Nevada fares well in spending-bill funds

Benjamin Grove

Friday, Oct. 1, 1999 | 11:09 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton signed an energy and water bill Thursday establishing a $352.5 million budget for Department of Energy projects at Yucca Mountain and earmarking $29 million for flood abatement in Las Vegas.

The Army Corps of Engineers will use the $29 million to continue flood control along the Flamingo and Tropicana washes.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was "very pleased" with Nevada's cut of the spending bill that will fund projects worth $21 billion nationwide.

"As an appropriator, my job is to secure commitments which will fund those programs that are critical to our communities," Reid, ranking member on the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations subcommittee, said in a statement.

The bill earmarked $17 million for other Nevada projects, including $1.4 million for the Bureau of Reclamation and UNLV to conduct a water quality study of Lake Mead; $500,000 for Las Vegas wetland restoration to benefit fish and wildlife, and $1.5 million for biological and environmental research at UNLV.

In other Capitol Hill developments, a joint Senate-House committee on Thursday approved a $51 billion transportation spending bill. About $184 million of that is slated for Nevada highway projects. Another $2.5 million is earmarked for Clark County bus facilities; $2.8 million for "smart signs" that warn motorists about traffic tie-ups, and $2.25 million for a magnetic levitation (maglev) train project.

The California-Nevada Super Speed Train Commission, which has applied for other federal grants, has proposed a 42-mile high-speed maglev train route between Las Vegas and Primm that might become a $6.8 billion, 272-mile route linking Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif.

"In Nevada our roads, highways and airports are a business lifeline and an important part of the quality of life," Reid said in a statement.

The full House was expected to vote on the transportation bill today. After full Senate approval, the bill heads to Clinton's desk for signature.

One provision missing from the transportation bill is a measure that would require the Department of Transportation to study the issue of slapping stricter fuel economy regulations on car makers. Sen. Richard Bryan, a longtime advocate of stricter regulations, has long battled to persuade the Senate to pass the measure. But the Senate has declined in the face of strong opposition from auto makers.

Bryan believes the Department of Transportation should at least study whether it's time to strengthen fuel standards, especially given the proliferation of gas-guzzling sport utility vehicles. He hopes Clinton will veto the transportation spending bill over the fuel standards issue. That could force members of Congress to insert the fuel standards amendment in order to get their state highway money.

Congress for several weeks has been pushing to pass 13 spending bills that keep government running.

One of them, the agriculture appropriations bill, contains a provision designed to keep milk prices in Las Vegas stable. The overall bill creates a new nationwide milk marketing system that could dramatically affect milk prices in different regions of the country.

But a provision introduced by Bryan and Reid will keep Southern Nevada out of the new milk order. The Nevada State Dairy Commission will regulate the price of milk.

The agriculture bill was approved by a joint House-Senate committee on Thursday and the full Senate and House likely will likely approve it before sending it to Clinton.