Reid says partisanship in impeachment proceedings can be overcome

Brendan Riley

Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999 | 9:02 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Harry Reid, No. 2 Democrat in the U.S. Senate, says he's confident that Congress will get over the partisanship seen in the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton.

Reid, D-Nev., said Monday he thinks the five weeks that senators spent listening to legal arguments prior to Clinton's acquittal Friday will mean more results and less politicking in the Senate.

"Friendships were developed, coalitions were formed," Reid said. "I think we have a great opportunity to do some real bipartisan work."

"There were commitments made during that trial that we're going to work more closely together," Reid said following a speech to the Nevada Legislature.

"The fact that Newt Gingrich is now gone is a step forward for this country," he added. "He was not interested in policy. He was interested in politics. We couldn't get anything done. And I think we're going to see a new era."

"I think the impeachment trial has done as much to create a bipartisan atmosphere as anything we could do."

"Really, most of the ill will was with the House managers," Reid said. "We were upset that they even brought the case."

U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., tended to agree with Reid's comments on more bipartisanship, saying that in the House he's "absolutely optimistic that both sides of the aisle are going to work together" following impeachment.

"I've moved on. I have no animosity," added Gibbons. "I didn't undertake that with any anger, with any bitterness. I did the job that the Constitution required me to do."

In his speech to state lawmakers and in his follow-up news conference, Reid also:

- Announced a Senate proposal to let federal land in northern Nevada be sold at auction, with proceeds to be used to help improve rural areas of the state. He said Gibbons would introduce a matching plan in the House.

- Urged the Nevada legislators to pass bills that will require insurance companies to cover contraceptive devices. Reid also said he'll continue efforts to pass a federal bill of rights for medical patients.

- Announced a push to preserve Walker Lake in northern Nevada, which is shrinking because too much water from the Walker River, its main source, is siphoned off for agricultural interests.

- Said there are still enough votes -barely - in the Senate to block federal efforts to store high-level nuclear waste in Nevada. Reid said the big battle is over interim storage of such wastes.

- Announced a field hearing this spring in Las Vegas on "livable community" proposals to control growth and ensure proper regional planning. He added Vice President Al Gore will come to Las Vegas in May to talk about urban sprawl.

- Said his chief education initiatives include a school construction measure that could bring more than $70 million a year to Nevada.