Shalala stumps for Gore in Las Vegas, Gore daughter to campaign in Reno

Monday, Oct. 30, 2000 | 9:57 a.m.

Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala campaigned for Vice President Al Gore on Sunday in Las Vegas, and one of Gore's daughters will attend a rally Tuesday in Reno.

Kristin Gore, 23, will address the get-out-the-vote rally Tuesday morning at the University of Nevada, Reno. Details were still being arranged for her visit.

A comedy writer for the Fox network animated series "Futurama," she also plans to drop by the Reno Democratic Party campaign headquarters on Monday evening.

State party spokesman David Cherry said their visits show the importance the Gore campaign is placing on Nevada. The state's four electoral votes remain in the tossup category as the Nov. 7 election approaches.

"It's anybody's game at this point and we think we have a very good chance of winning Nevada," said Democratic Party spokesman David Cherry. "We think Nevadans are responding to Al Gore's message."

Speaking to more than 75 seniors at Plaza at Sun Mountain, Shalala used a dollar bill to make her point about Texas Gov. George W. Bush's proposed trillion-dollar Social Security privatization plan.

She handed the dollar to a senior, saying it represented the one trillion dollars out of the projected budget surplus that Bush promised to use for current Social Security benefits.

Shalala then took the dollar away and handed it to a woman in her 20s, saying Bush also has promised younger workers the same trillion dollars.

"George W. Bush can either cut benefits for current seniors on Social Security or he can break his pledge to young workers, but he cannot use the same trillion dollars to accomplish both goals," she said.

Shalala also told the crowd that only the poorest beneficiaries would receive subsidies for prescription drugs under the GOP proposal, leaving 95 percent of seniors without any assistance.

"People are confused about the differences (between prescription drug plans), but they need to remember that only the Democrats' proposal will cover every single person now eligible for Medicare," she said.

Shalala's stop comes after visits last week by vice presidential contenders Joe Lieberman in Las Vegas and Dick Cheney in Reno.

No other Nevada visits are planned by Gore or Bush. Gore's Sept. 18 Nevada visit was his second since mid-1999, compared with one for Bush.