The Golden Heart Group

Joe Sestak was elected to Congress in 2006 to represent the 7th Congressional District where he was born and raised. During a distinguished 31-year career in the United States Navy, Joe attained the rank of 3-star Admiral and served in the White House, Pentagon, and in operational commands at sea. He is the highest-ranking former military officer ever elected to either branch of Congress. He attended the Naval Academy and later earned a Ph.d. in Political Economy and Government from Harvard University. After retiring from the Navy, Joe returned home to Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Alex, and proudly represents the 7th District, where his parents and much of his family still reside.

Joe is the son of a first-generation American who served his country as a Navy Captain in World War II. Following in his father’s footsteps, Joe went to Annapolis, where he graduated second in his class, before embarking on a career of military service. He served as Director for Defense Policy in President Bill Clinton’s National Security Council, oversaw the Navy’s warfare budget as Deputy Chief of Naval Operations, and led a series of commands at sea, culminating in command of the USS George Washington Aircraft Carrier Battle Group (30 ships, 100 aircraft, and 15,000 sailors and marines) during combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. In our time of national crisis in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the Navy turned to Joe Sestak to head “Deep Blue,” the Navy anti-terrorism unit formed in response to the attacks.

Since taking office in 2006, Joe has been named the most productive member in his legislative class. He is one of the few representatives to serve on three committees, serving as Vice Chair of the Small Business Committee, and a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and the Armed Services Committee. In the current Congress he has had more of his bills pass than either of the state’s two Senators, and is among the top five members of Congress in the number of bills and resolutions he has co-sponsored – a record of achievement that is unsurpassed in the entire Pennsylvania delegation, House and Senate. At home in Pennsylvania, his district office has handled over 10,000 constituent cases over the past two years – more than three times the average – and his staff has helped more than 400 of his constituents avoid foreclosure on their homes.

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