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

Nevada’s High-Speed Railroad

As you know, I have fought throughout my career for a high-speed passenger rail line between Southern California and Las Vegas. With one quarter of our visitors coming from Southern California, we should do all we can to encourage them to visit and stimulate our economy. That’s why I was so disappointed with Governor Gibbons for not applying for any of the $8 billion in stimulus funds available for the Maglev project, and then trying to point the finger at others when the state didn’t get any money.

We learned last night during the State of the Union that Nevada would not be among the states receiving money. While I am not happy with this, I am not surprised either: only states, not Senators, can apply for this funding. Governor Gibbons failed to do so, and thereby failed yet again to return some of Nevadans’ federal tax dollars to the state. While Nevada didn’t receive this funding, the $2.25 million bill California received will help build a line that will provide an important connecting point in Palmdale, CA, for Nevada’s Desert Xpress project which is expected to break ground this year. This Recovery Act funding will be a boon for Nevada’s high-speed rail which will connect to the California north-south line giving Nevadans fast access to places like San Diego and San Francisco, while giving Californians access to Nevada’s top tourist destinations.

I am sorry to see the governor playing partisan games with this issue. If he wants to look for someone to blame about Maglev’s lack of funding, he should take a look in the mirror. In the meantime, I am focused on doing everything within my power to improve our economy and get Nevadans back to work.

HARRY REID
United States Senator for Nevada

Reid Meets With Best Buddies And Nevada Special Olympics

Best Buddies and Nevada Special Olympics provides opportunities for young people with disabilities to interact and participate in activities

January 27, 2010 – Washington D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid met with participants and representatives of Best Buddies and Nevada Special Olympics. They discussed the reauthorization of the Eunice Shriver Special Olympics and Best Buddies Act, which supports programs that provide health services, education and global program initiatives for people with disabilities.

Reid led the sponsorship of legislation to authorize Special Olympics programs that support individuals with disabilities. He also helped bring Best Buddies’ mentoring programs to middle schools and high schools in Nevada. Best Buddies pairs youth with disabilities with a mentor “Buddy” that spends invaluable time with them, creating a caring bond.

“Best Buddies and Nevada Special Olympics provide needed resources and support for children and adults with disabilities,” said Reid. “These programs provide life-changing experience for the individuals with disabilities, as well as the families, mentors, and volunteers.”

Reid meets with Best Buddies and Nevada Special Olympics to discuss legislation that would benefit children and adults with disabilities.

The Reid Report January 27, 2010

Dear Fellow Nevadan,

Tonight, as the President delivers his first State of the Union Address, families and businesses across our state will watch anxiously for signs that this year will be better than last. I have shared with the President my strong desire to redouble our efforts to improve the economy because I know how badly our state is suffering. After spending time visiting with Nevada’s homeowners over the holidays, I met last week with the Federal Reserve Chairman and the Housing Secretary and insisted that the government exert more pressure on banks to re-write mortgages for underwater homeowners. After hearing the stories of Nevada’s struggling workers and businesses, I asked the Senate to consider legislation that will create jobs, extend benefits to unemployed workers and extend tax cuts to small businesses.

I invited Nevada’s clean energy leaders to be my guests at tonight’s Address, and this afternoon I asked for their thoughts on improving Nevada’s economy. We all know how important it is to put Nevadans back to work, but it is also important to diversify our state’s economy. If clean energy production can become a major part of our economy alongside mining and tourism, we can prevent the terrible spikes in unemployment and foreclosures that have hurt so many Nevadans.

As I look forward to President Obama’s message tonight, I think of the tough decisions we made last year to prevent a much more serious economic disaster. I know that’s cold comfort for the families and businesses still struggling across our state, I strongly believe those steps were necessary.

