January '10 Nevada Government—U.S. Senator Harry Reid Column

Reid Calls For Meeting With Hud Secretary Donovan To Discuss Denial Of Foreclosure Funds For Southern Nevada

Letter to Donovan requests additional resources to fight foreclosures

January 14, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today sent a letter to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Shaun Donovan, expressing his disappointment in HUD’s decision to deny much needed foreclosure assistance funds to Southern Nevada. Reid also requested a meeting with Secretary Donovan to explore ways to bring additional resources to the state. A copy of Reid’s letter to Donovan is included below.

January 14, 2010

The Honorable Shaun Donovan
Secretary
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 17th Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20410

Dear Secretary Donovan:

I am writing today to express my deep disappointment that southern Nevada was not awarded any funds through round two of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program, in spite of the fact Clark County has one of the highest foreclosure rates of any metropolitan area in the country. During your visit to Las Vegas last summer, you witnessed firsthand the economic and, indeed, physical trauma brought to my state by the foreclosure crisis. Families’ homes have been wrested away, usually leaving their finances and savings a shambles; blight has crept into countless neighborhoods; and all Nevadans have seen their home values plummet dramatically. Southern Nevada is desperate for help.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) was designed to help communities in southern Nevada by removing foreclosed homes from the market and thereby preventing and curtailing attendant deterioration—both in home values and appearance—to other homes in the neighborhood. Indeed, several local governments in southern Nevada received grants through the first round of funding for this purpose, and the Housing Authority of the City of Reno was awarded funds in round two of NSP. While I recognize and agree that all taxpayer-provided funds need to be sufficiently stewarded to prevent misuse and fraud, it remains difficult to understand how the parameters governing this program would deny any applicant from southern Nevada given the severity of the foreclosure crisis there.

I would like to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss a briefing between your staff and the denied applicant to review the application (as you have suggested you could and would accommodate), explore ways for the applicant to cure their application if possible, and, if assistance to southern Nevada is deemed unavailable through NSP, discuss other ways your department could provide desperately needed resources to alleviate the foreclosure crisis in my state. I would also like to re-visit with you Nevada’s need for a field office to allow HUD to more quickly respond to the pressing needs of Nevadans during this difficult time.

I look forward to your response and appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

HARRY REID
United States Senator
Nevada

Reid Statement On The Denial Of Southern Nevada’s Request For Foreclosure Assistance

January 14, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today made the following statement after learning that Southern Nevada’s request for economic recovery funds to provide foreclosure assistance was denied.

“I am extremely disappointed to learn that southern Nevada will not receive funds through round two of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, a program that was designed to assist the areas of the country in most need. Secretary Donovan was in Las Vegas last summer and saw first-hand how serious the situation is. With the highest foreclosure rate and today’s news that bankruptcies increased by nearly 60 percent last year, it’s clear Nevadans need help and it’s time for HUD to step up.

“HUD has indicated that the applicants in southern Nevada did not meet eligibility requirements but the agency needs to explain why. And, given the severity of the foreclosure crisis in southern Nevada, HUD needs to work with the state to provide needed resources to confront it.

“I will be sending a letter to Secretary Donovan asking him to meet with me to discuss this issue further. I also want to hear an explanation from the agencies in southern Nevada that received $60 million dollars from the first round of Neighborhood Stabilization funds about why, according to press reports, tens of millions of dollars have been left on the table. It would be a travesty if that alleged inaction cost our state badly-needed federal funding.”

Reid Remarks To
Geothermal Energy Association’s Finance Forum

January 14, 2010 – Washington, DC – Nevada Senator Harry Reid made the following remarks today at the Geothermal Energy Association Finance Forum in New York City. Below are Senator Reid’s remarks as prepared for delivery:

“I want to thank Karl Gawell and all of you who are responsible for putting together this vital forum. Karl cut his teeth working for the late Senator Paul Wellstone, a great leader in his own right, a great champion of the environment, and a great friend who I miss to this day.

“We have all we need to make substantial progress down the road toward energy independence—a path that will put Americans back to work and lead our economy back to prosperity.

“Harnessing geothermal energy and turning it into green jobs can strengthen our national security, protect our environment and help our economy bloom once again. The work done so diligently by your companies is planting the seeds of sustainable growth. And that’s why making smart investments in that growth is so critical to our recovery.

“But the future of clean power is a classic test of willpower. We have millions of megawatts of renewable energy potential just waiting to be developed. We have millions of hardworking Americans just waiting to fill good-paying, green-collar jobs—jobs right here in America, jobs that can never be outsourced.

“The only question is whether we will create the right investment environment to make it a reality.

“Despite the downturn in other parts our economy, clean-energy jobs have been among its bright spots. Geothermal power production went up last year, and I’m confident that trend will continue in this new year.

“Nevada already has about 450 megawatts of conventional geothermal power in production. In the next three to five years—with the right mix of incentives and policy—my state alone could add 64 new projects that would bring that number up to nearly 2,500 megawatts. When you take into account the rest of the West, that number could easily double. That’s a lot of clean power. That’s a lot of jobs.

