Congressional delegation offers mixed reviews for State of the Union

Friday, Jan. 28, 2000 | 9:46 a.m.

"For Nevada's seniors and those approaching retirement age, the president's address is great news," said Sen. Harry Reid. "He has challenged Congress to work with him to pay off the $5 trillion national debt by 2013 and use some of the surplus to extend the solvency of Medicare and Social Security."

Reid, Sen. Richard Bryan and Rep. Shelley Berkley, the delegation's three Democrats, said a decrease in taxes is not as important as using the surpluses generated by a booming economy to reduce the national debt.

"Both parties want tax cuts, and that augurs well for the potential of a tax cut," Bryan said. "But my fear is that we are going to lose this golden opportunity to further reduce the national debt."

The delegation's lone Republican, Rep. Jim Gibbons, said Congress could come up with plans that provided for both tax cuts and debt reduction.

"We have proven we can do both," Gibbons said. "This is the third consecutive year that we have a surplus. I am thrilled to death to hear the president talking about tax cuts, because working men and women want tax cuts."

Berkley said she could support a larger cut than what Clinton advocated but would not go as far as the Republican tax cut proposal of $792 billion, which the president vetoed last year.

"We need to protect Social Security, add prescription drug benefits to Medicare, make sure the elderly have health care," Berkley said. "And we need to pay down the national debt because that will help Americans more than a tax cut."

Reid said Clinton had outlined an ambitious vision for the future and "now Congress must roll up its sleeves to achieve that vision."

Gibbons said he was concerned about Clinton proposals regarding federal land.

"He talked about creating areas that are roadless and designating more national monuments," Gibbons said. "The federal government already controls about 90 percent of Nevada as it is. The people of Nevada would not approve taking more land."

Bryan and Reid also praised the president's appeal for regulations to protect privacy rights on the Internet.

"This is going to be a major issue in this session of Congress," said Bryan, who sponsored Internet privacy legislation last year.