Lobbyist hunts for federal funds

Benjamin Grove

Sunday, Jan. 23, 2000 | 10:04 a.m.

Pieper's budget

Nevada lobbyist Mike Pieper's office budget for the current fiscal year:

WASHINGTON -- Mike Pieper says he's happy to be Nevada's new lobbyist despite critics in the state who want to shut his office down.

"I think this is the first time I have ever had a window office," the former Republican congressional staffer said, smiling. "I think this is the first time I've had my own office."

Pieper, 38, took over as the state's lobbyist in July and is preparing for another session of Congress, which returns Monday after a two-month break. Pieper's job is to keep track of Nevada issues.

This year he plans to uncover more federal money for the state. He'll continue a behind-the-scenes campaign in other state lobbyist offices to stress that Nevada doesn't want their nuclear waste.

Pieper also hopes to prove to critics that his office is not a drain on taxpayers.

"We will be more involved in issues on the Hill and in the executive branch that are going to impact the state financially," Pieper said. Later he adds, "I think we can be more efficient."

Several state lawmakers have targeted the Nevada lobbyist's office for years. The Assembly Democrats say the office is a mystery, its $252,500 budget is a waste. The Assembly Ways and Means committee last spring even tried to close the office by slicing it out of the state budget.

"I was elected in 1994, and the first time I saw the Nevada office I didn't know exactly what they did then," Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, said. "I didn't know what they did in 1995, in 1996, in 1997, in 1998. I still don't know what they do."

But newly elected Gov. Kenny Guinn supported the office, and lawmakers in May agreed to fund it.

Guinn, who had fired Pieper's predecessor, Leo Penne, gave the new hire strict marching orders: uncover new federal grant money for Nevada.

Guinn, who chats sporadically with Nevada's four members of Congress, considers Pieper his key point man in Washington.

"We want to make sure we are not missing a beat," Guinn said in a telephone interview from Carson City. "You have to be there. You can't do that from here."

Penne had been the state's only lobbyist since the Nevada Legislature created the office in 1985 and sometimes drew fire.

This year Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, demanded to know if Penne was just a "greeter" for state politicians and Nevada business representatives visiting Washington.

"This office had been used to host legislators who came to Washington, and I don't think that was a responsible and correct way to use taxpayer dollars," Giunchigliani said.

She said she was not going to evaluate Pieper yet, but she plans to re-evaluate his position at budget time next year.

"I will still argue that even if it is only a few thousand dollars that we not be duplicating services," she said.

Critics have said the state already belongs to organizations that monitor Congress, including the National Conference of State Legislatures, Council of State Governments, Uniform Law Commissioners and the American Legislative Exchange Council.

Nevada paid the four organizations $164,929 in dues this year. The state also belongs to the National Governors' Association, rated the 12th most influential lobbying group in Washington by Fortune Magazine.

Critics add that Nevada also has several dozen lobbyists -- from the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Reno and from Clark County, for example -- working the halls of Congress.

"To some that seems like duplicate service," Goldwater said. "We have four representatives in Congress and not only are they there, they have staff. You look at it and what Nevadan is served by this office? It seems like wasteful government."

Pieper said he deals with 40 to 50 lobbyists from Nevada or from companies with Nevada interests.

"But none of them are looking out for Nevada (as a whole)," Pieper said.

Above all, Pieper said his most important job is "to make sure the Nevada state government's priorities are being heard and represented here in Washington. My job is to represent the state government's priorities, the priorities the state Legislature set, the priorities that the governor set."

He added that the job of Congress, including Nevada members, "is to run the federal government, in the big picture. Our focus is Nevada. We have our little blinders on."

In his job, Pieper follows another overriding principle: "We want as much decision-making authority at the state level as possible," he said.

Pieper said Penne focused much of his attention on promoting economic development in Nevada. Pieper plans to focus more on uncovering federal money for programs ranging from education to welfare. Nevada receives hundreds of millions in federal money, including $302 million in Medicaid alone. Medicaid is the largest federal program in Nevada.

Pieper's two-room office suite is a few blocks from the Capitol, in the Hall of States building, a den of state lobbyists. Pieper spends much of his time meeting with the 29 other state lobbyists who keep an office in Washington.

Among the Western states that do not are, Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Wyoming.

Recently the state lobbyists have been trying to hammer out a common position on how states could collect taxes on Internet sales.

"There's a real debate going on here among the states, and those states that don't have offices are really missing out," Pieper said. "(Nevada) is being very careful about not precluding our ability to collect taxes."

In his first six months, Pieper counts two significant victories. Pieper said he helped arrange for four governors to sign a letter outlining concerns about a proposed plan to bury nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The letter was sent to Senate leaders as an official letter from the National Governors' Association.

"We took a little heat for doing that," Pieper said. "A lot of other governors were not supportive of that (letter)."

Pieper said he also played a key role in landing about $204 million in federal highway money for Nevada.

Nevada Transportation Director Tom Stephens agreed. He said Pieper is "showing results" by closely monitoring Congress as it weighs multimillion-dollar Nevada roadway projects.

"Congressional delegates have a multitude of things on their plates," Stephens said. "They look to us for expertise about transportation. Mike is a part of that. He's kind of our eyes and ears in Washington."

Stephens said Pieper more than earns his $95,000 salary in the amount of federal road money he helps the state win. Stephens said politics is a complicated game, and Nevada needs more than just its congressional.

"It's not a one-way street to Washington," he said.

Pieper, born in Minnesota and raised in Montana, was the chief-of-staff for Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, R-Nev., for 10 years until she left Congress in 1996. He was chief-of-staff for Rep. Rick Hill, R-Mont., until 1997.

Vucanovich said Pieper knows Nevada better than Penne did and that he has a long list of state contacts. She praised his work ethic.

"... He'd always be there in the office, long, long hours, always willing to put in whatever it took," Vucanovich said.

Pieper came to the Nevada office fresh from a stint with Washington-based Aristotle Publishing, a political software company. He has a part-time helper and plans to hire a full-time assistant soon.

Pieper said he is eager to prove the value of his job. He plans to send a weekly e-mail update to state officials and lawmakers, outlining his goals and workload.

He hopes his accomplishments will speak for themselves.

Guinn said he planned to re-evaluate the office this year. In the meantime, Guinn wants to make the office accountable to lawmakers who authorize Pieper's paycheck.

"It's a matter of us letting them know what the office is doing," Guinn said, "so they don't have to guess."

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