“Our success so far has been aided, in large part, by the economic recovery plan we passed almost exactly one year ago—as well as the landmark energy bill we passed in 2007 and the extension of important tax incentives.

“The recovery plan—what many call the stimulus—set aside an unprecedented $67 billion investment in clean energy research and development. $400 million of that was specifically dedicated to geothermal energy research and development. And by the end of next year, as many as 5 million homes in America could be powered by renewable energy.

“Things will only go up from there. The statistical arm of the Department of Energy—the Energy Information Agency—projects that geothermal generation will increase by 10 percent between next year and 2013. We shouldn’t take that for granted: The agency noted that absent the recovery act, there would have been zero growth—geothermal production would have completely stalled—until at least 2021, more than a decade from now.

“All told, the investments from the recovery plan will create more than 250,000 jobs—and additional, smart investments could bring that number to half a million. That would put us well on our way to meeting the goal of doubling our nation’s renewable energy output—including solar, wind and geothermal—in just the next three years.

“But I know more has to be done to create the long-term certainty that this important industry needs. If we’re going to address our combined economic, environmental and energy security challenges, we can’t stop now.

“I’ve never believed government to be the answer to all our problems. But I do think that in this case, government must at the very least create the right conditions for businesses to invest in renewable energy. It’s also important that those conditions include support for local communities and workers in the resource development process.

“We all know that geothermal projects take a long time to develop—from the drilling and exploration to the generation of the energy itself, to its transmission into our homes and businesses. So we must get moving.

“There are several areas ripe for improvement:

First, we must adequately and consistently fund federal research and development to support rapid exploitation of all types of geothermal resources—from drilling technology to resource characterization to integration with other energy resources. That includes opening up access to federal lands and supporting policies that help speed the development of geothermal energy there. Secretary Salazar is already doing a commendable job in this regard.

Second, we must make it easier for more businesses to produce and invest in geothermal power. That means extending and expanding tax credits, and a better-funded DOE loan guarantee program that works better for both developers and investors.

Third, we know that the same renewable resources aren’t available everywhere across our vast country. That’s why we must improve the way we transmit that energy from where it is produced to where it is consumed. I’m leading two efforts right now to do just that:

One is a job-creating energy transmission bill I wrote to help develop clean energy in the remote areas where it is most readily available and send it to the major cities around the country where it is most needed.

The other is a tentative agreement I announced earlier this week in Las Vegas along with the Western Area Power Administration, NV Energy and LS Power. We have a plan to build a new transmission project that will share energy between the northern and southern ends of my state. That will help bring thousands of megawatts of renewable power to market and create many new jobs in the process.

Fourth, Congress must enact an aggressive national renewable electricity standard that will save consumers billions of dollars on their energy bills. We tried to do this in our energy legislation two years ago, but I’m sorry to say some put their political priorities ahead of this national need.

Fifth, we must more quickly wean ourselves off of oil by electrifying our cars, trucks and trains. We can't afford to continue importing 21 million barrels of oil per day. That really hurts our national security. So we really need to reduce our oil consumption with clean and renewable power.

Finally—and perhaps most importantly—Congress needs to send the market a clear signal on the costs of global warming pollution to drive far greater investments into geothermal and every other form of renewable energy and energy efficiency.

“We have to rely on markets for innovation and significant investments. We need the markets on our side. We know they generally encourage much more efficiency than any regulations can enforce. To paraphrase my friend John Doerr at Kleiner-Perkins, more money moves through private capital markets in one day than the federal government spends in one year.

“As you know, the House has passed a comprehensive clean energy and climate bill that does many of these things. I support addressing each of these issues in the Senate’s version, and I expect that to happen this spring.

“We have a lot on our plate. We have to finish reforming health insurance and Wall Street, and also must help bring Americans out of unemployment. But we are not so busy that we can’t find the time to address comprehensive energy and climate legislation.

“Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman have taken a lead in trying to craft a framework that would get more than 60 votes. We will need at least that many for two reasons: One, because any bill that seeks to rein in global warming pollution will be fought very hard by the same companies that profit most heavily from polluting. And two, because the rules of the Senate make it easy for a determined minority to stand in the way of all the good ideas you’re hearing at this forum.

“For example, next week Senator Murkowski of Alaska may offer an amendment—to a completely unrelated bill, it should be noted—that would stop the EPA from protecting Americans from global warming pollution. It’s a highly political move, and a highly hazardous one to our health and the environment.

“If this Senator succeeds, it could keep Congress from working constructively in a bipartisan manner to pass clean energy legislation this year. That’s why I will work hard to defeat this misguided amendment.

“I hope that doesn’t come to that. It would be an embarrassment for the United States to fall any further behind other countries, competitors of ours in the global economy whose governments strongly support their own renewable energy companies.

“America finds itself today staring up at countries like China that are moving far ahead of us in developing a clean energy economy. As others accelerate ahead of us, the choice we face is whether we will lead or lag. I say: Let’s lead.

