Reid Lauds Passage Of Bipartisan Amendment That Brings Much Needed Aid To Rural Nevadans

Sponsors bipartisan amendment to allow crucial services from doctors and religious organizations to continue for those in need

Nevada Senator Harry Reid applauded the passage of a bipartisan amendment he cosponsored that focuses on ensuring the continued availability of services provided by doctors and religious institutions. Senate Amendment 1428, authored by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and cosponsored by Reid, has tremendous support in the religious community, as well as on both sides of the political aisle in Congress.

“The passage of this bipartisan amendment, which is important to Nevada and the nation, is government at its best” Reid said. “This bill will benefit Nevada by continuing to send doctors where they are needed most, allowing people of faith to act in the best intentions of their respective religions by providing charitable and other services, and ending the penalty on individuals who lose their spouses in war or through other tragic circumstances.”

What Amendment 1428 Does

1)     Reauthorizes for three years the “Conrad 30”, J-1 visa waiver program that allows foreign doctors, who are already in the United States, and who have been trained in the United States, to extend their stay in the country if they agree to practice in rural communities or other medically underserved areas.  This program is crucial to bringing medical care to many residents of rural Nevada.  The program is currently set to expire in September.

2)     Reauthorizes for three years the Religious Worker Visa program, which permits religious workers (monks, nuns, and other religious workers affiliated with a bona fide, nonprofit religious organization in the United States) to enter into the United States to perform pastoral and social services on behalf of religious institutions.   These workers perform a variety of tasks that assist the individual denomination but also the greater community.  They work in religious schools, design and build temples, staff soup kitchens, homeless shelters and community centers, and perform numerous other critical religious services.  The program is currently set to expire in September.

3)     Cures the “widow penalty” in current immigration law, so that individuals married less than two years are not faced with deportation due to the untimely death of a U.S. citizen spouse. While the number of cases affected by this 2-year marriage threshold is small, several of them include widows of US armed service-members killed in the line of duty and individuals widowed by tragic accidents.

Reid Urges Passage Of Hate Crimes Legislation

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the following remarks on the Senate floor to urge the passage of Hate Crimes Amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Bill:

 “Luis Ramirez picked strawberries and cherries to support his three children and fiancée.  When he wasn’t working in the fields, he worked a second job in a local factory in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania – a coal town of 5,000 people.

 “As Luis was walking home one Saturday night, six high-schoolers jumped him in a park.  They taunted and screamed racial slurs at Luis, who came to this small town in the middle of Pennsylvania from a small town in the middle of Mexico.

“The boys didn’t stop there. They punched him and kicked him.  When Luis’ friend pleaded with the teenagers to stop, one yelled back: “Tell your Mexican friends to get out of town, or you’ll be lying next to him.”

 “The boys stomped on Luis so hard that an imprint of the necklace he was wearing was embedded into his chest.  They beat him so badly and so brutally that he never regained consciousness.

 “On July 14, 2008 – two days after the beating and exactly one year ago yesterday – Luis Ramirez died. He was 25 years old.

“Hate crimes embody a unique brand of evil.

 “A violent act may physically hurt just a single victim and cause grief for loved ones.  But hate crimes do more.  They distress entire communities, entire groups of people, and our entire country.

 “Senator Kennedy has for many years so courageously fought for the legislation Sen. Leahy and I offered as an amendment today to the Defense Authorization bill.  Senator Kennedy has correctly called hate crimes a form of domestic terrorism, and it is our obligation to protect Americans from such terror. 

 “The hate crimes bill will help bring justice to those who intentionally choose their victims based on race, color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity or disability.

 “Hate crimes are rampant and their numbers are rising.  The Department of Justice estimates that hundreds happen every day.

 “But right now, state and local governments are on their own when it comes to prosecuting even the most violent crimes, and conducting the most extensive and expensive investigations.

 “State and local governments will always come first.  But if those governments are unwilling or unable to prosecute hate crimes – and if the Justice Department believes that may mean justice will not be served – this law will let the federal authorities lend a hand to state and local authorities.

 “This bill is named after Matthew Shepard, who was a 21-year-old college student in 1998 when he was tortured and killed for being gay.  When Wyoming police pursued justice in his murder, they needed resources they didn’t have.

 “The police couldn’t call on federal law enforcement for help, and their expensive investigation devastated their small police department.  Five officers were laid off as a direct result of how much that case cost.  When this bill becomes law, that will never happen again.

 “We must not be afraid to call these crimes what they are.  The American people know this is the right thing to do.  Hundreds of legal, law enforcement, civil rights and human rights groups know this is the right thing to do.  The United States Senate knows this is the right thing to do. 

“This bill simply recognizes that there is a difference between assaulting someone to steal his money, or doing so because he is gay, or disabled, or Latino or Muslim.

“That there is a difference between setting fire to an office building, and setting fire to a church, or a synagogue or a mosque.

 “That there is a difference – as we learned so tragically just last month – between shooting a security guard, and shooting him because he works at the Holocaust Museum.

 “It is a shame that we often do not discuss our responsibility to do something about horrific hate crimes until after another one has been committed.  It means that we always seem to act too late.

 “But that does not mean we shouldn’t act now.  It means, in fact, the opposite – it means we must act before another one of our sons or daughters or friends or partners is attacked or killed merely because of who they are.

 “We must act in the name of Thomas Lahey, who was beaten unconscious in Las Vegas for being gay.

 “We must act in the name of Jammie Ingle, who was beaten and bludgeoned to death in Laughlin, Nevada, for the same reason.

 “We must act in the name of Tony Montgomery, who was shot and killed in Reno because he was African American.

 “We must act in the name of those who worship at Temple Emanu El in Reno, a synagogue that has twice been firebombed by skinheads.

 “We must act in the name of Luis Ramirez, who died one year ago this week.

 “And we must act in the name of Matthew Shepard, whose family has fought tirelessly in the 10 years since his brutal murder so that others may know justice.

 “If their country does not stand up for them – if we do not stand up for what is right – who will?”

Affordable Health Care & more

I recently heard from a young woman from Nevada named Alysia. She was born with a kidney disease – one that she has bravely fought her entire life. But lately, things have gotten worse. Like far too many Americans in recent months, Alysia lost her job.  And as far too many Nevadans have learned lately, when you lose your job, your health care often disappears along with it.

Alysia did what any of us would do in that situation.  She tried to get independent coverage so that she can afford the surgery she needs to get better.  Her doctors say surgery is imperative, but insurance companies say it’s impossible.  They refuse to cover her, calling her kidney disease a “preexisting condition.” Everyone else calls this a tragedy.

I hear from people like Alysia every day, and they reinforce my belief that we urgently need to reform our health care system. Today, 1 in every 6 dollars spent in our economy is spent on health care. By 2040, it will be 1 in every 3 dollars. That cost is unsustainable for our families, our businesses and our country as a whole.

I will not give up the fight to lower costs for consumers, ensure that every American has access to quality, affordable health care, and allow people to choose their own doctors, hospitals and health plans. I believe in protecting existing coverage when it is good, improving it when it is not, and guaranteeing health care for the millions who have none.  

Also this week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is considering President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Sonya Sotomayor. I have been very impressed with her testimony so far – she has answered more questions and with greater detail than any nominee I can recall. Her 17 year record as a judge, not to mention her impressive background from the Bronx to Princeton, gives me confidence that she is the right person for this job.

On August 10, I will cohost the second annual National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas with former Vice President Al Gore, energy executive T. Boone Pickens and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Nevada is the perfect place to hold this conversation because I believe it can be the national leader in clean energy production. Click the link below to learn more about this summit.