|
Titus Supports Bill to Put More Than |
|
180 Police Officers on the Streets in Nevada |
Would Add Nearly 70
Police Officers in the Third District
Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District
supported legislation approved by the House of Representatives yesterday that
will provide grants to put 187 police officers on the streets in Nevada. In her
district alone, H.R. 1139, the COPS Improvement Act, would provide funding for
69 new police officers.
“For
years the COPS program helped keep our streets safer and our communities
stronger,” Congresswoman Titus said. “This important legislation will create
jobs by putting police officers on the streets at a time when this tough
economic climate has forced police departments to tighten their budgets.”
The program will provide $1.25 billion in Community
Oriented Police Services hiring grants each year for the next five years that
will result in the hiring of 50,000 police officers across the country. The
legislation also authorizes $350 million a year for COPS technology grants and
$200 million a year for hiring community prosecutors.
The COPS program was created in 1994 under the Clinton
Administration and successfully led to the hiring of 117,000 additional police
officers while the crime rate dropped across the nation. According to a study
by the General Accounting Office, between 1998 and 2000, COPS hiring grants were
responsible for reducing crimes by about 200,000 to 225,000 crimes. In Fiscal
Year 2006 and 2007, funds for the COPS hiring grant program were completely
eliminated.
|
Titus Urges Geithner to Use TARP Funds
to Help Homeowners Who Are Underwater
Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District sent a letter to
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today urging him to use TARP funds
to create programs to help homeowners who owe more than 105 percent on
their home.
Below is the text
of the letter:
April 27, 2009
The Honorable Timothy Geithner
Secretary - Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Dear Secretary Geithner,
With all due respect, I would like to address a specific answer that you
gave during your recent testimony before the Troubled Asset Relief
Program (TARP) Congressional Oversight Panel. I appreciate the efforts
that the Treasury Department has made to increase transparency of the
TARP program and I encourage you to continue to release information
about the results of the program. I am also pleased that you indicated
funds that had been loaned could be returned to the Treasury soon.
I look forward to you reporting that all of these loans have been
repaid to the government.
I
am seriously concerned, however, about one specific response you gave to
a question from Chairwoman Elizabeth Warren. You were asked about
assistance programs for families whose mortgage value is more than 105%
of the current value of their home. You indicated that you were hopeful
that changes to the “Hope for Homeowners” program and new programs that
have recently been created would help these families. You also said that
these programs “are not designed to solve all problems” and were
developed to help people who “were responsible in debt they took on.”
Your brief answer to this question did not sufficiently address this
important issue. I am worried that you see this problem as minor and
that enough has been done to help homeowners with negative equity in
their homes.
As
you know, my district in Southern Nevada has been severely affected by
the current housing crisis. It is estimated that there were be 72,000
foreclosures in Nevada this year. In the third quarter of 2008, more
than 60,000 families were two or more payments behind on their mortgage,
compared with fewer than 8,000 in the third quarter of 2004. And it is
estimated that nearly 60 percent of homes in Las Vegas are in negative
equity.
Most families were “responsible in debt they took on” but have seen the
value of their house plummet as their income simultaneously abruptly
decreased. This crisis set in suddenly, as gaming and construction
projects laid off employees and housing prices crashed. Families were
not able to insulate themselves from the economic downturn.
I
write to ask you to consider using TARP funds, especially those that
will be soon returned to the Treasury, to create new, targeted programs
to help those families that are more than 105% “underwater.” Many
families in my district are not eligible for help under the “Making Home
Affordable” program but need assistance to stay in their homes. I
believe that keeping families in their homes will play a major role in
stabilizing and eventually ending the housing crisis, both in Southern
Nevada and throughout the country. In addition, I ask you to work with
your fellow Cabinet members to increase the scope of current assistance
programs for homeowners or create new programs to help families facing
the possibility of losing their homes.
Thank you for your
time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Dina Titus
Member of Congress
|
|
Titus and Heller Express
Concerns with Sloan Hills Mine Site
Congresswoman Dina Titus and Congressman Dean Heller (R-NV) sent a letter to the
Bureau of Land Management today expressing their concerns with the proposed
aggregate mine site near Sun City/Anthem in Clark County.
Below is
the text of the letter.
April 27,
2009
Amy
Leuders
Acting State
Director
Bureau of
Land Management Nevada State Office
P.O. Box 12000
Reno NV 89520
Dear Ms.
Leuders:
We are
writing to express our concern regarding the proposed Sloan Hills competitive
mineral material sale currently under consideration near Sun City/Anthem in
Clark County, Nevada. We understand the circumstances of this sale are unique,
and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is required to evaluate the merits of the
CEMEX/Service Rock lease due to the terms of arbitration agreement. While the
BLM prepares an environmental impact statement (EIS) to fulfill the requirements
of arbitration, we feel compelled to convey our deep concerns over the merits of
this project. Recognizing the importance of the mining industry in Nevada, we
are keenly aware of the requirements for a responsible mining operation and are
concerned that this particular location is not suited to a new aggregate mine.
As
mentioned, we fully understand the responsibility of the BLM to conduct
comprehensive environmental analysis of potential impacts on the natural and
human environment. As you undertake this analysis, we want to draw your
attention to the following items that are of concern to us.
The
communities most directly impacted by this project are home to many children and
elderly residents. Children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to
air-quality related respiratory difficulties. This aspect of the proposed
project must be considered very carefully. In addition to increased health
concerns caused by a deterioration in air quality, we are also concerned that
the addition of particulate matter from a new aggregate mine operating on a
continuous basis would result in further difficulties for Clark County to comply
with established air quality standards. Adding to the problems associated with
increased particulate in the air, an aggregate operation would also add an
additional burden to community infrastructure, resources, and possibly public
safety.
Not only
will large trucks be necessary to move aggregate from the mine through
residential neighborhoods, there is also the issue of water usage. Reports have
surfaced that the water usage per day could be in the range of 2.3 to 5 million
gallons. While the exact quantity of water proposed to be used is unknown, we
believe that we must use extreme caution when allocating precious water
resources in Southern Nevada. Any allocation of water resources must be done in
accordance with its highest and best use and we question whether it is
appropriate to commit to this project a significant amount of water during an
historic drought in Nevada’s most populated county.
We want to
assure you that we will be following this process closely to insure that our
constituents’ voices and concerns are heard and their needs prioritized. We
stand ready to assist you in any way possible in gathering the necessary
information from the concerned citizens we represent. We look forward to
working with you to insure that the concerns of all parties involved are heard
and considered in the environmental impact statement process.
Sincerely,
Dean Heller
Dina Titus
Member of Congress
Member of Congress
