October '07 Nevada Government—Shelley Berkley Column

Berkley Applauds Passage of Bill to Give Tax Relief
to Nevadans Hit by Home Foreclosure

Will Eliminate Foreclosure Tax for
Those Hit Hardest by Subprime Crisis

CONGRESSWOMAN SHELLEY BERKLEY (D-NV) today [October 4, 2007] voted in favor of legislation that seeks to aid Nevada homeowners who could face hefty tax bills as a result of a foreclosure or renegotiating a bad loan. The House overwhelmingly passed H.R. 3648, The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, on a vote of 386 to 27 in response to the tax issues that have arisen as a result of problems in the subprime mortgage market. The legislation eliminates the foreclosure tax, which can affect those who have debt forgiven during a home loan renegotiation or who lose a house in foreclosure.

“This bipartisan bill represents an important step in helping homeowners in Nevada and across the nation who have been caught up in the recent housing crisis. Unfortunately, many of those who lose their homes to foreclosure also face an added tax bill and this legislation will shield families from this additional burden. Sadly, Nevada has the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, so anything we do in Congress to provide relief from additional taxes will help families in Las Vegas and around the Silver State. By eliminating the foreclosure tax, we can eliminate one more concern faced by families already struggling to keep a roof over their heads,” said Berkley.

“This legislation will remove the added threat of a large tax bill from the list of concerns faced by those who are already dealing with a foreclosure or renegotiation of a loan. By forgiving this tax liability, we will be helping those Americans who are suffering the most as a result of the downturn in the housing market and increasing loan costs,” said Berkley, who sits on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee where H.R. 3648 originated.

Under current law, debt that is forgiven following mortgage foreclosure or renegotiation is considered income for tax purposes, resulting in tax liability for individuals and families. As a result, individuals who lose a home to foreclosure can end up owing income tax if the home is valued at less than is owed at the time of foreclosure. Under this scenario, the difference between the home’s current value and the amount owed is considered “forgiven debt” and is counted as income. Alternately, a homeowner can face the same problem if a lender agrees to lower the amount of principal owed during a refinance, in order to avoid foreclosure.

The Berkley-backed legislation would provide relief to qualified homeowners in Las Vegas and nationwide by permanently excluding debt forgiven under these circumstances from tax liability. The bill would also help would-be homeowners to secure their investments through a long-term extension of the tax deduction for private mortgage insurance, and would ease restrictions for qualifying as housing cooperative corporations. Finally, the bipartisan bill would tighten requirements taxpayers must meet to exclude gain from the sale of certain homes that have been used as a vacation home or rental property.

Yucca Mountain Price Tag $80 Billion and Climbing; Bush Pushing to Double Amount of Waste to be Dumped in Nevada

Price Tag Grows 35% Even as Project Falls Further Behind

CONGRESSWOMAN SHELLEY BERKLEY (D-NV) today [October 4, 2007] sharply criticized new figures from the head of the Yucca Mountain project that show the total price tag for the proposed nuke waste dump will climb 35% to roughly $80 billion. In addition, Berkley is gearing up for a renewed fight against a Bush Administration push to double the amount of toxic radioactive waste that will be dumped at Yucca Mountain. The statements about the soaring cost of Yucca Mountain and plans to double the size of the dump were made by Ward Sproat, Director of DOE’s Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management, during a hearing before the House Budget Committee on nuclear waste issues.

“Yucca Mountain is nothing more than radioactive pork that benefits the nuclear power industry and now the price tag for this failed project is going to top the $80 billion mark. At the same time, the Bush Administration is renewing its attack on Nevada by calling for twice the amount of deadly nuclear waste to be dumped in our back yard. Doubling the size of Yucca Mountain will only double the danger to more than 50 million families who will be potential targets because they live along nuclear waste transportation routes. Yucca Mountain is a failure and it’s astonishing to believe that despite a record price tag that has ballooned to $80 billion and climbing, the Bush White House is not only moving ahead, they want to build a dump twice the size. Talk about the need for a reality check. This is not a bad dream, it’s a nightmare waiting to happen and it will be families in Nevada and nationwide whose lives will be at risk because of President Bush’s reckless Yucca Mountain plan.”

Berkley noted that the cost of building the proposed Yucca Mountain repository has ballooned since the last estimate in 2001, with the lifecycle cost of the project now pegged to increase 35%.