We immediately cut taxes for the middle class and small businesses. But there’s more to do.
We started to thaw our frozen credit markets so Americans can get the loans they need to buy a car, send a child to college or start a new business. But there’s more to do.
We’re helping responsible homeowners keep their homes, helped more homeowners keep the equity in those homes, and helped more families buy their first home. But there’s more to do.
We extended unemployment insurance for millions and extended COBRA subsidies so those still struggling to find work can feed their families, fuel our economy, and afford decent medical care. But there’s more to do.
We protected consumers by cracking down on abusive credit card companies, cracking down on mortgage scams and rooting out corporate fraud. But there’s more to do.
We supported the travel and tourism industries, which will create tens of thousands of jobs and cut our deficit by hundreds of millions of dollars. But there’s more to do.

Today, we continue down the road to recovery. Much more work lies ahead, but we won’t stop until we get this economy back on track. Thank you for reading this update. Please visit my website to learn more.

HARRY REID
United States Senator for Nevada

Reid Hosts Roundtable With
Clean Energy Leaders From Nevada

Event previewing State of the Union
focused on job creation by developing clean energy

January 27, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid hosted a roundtable today for clean energy leaders and advocates from Nevada who Reid invited to Washington as his guests for the State of the Union address. The roundtable previewed President Obama’s speech and emphasized Reid’s commitment to creating jobs and making Nevada a leader in the renewable energy industry. The group discussed in detail the importance of investing in clean energy, in the interest of creating jobs and diversifying Nevada’s economy.

Joining Reid for the discussion were C. Robert Pedraza of Altair Nanotechnologies, Richard Licata of the American Institute of Architects, Robert Buntjer of the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee of Southern Nevada, Rose McKinney-James for Energy Works Consulting, Marybel Batjer for Harrah’s Entertainment, and Jaime Cruz for Nevada Workforce Connections.

“Nevada is blessed with an abundance of clean energy resources such as the sun, the wind and the heat from the earth. There is no good reason we can’t tap into those resources to put Nevadans back to work, diversify our economy and make Nevada energy independent. These are some of the goals I hope to hear the President lay out for the entire nation tonight,” Reid said. “Nevada has the potential to lead the nation in the development of clean, renewable energy. I will continue working with the Nevadans I met with today and anyone willing to come to the table in good faith to help us achieve this goal”

Nevada Senator Reid meets with Nevada clean energy leaders and advocates to discuss plans for job-creating clean energy projects during a roundtable event previewing the State of the Union Address.

The Reid Report January 22, 2010

Dear Fellow Nevadan,

Visiting with Nevadans, as I did over the past few weeks, it’s impossible not to be motivated to redouble our efforts to improve the economy. It’s impossible to ignore their grief over growing foreclosures, the uncertainty of unemployment, or the frustration of fighting insurance companies for your family’s health. And it’s just as evident that the people of Nevada and the nation need us to work toward sensible solutions, rather than drown once again in the partisan bickering that consumed much of 2009.

This week, I spoke with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan about what is needed to help Nevada’s struggling families and businesses. I had a very direct conversation with Secretary Donovan about our housing crisis, and fought hard to make three arguments:

First, HUD agreed to provide full-time staff members in Nevada to assist struggling homeowners. Second, we need to be more forceful in encouraging banks to work with homeowners and reduce the principal owed on home mortgages. This helps the many thousands of Nevada homeowners who owe the bank more than their home is worth. Third, I told him how badly southern Nevada needs the Neighborhood Stabilization funding it failed to receive last week. It is simply unfair to punish at-risk homeowners because of the failure of city government and local agencies to meet their responsibilities.

My meeting with Chairman Bernanke focused on the importance of encouraging banks to lend to small businesses. I told him that we need to put pressure on these banks, which tax payers supported last year when they were struggling. Now, it’s the banks’ turn to help struggling families and businesses in Nevada and across the country. Families need banks to get serious about mortgage modifications, and businesses need banks to extend credit to meet payroll and other expenses.

It is a privilege to serve as Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, a position that enables me to take Nevada’s concerns directly to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve and the Housing Secretary. Thank you for reading this update. Please visit my website to learn more.

HARRY REID
United States Senator for Nevada