“To succeed, we need two critical ingredients to come together: the political will and the financial investment. America is home to bountiful and clean renewable resources—but our own commitment to achieving energy independence may be the most important renewable resource we have.

“If we can bring both to bear—if we find the will within us to unlock the immense potential that lies beneath us—geothermal energy can supply a quarter to a half of the nation’s power in the next few decades.

“In my role as Majority Leader, I am committed to making the federal government a better partner, one that can help this industry continue to know the great success it has enjoyed over the last few years. In my role as a Senator from Nevada—a state I like to call the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy—I am committed to realizing geothermal’s full potential.

“And though turning around the effects of years of recklessness might be the most difficult issue we tackle, taking on the clean-energy challenge also may be the most important policy we will ever pass. And we cannot afford to wait any longer to act.”

Reid Tours Terminal 3 At Mccarran Airport

New terminal will put Nevadans back to work
and improve security for travelers
January 12, 2010 – Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today toured Terminal 3 at McCarran International Airport with Rosemary Vassiliadis, the Deputy Director of Aviation for Clark County. In addition to helping accommodate the millions of people who travel to and from Las Vegas each year, Terminal 3 is being constructed with the most modern, built-in security features to help ensure the safety of all who pass through the airport.

Reid included an exception for refinancing bonds in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that allowed McCarran to take advantage of a tax exemption, allowing work at the airport to continue and saving as many as 2,000 jobs. Reid’s prepared remarks are included below.

“As the home of the entertainment capital of the world and one of the greatest tourist destinations on Earth, travel is the fuel that makes Nevada’s economic engine run.

“The state-of-the-art terminal going up right behind us will make it run even better.

“T3 will welcome millions to Las Vegas from all over the state, all across country and all around the world. It will be their gateway to our city’s hotels, restaurants and businesses. It will bring families together, push companies and industries forward, and show visitors the best of what Nevada and the West have to offer.

“It will also do much more than that: It will do as much for those of us in Nevada as it will for those who will come to visit us here.

“That’s because one of the best things this new terminal represents is new jobs. A project of this scale is already putting Nevadans back to work—it employs nearly 2,000 workers right now—and it will continue to do so well into the future.

“Today those jobs are going to Nevada’s construction workers, contractors and engineers. Tomorrow they will go to Nevada’s businesses and travel professionals.

“All of their hard work will ease congestion in this busy airport and will increase McCarran’s capacity to 53 million passengers a year. But we’re not just helping millions of passengers get from one place to another—we’re helping them get there more safely.

“Passengers will be screened through two separate security checkpoints on two floors. Their bags will be screened with 16 explosive-detection systems.

“Especially in light of recent threats, we know we need smarter security measures that protect travelers but don’t delay them from getting to their flight. This first-class facility does both: it will keep travelers safe without slowing them down.

“With 1,000 flights coming into and going out of Las Vegas each day, this airport connects Nevadans with more than 100 cities in America and abroad. When I see the progress being made on this beautiful new terminal, we can also envision how it will connect Nevadans with good-paying jobs to go to every morning.

“T3 is one of the many ways we are working to help our economy recover. It will mean a lot to the frequent flyer and the casual traveler alike. It will mean a lot to the families and businesses who depend on Nevada being open for business. And for that worthy goal, this terminal is just the beginning.”

Reid Announces Nearly $6 Million
For Renewable Energy Jobs

January 8, 2010 – Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today announced nearly $6 million for the creation of renewable energy jobs in Nevada. Amonix, Inc., the manufacturer of high efficiency solar cells, was awarded a competitive tax credit as a part of the economic recovery package to manufacture and test low-cost solar cells using inexpensive plastic lenses that concentrate sunlight for higher efficiency solar energy generation.

“Investing in clean energy jobs is a vital part of diversifying Nevada’s economy,” said Reid. “This project will innovate solar energy technology to put our natural resources to work and create jobs that get Nevadans back to work.”

“We’re pleased and honored to have received an allocation under the tax credit program,” said Brian Robertson CEO of Amonix. “It is a meaningful program for driving job growth by the federal government which will have a positive impact in Nevada and Arizona.”

Reid Hails Dedication Of
New Silver Rider/Laughlin Transit Facility

January 8, 2010 – Washington, DC – Nevada Senator Harry Reid was in Laughlin on Friday to briefly tour, and give remarks at the dedication of, the new Silver Rider/Laughlin Transit Facility. Senator Reid was instrumental in the construction of the facility, securing $1 million to complete it.

Senator Reid was joined by Jacob Snow, General Manager for the Regional Transpiration Commission of Southern Nevada and Deb Dauenhauer, Executive Director of the Southern Nevada Transit Coalition, who thanked Senator Reid for his longstanding support of Nevada’s rural communities, like Laughlin.

“Traveling safely and efficiently in Nevada is about jobs, it’s about family, and it’s about peace of mind,” Reid said. “This new facility will make a real difference in the lives of Nevadans as we continue working to put our economy back on track. It is a privilege to have been in a position to help make a facility like this possible.”