More votes that define Dean Heller and Shelley Berkley

Here's three more votes that define the differences between U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley. The duo cast roughly 3,800 votes while serving together in the House until Heller was appointed to the Senate on May 9, 2011.

March 1, 2007

Vote boosts unions on "card check"

Berkley yes, Heller no

Las Vegas traffic flagger Aniysha Sanders was flown to Capitol Hill by the Laborers' International Union on Feb. 28, 2007, to lobby lawmakers a day ahead of a House vote on the Employee Free Choice Act.

The so-called "card check" bill was organized labor's top priority, and leaders of the new Democrat-controlled House were ready to move forward on it.

"Card check" allows a union to organize a workplace by collecting signature cards from a majority of employees. In that case, the bill would eliminate ballot elections that labor leaders say give management opportunities to intimidate workers.

Even as business interests engaged heavily to fight against it, the House passed card check 241-185. But it stalled in the Senate and remains on labor's wish list.

Berkley spoke during a debate about Sanders, who signed up a majority of co-workers in an organizing drive at her company. The company responded by firing two people and harassing others, she said.

"This country is filled with wonderful employers, and certainly my district has about the best employers that you could find anywhere," Berkley said. "But there are abuses and there are problems that this piece of legislation addresses."

Heller, then a House freshman, said he was troubled that the bill would diminish ballot rights, leaving workers vulnerable to union pressure and peer pressure.

"I spent the last 12 years as secretary of state protecting the rights of those casting their ballots so they could do it secretly," Heller said. "I am not going to come to Congress to vote the other way.

Jan. 10, 2007

House increases minimum wage

Berkley yes, Heller no

When Democrats took control of the U.S. House in January 2007, they moved quickly to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act that boosted minimal pay for the first time in 10 years. Hourly pay would be raised by $2.10 an hour, to $7.25 in three steps over two years.

Republicans split almost in half on the bill, which passed 315-116. Some worried that requiring companies to pay higher wages might cost jobs. Many wanted to pair the minimum wage hike with tax breaks to cushion its impact on small businesses, complaining Democratic leaders would not allow an amendment to do so.

Despite the early vote, it was months later before the minimum wage was increased, after being attached to an unrelated spending bill that authorized more money to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Voting for the bill, Berkley said she took her cue from Nevada voters who had approved an increase in the state's minimum wage the previous November.

"This change is long overdue and will help more families make ends meet at a time when the cost of living continues to rise," she said at the time.

It was one of Heller's first U.S. House votes. He did not explain his vote at the time, and his campaign could find no record of any statements.

Dec. 8, 2010

House passes DREAM Act

Berkley yes, Heller no

This vote has played a big role in the Nevada Senate race.

Berkley has campaigned on her support for the DREAM Act, and Democrats have used it in a bid to frame Heller as anti-Hispanic.

Heller has worked to offset the characterization as he courts support from Latino constituents who make up 15 percent of the state electorate.

The 216-198 House tally was as far as the DREAM Act advanced during the 2010 lame-duck session. The vote served a political purpose to get lawmakers on record one way or the other in advance of the 2012 elections in which Hispanics are a key voting bloc.

The bill would provide a path to citizenship for young people brought into the United States illegally by their parents, as long as they were pursuing higher education or serving in the military.

"I strongly believe that young people brought to this country through no fault of their own, have served this nation in uniform and contributed to our society deserve a path toward legal status," Berkley said in a statement this summer.

Heller has said he agrees with "80 percent" of the legislation, but that the Democratic-sponsored approach includes an offer of unacceptable "amnesty" to undocumented immigrants. Republicans have not yet offered an alternative.

"We are a country of laws," Heller said in January during a Hispanics in Politics breakfast in Las Vegas. "We can change the immigration policy in this country to make it easier" to gain citizenship.

"There are ways of solving this problem," Heller said during an Oct. 11 campaign debate. "It's not black and white. If it was we'd have solved the problem a long time ago."

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC. Contact Stephens Washington Bureau reporter Peter Urban at purban@stephensmedia.com or at 202-783-1760.