Monday, May 18, 2009 | 12:06 p.m.
WASHINGTON -- Greetings, Early Liners, the start of a busy week both on Capitol Hill and in Carson City as the legislative countdown begins.
Lawmakers in Washington are pushing to finish several major bills before breaking Friday for the Memorial Day recess week (er, work period). Carson City has just days remaining to fill the state’s gaping budget hole.
Some observers, though, are already looking ahead to next week, when President Barack Obama visits Las Vegas for that much-touted fundraiser at Caesars for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Frank Fahrenkopf, president of the American Gaming Association, is among those hoping the president will also have a few kind words to say about tourist travel to Las Vegas – a clarification, if you will, of Obama’s earlier comments against taxpayer junkets to the city that ignited a firestorm over Sin City.
“I’m hopeful, and I know most of the folks in Nevada are hopeful, he’s going to say some nice things about travel and tourism and coming to Las Vegas,” Fahrenkopf told reporters during a conference call this afternoon.
Of course it wasn’t just the president’s comments earlier this year that sent some corporate conferences detouring around to Vegas.
Lawmakers, mostly Republicans, piled on.
You remember all that Vegas bashing as a way to shoot down the economic recovery plan. Nevada’s lawmakers scurried to stand up for their hometown. The damage was severe, and Fahrenkopf said the fallout hurt the city.
Just last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid testified before a Senate committee on tourism that “Nevada is open for business.” Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley took to the House floor again, to drum up business.
Fahrenkopf hopes Obama’s visit will be the final word.
“We’re hoping … the comments coming out of the administration will clarify that,” he said.
But that’s next week. This week, Congress hopes to finish up work on credit card reform as well as give final passage to Obama’s war spending request, which promises a robust debate on the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Carson hopes to find money somewhere to plug the budget hole. Tax plan, anyone?
That’s it for now. Check back later for all the political news in Nevada.
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