constituency. Congressman Herger, from his position on the Trade Subcommittee, planned^[when?] to lead the consideration of trade agreements with foreign nations. He worked on theHerger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act, which instituted a framework for managing federal forest assets that will be tested on federal lands inLassen,Plumas, andTehama counties, and has been negotiated by a diverse coalition that includes environmental and logging interests. The act aims to reduce vegetation density in Forest Service lands, while expanding forest biodiversity (i.e. reduction of "monoculture" forests).^[11]

Congressmen Herger and Meek (D-FL) drafted a bill to repeal the three percent withholding tax scheduled to begin in 2011. The withholding tax would apply to governments with expenditures of greater than US$100 million on services from for-profit companies. The law mandates that governments will only deliver 97 percent of a contract to the contractor, and send the remaining 3% to theIRS. Vendors and contractors are expected to increase their bid values to cover this new cost. The National Association of Counties thinks that this will give Counties a competitive disadvantage when dealing with vendors and contractors. (Counties assess costs of federal '3-percent withholding law')^[12][13][14]

• Committee on Ways and Means
  • Subcommittee on Trade
  • Subcommittee on Health (chairman)

• Congressional Biomass Caucus
• Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
• Republican Study Committee
• Tea Party Caucus

Herger is married to Pamela Sargent, with whom he has 9 children and 19 grandchildren.^{[citation needed]} He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and used to sit on theUnited States House Committee on Ways and Means.^[4]

• Congressman Wally Herger official U.S. House website
• Wally Herger for CongressArchived 2006-10-18 at theWayback Machine
• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at theFederal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at theLibrary of Congress
• Profile atVote Smart
• Appearances onC-SPAN
• News about Wally Herger fromABC News
• Wally Herger News and Photos from theChicago Tribune
• {{Ballotpedia}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
• Join California Wally Herger

• 1945 births
• Living people
• Republican Party members of the California State Assembly
• Latter Day Saints from California
• Converts to Mormonism
• American people of German descent
• American people of Irish descent
• American people of Swiss descent
• American River College alumni
• People from Chico, California
• California State University, Sacramento alumni
• Tea Party movement activists
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• People from Yuba City, California
• Activists from California
• 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 20th-century members of the California State Legislature

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