“When it comes to Yucca Mountain, two things are certain: the price tag only grows larger and the delays only grow longer. As a nation, we have already spent more than $10 billion on a hole in the Nevada desert and it is long past time we quit shoveling bundles of cash into this fiscal abyss. On-site storage of nuclear waste is safe for the next 100 years, costs a small fraction of what we could spend at Yucca Mountain and avoids the danger of an accident or terrorist incident involving shipments of radioactive waste. Let’s pull the plug on this wasteful spending and come up with a real solution to nuclear waste that does not involve turning Nevada into a toxic dump site.”

Berkley Bringing U.S. & European Lawmakers to
Las Vegas for Multilateral Policy Dialogue

CONGRESSWOMAN SHELLEY BERKLEY (D-NV) will welcome more than two dozen U.S. and European lawmakers to southern Nevada this week for a session of the semi-annual Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue (TLD). The TLD brings together Members of the U.S. Congress and European lawmakers who meet twice a year to discuss issues ranging from Iraq and terrorism to global climate change, energy independence and ways to enhance commerce and

trade. Participants will arrive on Friday, October 5 and will depart on Monday, October 8. Berkley serves as co-chair of the 2007 U.S. delegation and organized the fall meeting of the TLD that is being held in Las Vegas. The EU delegation is being chaired by Mr. Jonathan Evans of the United Kingdom, Member of the European Parliament.

“The Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue brings together Members of Congress and our European counterparts and provides us with the opportunity to enhance our cooperation on an array of common challenges that we face as allies,” said Berkley. “I am honored to welcome our friends from Europe to the U.S., and excited that my hometown of Las Vegas has been chosen as the site for this year’s fall meeting. From national security to climate change to global trade, there is a wealth of issues to be discussed and my Congressional colleagues and I all look forward to discussions with the European lawmakers who are participating in this session of the TLD. The history of this legislative exchange dates back 35 years and it provides a unique forum for European and U.S. lawmakers to learn from one another and to build even stronger ties between America and our allies across the Atlantic.”

Participating from the U.S. will be a bipartisan delegation of nine Members of Congress, including Berkley, representing the major regions of the nation. The European delegation will be comprised of 18 Members of the European Parliament representing major EU parties.

The aim of the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue is to strengthen and enhance the level of discourse between European and American legislators. This cooperation aids in the development of shared approaches on a broad range of concerns.

Berkley: Nevada Kids Will Pay the Price for President’s SCHIP Veto

30,000 So. NV Youngsters Could Lose Medical Coverage As President Blocks Bipartisan Children’s Health Insurance Bill

CONGRESSWOMAN SHELLEY BERKLEY (D-NV) today [October 3, 2007] called on her colleagues to join her in rejecting President Bush’s veto of legislation that would extend the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The highly regarded program provides healthcare coverage locally to more than 30,000 Nevada children through the Nevada Check Up Program. The President’s veto of the bipartisan SCHIP package will effectively block funding for continued medical and dental coverage for 30,000 children and denies the opportunity to enroll another 70,000 uninsured Nevada kids who are eligible for coverage, but not taking part.

“The President has chosen politics over healthcare for our children and that means he is willing to deny coverage to 30,000 kids now enrolled in Nevada Check Up. Parents should not have to live in fear that a sick child will not be able to see the doctor, and I will be voting to override the President’s veto and to protect medical coverage for families in Las Vegas and across our State. This veto will also deny Nevada additional resources to help enroll the 70,000 children in the Silver State who are eligible for coverage, but are not taking part in the program. Nevada Check Up is an investment in keeping our kids healthy and it ensures that boys and girls have access to regular medical and dental care,” said Berkley.

“President Bush is 100% wrong to oppose this bill, which passed with broad bipartisan support and he’s doing it to score political points at the expense of families in Nevada and nationwide,” said Berkley. “Unfortunately, Nevada continues to have one of the highest percentages of uninsured families in the nation, so it is vitally important that SCHIP is extended and coverage protected for kids in Nevada Check Up. If President Bush and his allies are successful in the effort to block passage of this legislative package, 30,000 Nevada children will no longer have medical coverage and we will have lost the opportunity to provide even more kids with access to quality healthcare services,” Berkley said.

The SCHIP legislation vetoed by President Bush has the support of the National Governors Association (NGA) and 270 organizations, including AARP, Families USA, National Partnership for Women and Families, Alliance for Retired Americans, American Nurses Association, Mental Health America, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, Children's Defense Fund, Catholic Charities, Easter Seals, and March of Dimes.