Nevadans get inside track for tickets to Senate proceedings

Mark D. Preston

Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 | 10:15 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada's relatively small population and powerful U.S. Senate delegation has increased the odds for residents to score a seat to the trial of the century.

President Clinton's impeachment trial has become the hottest ticket in Washington as people from across the country search for passes to the historic proceedings. But unless one is a family member or have the right connections to an influential lawmaker or are willing to brave long lines, chances of seeing the trial in person are slim.

That is, unless you live in Nevada.

The Senate gallery has 596 seats, but only 50 of them are being made available for public use. And for those awarded one of those coveted spots, chances are the wait in line will far exceed the 15 to 20 minutes each person will be allowed to view the proceedings. The plan is to rotate visitors through the public gallery to give as many people as possible a chance to see the trial, a Senate Sergeant at Arms spokeswoman said.

The bulk of the seats have been divided up between the 100 senators, each of whom will receive one permanent family pass and three daily tickets. The remaining seats have been divided up between the White House, House of Representatives, Supreme Court and diplomatic corps.

Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid and Sen. Richard Bryan have 11 daily tickets between them, about twice as many as most senators received. Reid was allotted eight daily tickets by virtue of his position in the Democratic leadership and Bryan was awarded the standard three daily tickets.

Staff members for the two senators pledged Wednesday to try to fill as many ticket requests as possible from Nevadans visiting the nation's capital during the trial.

"We have eight tickets and our priority is for the Nevadans visiting town," Jennifer Backus, Reid's spokeswoman, said. "And as far as I know we have been able to meet all the requests so far."

"When constituents call, and we have tickets, we are making them available," Jean Neal, Bryan's chief of staff, said.

Both offices said they had not yet had an overwhelming demand for the tickets, but they expect it to heat up beginning today.

The availability of such tickets is almost unheard of on Capitol Hill. Aides to senators from other states said they have been compiling lists of constituent ticket requests, and they admitted it is unlikely they will be able to fill all of them. And some senators have already decided to withhold their three daily tickets from the public, opting instead to use them for staff members.

For more information about acquiring tickets, call Reid's office at 202-224-3542 or Bryan's office at 202-224-6244.