August '10 Nevada Government—U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley Column

Berkley: Nevada To Receive $34 Million In Foreclosure Aid Under “Hardest Hit Fund”

*** Assistance Program Helps Unemployed Americans Stay in Their Homes ***

August 11, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today welcomed the announcement that Nevada will receive $34 million in new assistance to help families in foreclosure and the unemployed who are facing the potential loss of a home. The funding for Nevada is part of a nationwide initiative that includes $3 billion in funding for two targeted foreclosure-prevention programs.

“These new funds will help more jobless Nevadans who are facing foreclosure remain in their homes and I welcome this urgently needed assistance. Nevada faces a twin crisis -- record foreclosures and double digit unemployment -- and this $34 million in aid is targeted at helping families who have been hit hardest by the economic downturn,” said Berkley. “When a family loses their home, and Mom and Dad can’t find work, our whole community suffers and we must do all we can to help our fellow Nevadans who are caught in this moment of crisis.”

Utilizing the existing Housing Finance Agency (HFA) “Hardest Hit Fund,” the U.S. Department of the Treasury will make $2 billion of additional assistance available for HFA programs for homeowners struggling to make their mortgage payments due to unemployment. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will also launch the $1 billion “Emergency Homeowners Loan Program” to provide assistance for up to 24 months to homeowners who are at risk of foreclosure and have experienced a substantial reduction in income due to involuntary unemployment, underemployment, or a medical condition. The initiatives represent a combined $3 billion investment targeted at struggling borrowers in Nevada and across the country.

The “Hardest Hit Fund” allows states to use funding for targeted foreclosure prevention programs. States like Nevada that have already benefited from previously announced assistance under the “Hardest Hit Fund” may use these additional resources to support programs previously approved by Treasury or they may opt to implement a new program.

New Berkley Bill Extends Unemployment Help To Nevadans Who Have Exhausted Benefits

“Tier Five” Legislation Would Aid Americans Who Reach 99 Week Max in States with Elevated Unemployment Rates

August 10, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Calling it a helping hand for Nevadans who remain without work, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today introduced new legislation that would provide additional assistance for workers who have exhausted their unemployment insurance and are living in states like Nevada with elevated unemployment rates.

“Nevada remains at the top of the list when it comes to our unemployment rate and families are exhausting their existing benefits with no hope of finding work,” said Berkley. “Those who reach the existing maximum, which can be up to 99 weeks, are being left without any means to provide for themselves or their families and they need our help desperately. I see the concern in the eyes of the Nevadans I speak with when I am home, I hear it in the voices of those who call and I read about this need, and the families affected, in the letters and e-mails my office receives on a near daily basis. These are our neighbors, our friends, our former co-workers, who are becoming desperate and they truly need this additional helping hand at a time when Nevada’s unemployment rate tops 14 percent.”

Berkley’s legislation, The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, would create an additional tier of benefits for those who have exhausted their unemployment insurance. The bill would provide 20 weeks of additional unemployment insurance for Nevada and other states with an unemployment rate of 10% or higher. This tier will benefit individuals who have already exhausted all of their benefits, as well as those who are finding themselves near the end of their final tier without the prospect of employment.

“My legislation targets Nevada and others states where unemployment remains above 10 percent and would provide an additional 20 weeks of benefits for those who have reached the 99 week maximum. Providing this assistance will provide a bridge for those living in Las Vegas and other communities where the economy has yet to recover and jobs are as scarce as raindrops in the Nevada desert. These are not spoiled Americans; these are men and women who want to work, and I reject those who would question help for a parent so they can put food in the belly of a hungry child or to keep a worker who lost a job from also losing a home.”

The legislation will be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, on which Berkley serves as a member. The bill’s cosponsors include Reps. McDermott (WA), Frank (MA), Lewis (GA), Schakowsky (IL) Richardson (CA), Hare (IL), Watson (CA), Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI), Kildee (MI), Doyle (PA), Linda Sanchez (CA), and Filner (CA).

New VA Community Outpatient Clinic Will Provide Convenient Healthcare Option For Veterans In Northeast Las Vegas Valley

August 10, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has signed a lease on a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC), which will serve the healthcare needs of local veterans living in the Northeast section of the Las Vegas Valley. The new clinic will be located at the intersection of East Charleston and Arden.

