Berkley Fights to Protect
Nevadans from the Alternative Minimum Tax
30,000 Taxpayers in First Congressional
District Alone Will Benefit from One Year AMT Fix
(October 25, 2007 –
Washington, D.C.) Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) today pledged to protect
tens of thousands of Nevadans from being hit with the federal Alternative
Minimum Tax (AMT). As a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee,
Berkley is helping to craft a package that will prevent the AMT from impacting
large numbers of Nevada taxpayers, including many who will be hit for the first
time this year unless Congress acts.
“As a member of the
powerful House Ways and Means Committee, I will be working to pass legislation
that protects Nevada families from the AMT, leaving them more money for
necessities like housing, food and transportation. The AMT was never meant to
apply to these working families and that is why I am working to help craft a tax
relief package which will eliminate this liability for one year. I also support
ending the AMT so we can give millions of Americans, including the families of
the Las Vegas Valley, permanent relief from this tax burden,” said Berkley.
Failing to act before the
end of 2007 would leave more than 30,000 taxpayers in Berkley’s First
Congressional District facing the AMT, a ten fold increase from 2006.
“If we do not act this
year, 30,000 residents of my Congressional District alone will be hit with the
AMT – ten times the number who paid the tax last year. The only way to prevent
the AMT from ensnaring these taxpayers for the first time is to get something
passed before year’s end, so time is of the essence” said Berkley.
In addition to eliminating
AMT liability, Berkley is also seeking to extend important tax credits that
benefit families and small businesses such as the state sales tax deduction, R&D
tax credit and private mortgage insurance deduction.
Berkley Testifies in Support
of Legislation Transferring 80 Acres to City of Las Vegas for Nevada Cancer
Institute Campus
Congresswoman Shelley
Berkley (D-NV) today (October 23, 2007) testified before the House Natural
Resources Committee in support of legislation she authored that would transfer
land to the City of Las Vegas that will one day become home to a campus of the
Nevada Cancer Institute.
The bill (H.R. 1311),
introduced in the House by Berkley with the full support of Nevada's
Congressional delegation, transfers approximately 80 acres of federal land to
the City of Las Vegas for development and support of the new Cancer Institute
facility. The bill also includes provisions for commercial activities and flood
control functions on the parcel.
"This 80 acre site will one
day be transformed into an additional home for the Nevada Cancer Institute and
will be developed in a way that enhances NCI's mission and that benefits the
neighborhood where this parcel is located and the families of southern Nevada,"
said Berkley. "This plan is a win-win for everyone involved and will truly help
to advance the world-class cancer research being done by the non-profit Nevada
Cancer Institute. The bill also will create revenue from the sale of land for
commercial use that will go into the fund that pays for more parks and trails in
the Las Vegas Valley and helps to preserve open space and our natural treasures
like Lake Tahoe."
The Berkley bill transfers
ownership of the land from BLM to the City of Las Vegas, which plans to use the
site as a home for a non-profit cancer treatment facility, related commercial
projects, a cancer survivors' park, a flood control project, and a water pumping
facility.
Las Vegas City Councilman
Steve Wolfson, who represents Ward 2 where the land is located, expressed his
support for Berkley's bill this past May when the legislation was first
introduced.
"I would like to thank
everyone that has been working through this process to ensure that this land is
available for the Nevada Cancer Institute. We are pleased to provide a home in
Ward 2 for this life-saving care center," Wolfson said.
Berkley Joins with Music
Legends, Fellow Reps. in Call for Clean Energy Not More Nuke Power
Subsidies
Music Icons Bonnie Raitt,
Jackson Browne, and Graham Nash Headline Event; Deliver Petition with 120,000
Signatures from NukeFree.org
(October 23, 2007 –
Washington, D.C.) Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) today joined with U.S.
Reps. Ed Markey (D-MA) and John Hall (D-NY), music icons Bonnie Raitt, Jackson
Browne and Graham Nash, and leading environmental groups in calling for an end
to nuclear subsidies in energy legislation currently pending in Congress and for
greater investment in renewable energy resources.
The musicians,
environmental advocates and Members of Congress delivered a message in support
of the energy bill's provisions increasing the use of renewable energy, while
also expressing their opposition to expensive loan guarantees that would be used
to subsidize the building of the first new nuclear power plants in decades. A
petition signed by artists including R.E.M., Ben Harper, Maroon 5, Pearl Jam,
Patti Smith, Wynton Marsalis, Steve Earle, Natalie Maines and Emily Robinson of
the Dixie Chicks, Keb' Mo' and Don Henley, along with more than 120,000
Americans from across the nation, was presented at Tuesday's event.
In her remarks at the
event, Berkley highlighted the dangers of nuclear waste transportation and
storage and the need to replace nuclear power subsidies with programs that
support renewable energy development in Nevada and nationwide.
"Building more nuclear
power plants is not the answer to our nation's energy needs. There is nothing
safe or clean about an energy source that produces toxic high level radioactive
waste that will be dangerous for the next million years. There is still no
answer as to what we should do with this waste that does not involve burying it
90 minutes from my hometown of Las Vegas.
As a nation, we
should be investing in clean, renewable energy and I support ending the billions
of dollar in subsidies that will go to those who apply to build new nuclear
reactors.
The music legends
assembled here today are lending their voices to the call for an end to
radioactive pork for the nuclear industry. Their message is music to my ears.
As a nation, we must stop creating more nuclear waste and start investing in
power from the sun and wind, in the development of geothermal resources and in
increased energy efficiency.
More nuclear plants
will only create more nuclear waste, which in turn will only increase the danger
of transporting these deadly by-products across 43 states and the District of
Columbia to Nevada.
These shipments will
speed through communities that are home to 50 million Americans; traveling past
homes and hospitals and houses of worship. Decades of trains and trucks
carrying waste across the U.S., each shipment an accident waiting to happen or
potential terrorist target.
Yucca Mountain
is a failure. The price tag has ballooned to $80 billion and the project is
decades behind schedule. The proposed dump is riddled with scientific
uncertainty and the site is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Even with all these
dangers, the nuclear industry is still pushing to send all of its waste to
Nevada. And any new nuclear power plants now being discussed are relying on
Nevada to be home to their future waste. Meanwhile, the Bush administration is
pushing its plans to double the size of Yucca Mountain, doubling the danger to
50 million Americans, including the families of Nevada.
We need to say NO to
more nuclear subsidies, no to decades of waste shipments past homes, schools and
businesses and YES to clean, renewable energy that will help create true energy
independence."
