The above article is the opinion of the author and not necessarily the opinion of Vegas Community Online, its editors/publishers, and/or other Vegas Community Online columnists. VCO respects the right of each author to express their opinion. If you have an opposing viewpoint or would like to send feedback on any article, please send email to feedback@vegascommunityonline.com; state the title of the article and your comments. VCO reserves the right to add any submissions to its feedback page.
Recovery Funds put Nevadans to Work
Sen. Harry
Reid announced $30 million in recovery funding for housing, clean energy, energy
efficiency and transportation in Nevada. These funds will help create jobs for
Nevadans. 
Reid lead the passage in the Senate of the economic recovery package,
which John Ensign opposed.
More than $10 million will go toward necessary improvements to public housing here. And, the Nevada Housing Division will receive another $3.7 million to weatherize and increase energy efficiency of homes and business, and train Nevadans to perform the work.
Fallon Naval Air Station will receive $9.1 million for geothermal energy development and Hawthorne Army Depot will get $3.1 million to test geothermal wells.
And $2 million in rehab work at Reno-Tahoe International Airport and $1 million in improvements to the runway at Boulder City Airport will also create jobs for Nevadans.
This $30 million is part of the $1.5 billion Reid secured for Nevada as part of the economic recovery package.
“The economic recovery package was designed to put people back to work, and that’s exactly what this money does in Nevada,” Reid said Thursday. “We’ll accomplish this while improving our public facilities and moving closer toward our clean energy future.”
Energy efficiency funds save Nevadans money, create jobs
In addition to the funding mentioned above, Reid announced this week that the state will get $32 million in energy efficiency funding that will create additional jobs while saving Nevadans money on their utility bills.
Reid secured the $32 million through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, which will save consumers money and put Nevadans to work inspecting buildings for energy inefficiency and performing retrofitting work to make them more efficient. The funding will also be used to develop and install renewable energy facilities at government buildings, and make transportation improvements like synchronizing traffic signals and creating bike lanes, pathways and pedestrian walkways.
The $32 million is part of the economic recovery package Reid worked hard to pass, which directs more than $1.5 billion to Nevada.
For more
information on how the money will be distributed,
click here.
Commission will find nuclear solutions
in a post-Yucca world
Sen. Reid
met Friday with Energy Secretary Steven Chu to discuss creation of a Blue Ribbon
Commission that will examine alternatives to the flawed Yucca Mountain Project
and explore new long-term options for managing the country’s nuclear waste.
Reid and Chu agreed that it would be faster to kill the proposed dump by putting
the Department of Energy in charge of establishing this commission, rather than
doing it legislatively.
After decades fighting the dangerous project, Reid is finally backed by an
energy secretary and president who agree that Yucca is not the answer to the
country’s nuclear waste problem.
“Secretary Chu and I had a productive meeting today and I appreciate his
commitment to a responsible strategy for dealing with the nation's nuclear waste
that does not include Yucca Mountain,” Reid said.
State Assembly votes to accept unemployment economic recovery funds
Today, the Nevada Assembly passed two measures that will allow the state to accept $286 million in funds from the federal economic recovery package to help increase and extend benefits for unemployed Nevadans.
One in 10 Nevadans is unemployed. Every $1 spent on unemployment benefits puts $2.15 back into the local economy, experts said during testimony on the legislation.
“The news last week that Nevada’s unemployment rate has doubled in the past year was a startling reminder that Nevada is one of the hardest hit states in the nation during this economic recession,” said Speaker Barbara Buckley, who introduced the measures. “Legislators said from the beginning that taking this federal money to help Nevada’s most vulnerable families is the right thing to do for the state. That’s why we are moving quickly to accept this money so we can provide benefits to more unemployed workers and extend the unemployment benefits for families whose benefits are about to run out."
Reid Works for Lower Taxes for Nevadans
Sen. Harry Reid introduced a bill that would bring long-term economic relief to Nevadans by making permanent an important federal tax deduction taken each year by more than 440,000 residents.
The bill would allow Nevadans to continue deducting sales taxes from their federal income tax return each year. The deduction is slated to expire at the end of the year.
The deduction was already successfully extended from its original expiration date of Dec. 31, 2005, but in today’s hard economic times Nevadans need this tax break more than ever.
“Every little bit helps when people are trying to stay in their homes and put food on the table for their families,” Reid said. “This sales tax deduction is vital to many Nevadans, especially because they cannot deduct a state income tax on their federal return like residents of many other states. Now is the time to make permanent this important tax break for all Nevadans.”
Reid also joined Pres. Barack Obama on Monday at the signing of the omnibus lands bill, which includes eight bills that benefit the state and will designate land and resources for important projects in both Northern and Southern Nevada.
Click here to find out more details about what the omnibus bill does for Southern Nevada.