“Community based outpatient clinics give our veterans access to primary and specialty care, mental health services and diagnostics at facilities that are close to where they live. The VA has now signed a lease on a new clinic location in the Northeast part of the Valley at Charleston and Arden that will open in 2012. Southern Nevada will see a total of four outpatient clinics that will operate along with the Valley’s first VA hospital, outpatient clinic and long-term care facility. Together with the new VA medical complex, these outpatient clinics will ensure that our veterans receive the care they need,” said Berkley.

Berkley fought to secure all necessary funding for the medical complex, located at North Pecos and the 215 Beltway, and wrote the legislation that transferred the 150 acre site to the VA at no cost to taxpayers. Earlier this year, Berkley and top Southern Nevada VA officials escorted one dozen Nevada veterans on a tour of the new VA medical complex. Berkley also meets regularly with VA officials in Nevada and Washington to ensure the resources are in place for completion of the medical complex and for the Valley’s CBOC locations. Construction on the VA Medical center is currently employing hundreds of southern Nevada workers and will employ as many as one thousand permanent workers when the facility is fully operational.

Berkley: State Aid Bill Will Fund 1,400 Nevada Education Jobs

*** Safeguards Healthcare for Medicaid Families, Disabled Americans ***

August 10, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today hailed passage of an emergency state aid package that will fund more than 1,400 education jobs in Nevada and safeguard care for Medicaid families and disabled Americans nationwide. The House passed H.R. 1586, The Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act, on a vote of 247 to 161.

“This is a jobs bill at a time when Nevada is battling record unemployment and the cost has been paid in full by closing tax loopholes that incentivize moving U.S. jobs overseas. The funding included in this package will protect 1,400 education jobs in Nevada, so we can make sure that teachers are in the classroom and students are receiving the educational opportunities they deserve. More than 550 of these education jobs will be in my Congressional District alone, so this is tremendously important to our community and the State,” said Berkley.

The legislation provides $10 billion in funding for more than 160,000 teacher jobs and provides $16.1 billion in health assistance to Nevada and other states. The resources will help reduce shortfalls and prevent layoffs at a time when state, county and local budgets are being stretched thin.

“We are making a vital investment in Medicaid that will protect healthcare for low-income Las Vegas Valley residents, seniors and the disabled,” said Berkley.

The bill will save or create more than 300,000 jobs nationwide and prevent the layoff of first responders by helping states fill budget gaps. More than half of the jobs will be in the private sector, including workers who contract for or supply services to state and local governments.

“Nevada needs this help at a time when the State’s budget is already in a deep hole and I am proud to support this legislation that will also help Las Vegas and communities across Nevada with public safety and education,” said Berkley. “Included in our bill are resources that will prevent the layoff of police, firefighters and first responders who risk their lives keeping Southern Nevadans and tens-of-millions of Las Vegas visitors safe around the clock.”

The legislation closes a loophole that encourages corporations to ship American jobs overseas, and according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), will reduce the deficit by $1.4 billion over 10 years.

Berkley: $950,000 In Grant Funding Will Help Reunite Homeless Southern Nevada Parents And Children

*** HUD Vouchers Will Provide Housing Assistance to Bring Families Together Again Under One Roof ***

August 9, 2010 – Las Vegas, NV – Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (NV) today announced that Nevada will receive more than $950,000 in federal funding under the Family Unification Program (FUP) which reunites homeless children and their parents and provides assistance with affordable housing. The grant funding will be administered by the City of Las Vegas Housing Authority.

“When a family becomes homeless, they are often separated, and the goal of this program is to find housing so that kids and their parents can be together once again,” said Berkley. “This funding will provide 100 vouchers that will be used to help reunite homeless families in Southern Nevada and to provide assistance with affordable housing so they can stay together. These are local moms and dads and their children who have been forced to live apart because they lack permanent housing and this grant will help to bring these families back together again in a place they can call home.”

The FUP program provides vouchers to support partnerships between public housing authorities and local child welfare agencies. FUP provides the child welfare system with access to Section 8 vouchers to prevent family separation due to homelessness. Eligible families include those who are in imminent danger of losing their children to foster care primarily due to housing problems and families who are unable to regain custody of their children primarily due to housing problems. In addition, 20 percent of these vouchers will provide stable housing for young adults who are aging out of the foster care system, preventing them from becoming homelessness. FUP is administered through local level partnerships between public housing authorities and public child welfare agencies.

Recipient: Housing Authority of the City of Las Vegas
Total Funding: $954,504