LAS VEGAS — Congressman Dean Heller on Friday answered wide-ranging questions from local editors, radio personalities, and bloggers in a private “Newsmakers” briefing hosted and moderated by the Nevada News Bureau at the offices of Rogich Communications in Las Vegas, NV.

In his opening remarks, Heller explained his three-point litmus test for health care legislation and amendments: “More, Higher, Less: More competition, higher quality, less cost.”

In answer to questions on his participation in crafting the House health care bill, Heller said two of his proposed amendments have been rejected. One amendment would have allowed student loan forgiveness for doctors and nurses who go to work in under-served areas. The other proposal would have allowed doctors to write off the cost of treating indigent patients in their offices, which Heller said would cost about one-fifth the price of receiving care in hospital emergency rooms.

Heller said he is strongly opposed to health care provisions that either impose fines or require jail time for those who choose to remain uninsured. “This is the first time in American history that we are looking at legislation where a citizen, just for being born, is required to take a certain action or be criminalized,” Heller said.

Asked about the recent vote to extend estate tax legislation, Heller said he opposed extending the tax and supported a full repeal of the act. He said that Nevada Congresswoman Shelley Berkley had proposed a compromise that would have capped the top tax rate at 35% and joked, “In some circles, I guess that makes her a conservative.”

When asked about John Ensign’s statement on KXNT-AM 840 last week in which Ensign told radio host Alan Stock that some GOP candidates running in 2010 wanted his help on their campaigns, Heller made it clear that he would be running for re-election without the Ensign’s assistance.

“I’ll run on my own merits,” Heller said.

On the war in Afghanistan, Heller said he supports President Barack Obama’s dispatching of more troops. “I hope he’s [Obama] right. I want this president to be right,” Heller said.

Heller then expressed concern about troop levels. “If commanders say they need 50,000, 80,000 troops,” Heller said, “then we should send that many, or scrap the war effort entirely.”

Asked about the definition of torture and whether or not he favors the torture of combatants and/or POWs in order to gain valuable intelligence, Heller said he is against torture and that he accepts and supports the US military’s current definition of torture.

When asked if he thought War on Terror detainees are POWs (rather than “unlawful combatants,” who are not entitled to protections under the Geneva Convention), Heller at first said yes. But when pressed for clarification, Heller said, “I don’t want to break that fine line” and again deferred to military experts.

Heller also said the military prosecution of several Navy SEALs charged with allegedly assaulting accused terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed should be placed on hold until more is known. Heller said President Obama should intervene and “put the brakes” on the prosecution while he looks into the matter. Heller added, “If there’s cause, then we ought to move forward.”

When asked about veterans affairs and the lack of care and support for the 250,000 troops that traveled in and out of Nevada in 2008, Heller expressed his concern and said he would fully support a USO hospitality facility at McCarran international airport. Nevada is the only state in which the USO does not have such a facility at the major airport hub. As a result, troops are sleeping on the floors as they wait for connecting flights.

Asked about the length of time and cost of building the new veterans hospital in Las Vegas compared to the same for the construction of local private hospitals, Heller said that government is always less efficient than the private sector when it comes to the construction of facilities.

On Nevada politics, Heller said the Republican Party needs to focus on registering voters and a strong get-out-the-vote effort. “That’s all I want the party to do,” he said. “If that’s all the party would do, we’d be great.”

When asked about the re-election bid of Senator Harry Reid, Heller said Reid is vulnerable on the issues. Heller cited health care, cap-and-trade legislation, bailouts for banks and the stimulus as examples. Heller also referred to a recent poll showing Reid’s favorability ratings virtually unchanged despite weeks of TV campaign ads.

Heller predicted that the 2010 elections would not see a Republican wave of support so much as an anti-Democrat, anti-incumbent wave.

Near the end of the briefing, Heller expressed general concern about social welfare entitlements and bailouts and said he is a co-sponsor of a bill that would require a constitutional test for each new piece of legislation. He said Legislative lawyers would be responsible for the analysis.

Asked if existing programs such as Social Security or Medicare pass constitutional muster, Heller said it was open to debate. “I think it raises the question. I don’t know what the answer is,” Heller said. “We need to have that discussion.”

Heller, a former member of the Nevada Assembly, served as Nevada’s secretary of state from 1994 to 2006, when he was elected to the first of two terms in Congress. Heller is up for re-election in 2010.

Read CityLife editor Steve Sebelius’ write-up on the Heller briefing here.