April '08 Nevada Government—Shelley Berkley Column

As Nevada Unemployment Rate Tops 5.8%

Berkley Seeks Extension of Jobless Benefits

Package Will Aid Valley Residents Searching for Jobs;

No Cost to Silver State

Pointing to new figures for March showing that Nevada’s 5.8 percent unemployment rate is the highest it has been in six years, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley is urging quick passage of a package that will extend benefits an additional 13 weeks for qualified Valley residents in search of a job.

“These new unemployment numbers are the latest indication that Nevada, like the rest of the nation, is in the grips of an economic slowdown. That is why it’s essential to pass this federally funded extension of unemployment benefits which provide an important safety net. This unemployment assistance package will help thousands of Nevadans cover their living expenses until the situation improves and they can return to work,” said Berkley.

As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Berkley is using her power to push for passage of an extra 13 weeks of unemployment compensation for those who remain out of work in the current economic slowdown. As a cosponsor of H.R. 5749, The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, Berkley noted that the need for an extension of these benefits comes at a time when Nevada’s unemployment rate for March hit a high of 5.8 percent, well above the national average. The bill also contains a provision that would provide additional assistance for states with unemployment rates topping six percent. That provision would provide a total of 52 weeks of benefits for eligible Americans.

“While Nevada remains a land of economic opportunity, our state’s unemployment rate is now above the national average and more of our friends and neighbors are in need of this assistance than ever before. That is the reason we must come together now to pass this critical extension and to get these benefits to southern Nevadans who are in need of this added help,” said Berkley.

Because funding for the extension is provided at the federal level, the package would not require Nevada to find additional dollars at a time when the state is already faced with a record budget deficit. The legislation passed the Ways and Means Committee last week and Berkley is hopeful the bill will soon come before the House for a vote.

“This federally funded extension of unemployment benefits will also protect Nevada’s coffers at a time when our state is already struggling with a record budget deficit and painful cuts in services,” said Berkley.

Without this legislation, a projected 3 to 3.5 million Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits without finding work.

Berkley Package Seeks To Extend

Unemployment Help For Nevadans

Will Aid Valley Residents Searching for Jobs with 13 More Weeks of Assistance; Full Federal Funding Will Cover Cost to Silver State

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today (April 16, 2008) applauded passage in the House Ways and Means Committee of a package that will extend unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks for qualified Valley residents in search of work. With Nevada’s unemployment rate now above the national average, Berkley is using her power on the Ways and Means Committee to deliver additional help to those looking for work and struggling to make ends meet in the current economic slowdown.

“As Nevada and the nation struggle in the grips of an economic slowdown, it essential that Congress pass this federally funded extension of unemployment benefits. This unemployment assistance package will help thousands of Nevadans cover their living expenses until the situation improves and they can return to work,” said Berkley, who cosponsored the package passed this afternoon.

During discussion on H.R. 5749, The Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, Berkley noted that the need for an extension of these benefits comes at a time when Nevada’s unemployment rate has reached 5.5 percent, a full percentage point increase over the same time last year, and half-a-percent higher than the current national average. The bill also contains a provision that would provide additional assistance for states with unemployment rates topping six percent. That provision would provide a total of 52 weeks of benefits for eligible Americans.

Without this legislation, a projected 3 to 3.5 million Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits without finding work.

House Approves Legislation to Ensure Continued

Access to Federal Student Loans

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today (April 17, 2008) praised the passage of legislation designed to ensure that troubles in the U.S. financial markets do not keep students and families from accessing federal student loans. The Ensuring Continued Access to Federal Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715), which carries no new cost for taxpayers, was passed by a vote of 383-27.

“Students and parents should not have to live in fear that upheaval in our financial markets will limit access to student loans,” said Berkley. “Affordable student loans provide millions of Americans with the chance to attend college when they might not otherwise have the financial resources necessary and that is why we must protect this system. These adjustments will add stability to the student loan market and improve access to these funds and in turn, that will enable more Americans to earn a college degree,” said Berkley, a former Nevada University Regent.

The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (H.R. 5715) would provide new protections, in addition to those that already exist under current law, to ensure that families continue to have timely, uninterrupted access to federal college loans in the event that the stress in the credit markets leads a significant number of lenders to substantially reduce their activity in the federally guaranteed student loan program.

H.R. 5715 would:

Reduce borrowers’ reliance on costlier private college loans by increasing the annual loan limits on federal college loans by $2,000 for undergraduate students, and by increasing the aggregate (the total loan limit over the course of a student’s education) loan limits to $31,000 for dependent undergraduates and $57,500 for independent undergraduates;
Give parent borrowers more time to begin paying off their federal PLUS loans by providing them with the option to defer repayment until up to six months after their children leave school – giving families more flexibility in hard economic times.
Help struggling homeowners pay for college by making sure that short-term delinquencies in mortgage payments don’t prohibit otherwise eligible parents from being able to borrow parent PLUS loans. Under current law, parents with an adverse credit history are ineligible to receive a parent PLUS loan, except under extenuating circumstances. The legislation would temporarily classify as an extenuating circumstance delinquencies on home mortgages of up to 180 days, therefore making it possible for parents who are being strained by the current housing market to secure loans for their children;
Clarify that existing law gives the U.S. Education Secretary the authority to advance federal funds to guaranty agencies in the event that they do not have sufficient capital to originate new loans, and allow guaranty agencies to carry out the functions of lender of last resort on a school-wide basis. Under the Higher Education Act, these guaranty agencies are obligated to serve as a nationwide network of lenders of last resort if requested to do so by the Education Secretary; and
Give the U.S. Education Secretary the temporary authority to purchase loans from lenders in the federal guaranteed loan program, ensuring that lenders continue to have access to capital to originate new loans. The Education Department would be authorized to purchase loans only if doing so would not result in a net cost for the federal government.

Berkley Notified Final Construction Contracts to Be Signed For Valley’s First Full-Service VA Medical Complex

Hospital, Outpatient Clinic, Long Term Care Facility

Will Serve 200,000 Plus So. Nevada Veterans

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today (April 1, 2008) announced that the final contracts for southern Nevada’s first full-service VA medical center will be signed in the coming weeks and construction on the hospital, outpatient clinic and long term care facility is scheduled to be completed in 2010. Berkley has been meeting regularly with VA officials and the project’s architects to ensure all resources are in place for completion of the medical complex, which is now set to open its doors in early 2011.

“As a member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, this project remains my number one priority and I was pleased to learn today that the VA will soon be signing the final contracts for construction of our new state-of-the-art medical complex,” said Berkley. “Work will be completed on the trio of facilities in the next two years and patients should start receiving treatment in 2011. America’s continued deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, coupled with an already aging veterans’ population, have increased the need for this VA medical complex and the demand for these services in the Valley only continues to grow. Last year I was able to finally secure the full $600 million needed to complete the outpatient clinic, hospital and long term care facility and this announcement is a further sign of real progress toward making this medical complex a reality.”

The announcement about the final contracts was made in a letter sent Monday to Berkley by VA Secretary Dr. James Peake. A copy of the document is available upon request.

In addition to her work in securing authorization for $600 million in funding for the VA medical center, Congresswoman Berkley also wrote and passed legislation that transferred to the VA at no cost, nearly 150 acres of federal land in southern Nevada to house the new complex.