Washington - U.S. Congressman Mike Ross of Prescott, Ark., today helped nominate and voted for fellow Blue Dog and conservative Democrat U.S. Congressman Heath Shuler, D-N.C., for Minority Leader at the Democratic organizational caucus meeting for the 112th Congress set to begin on Jan. 5, 2011.  Shuler did lose his bid for Minority Leader to current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a vote of 150 to 43.

“Given the Democrats historic losses on Nov. 2nd, the voters have clearly demanded a more moderate Congress and we must respect that demand with a new, more moderate leader,” said Ross.  “I am proud to have nominated Heath Shuler today as I have known him for many years and have come to deeply respect him as a person and as a leader in the Congress.  He is a fellow leader of the Blue Dog Coalition, a fiscal conservative and someone who fights for working families in his home state of North Carolina and all across America.  Heath Shuler’s bipartisan and commonsense approach to legislating is something that would have served this nation well in the next Congress as the Minority Leader.”

U.S. Congressman Heath Shuler has represented western North Carolina in Congress since 2007.  He is a small business owner and successful entrepreneur, owning a real estate brokerage firm and several other real estate companies.  He is best known as a former University of Tennessee quarterback and runner-up for the Heisman Trophy and former NFL player for the Washington Redskins, New Orleans Saints and Oakland Raiders.


A fifth generation Arkansan, Congressman Mike Ross of Prescott represents the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Ross serves on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, including its Health and Energy Subcommittees, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee and serves as Vice President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.  Ross is also key leader of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic House members that advocates the principles of fiscal responsibility and government accountability.