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The Reid Report July 30, 2010
Dear Fellow Nevadan,
Since the 1982 Nuclear Waste Policy Act, I have fought attempts by pro-Yucca Presidents and Congresses to force Yucca Mountain on Nevadans. Keeping his promise to me and to all Nevadans, President Obama cut Yucca funding to an all time low in FY2010 and completely cut funding for this flawed project in FY2011. Following new attempts to revive federal funding for the dump in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, I want to reassure Nevadans that as long as I continue to serve Nevada as the Senate Majority Leader, there will be no money made available for Yucca Mountain. I was pleased that both attempts to resurrect Yucca were rejected. The time is long overdue for America to find a new approach for solving the nation’s nuclear waste problem. You can learn more about what I’ve done to keep Nevada from becoming the nation’s nuclear waste dumping ground here.
Nevada remains ground zero for the housing crisis, which is why my Las Vegas office will be hosting a home foreclosure prevention workshop at the Lied Memorial Boys and Girls Club on Saturday, July 31. Struggling homeowners will have the opportunity to sit down with a HUD-approved housing counselor and their lender to discuss the options that may be available to help avoid foreclosure. To get more information about this workshop, please call my office at the numbers listed below, or visit my website.
This week I am pleased to announce that I was able to secure $13.7 million for our home state in the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill. The funding in this bill will go a long way toward creating jobs and improving education, job training, and access to health care in Nevada. Included in this is a new statewide school construction grant program to help local school districts with the costs of school construction, modernization, or energy efficiency improvements. With Nevada near the bottom of the nation in per-pupil spending and drop-out rates at a catastrophic level, our schools need all the help I can give them. While it’s clear the state has a lot of work to do to fund education properly, I will continue doing all I can to help these students get the education they deserve. Please visit my education web page to learn more about what I’ve done for education in Nevada.
I was also able to introduce a clean energy jobs bill this week that will lower energy and water bills for homeowners and create at least 150,000 jobs through the Home Star energy and water efficient home retrofit program alone. Families in Nevada and across America want us to create dependable jobs that cannot be outsourced, lessen our dependence on oil, protect our environment, and hold BP accountable for the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This legislation will accomplish those goals through bipartisan ideas. You can read more about what I’ve done for clean energy in Nevada here, and view a statement about the clean energy bill here.
Finally, I helped the Senate pass important emergency supplemental appropriations that will provide funding for our troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as address the critical needs resulting from several natural disasters, and respond to the economic environmental impact of the devastating Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It will also replenish FEMA’s disaster relief fund, which ensures that the agency will be able to respond in the event of another catastrophe. The bill also includes three provisions that directly benefit Nevada. The first restores revenues for Nevada counties from the development of geothermal energy on public lands. The second provides funding for the USDA’s Rural Housing Program to ensure access to affordable home financing in rural Nevada. The third extends the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act which improves outdoor recreational opportunities.
Sincerely,
HARRY REID
U.S. Senator for Nevada
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