Congress settles in for final session

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2000 | 11:19 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Congress in its final five weeks could make another run at banning Internet gambling and approve a plan for a second Las Vegas airport.

Congress returned today after taking August off for political conventions and campaigning. Members face a long list of unresolved issues but a short calendar: Target adjournment for the year is Oct. 6.

After that, Democrats and Republicans in numerous close races all over the nation want to hit the campaign trail clutching a list of accomplishments from this year's session.

"What you are going to see in September is the setting of the political stage for the elections this fall," Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said. "There's a lot of jockeying. This is the first time since 1952 that both houses of Congress and the presidency are really in play. The margins are very thin."

Among the Nevada-related issues that could see some action:

"I'm very enthusiastic about that -- I think we'll get that done," Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said.

"I think we have a good shot at it this year," Reid said.

Reid and other Democratic leaders today huddled with President Clinton at the White House to discuss budget priorities.

"We sure need it," Reid said. "Montana is basically burning down and South Dakota is having the worst fires it's ever had. We have problems all over the West."

It's unclear how much money Nevada might get. The state still has not received about $17 million it needed for restoration after fires last year. More than 500,000 acres have burned this year, and Nevada now needs $20 million to $25 million, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said.

"That number could rise," Gibbons said.

Among the Nevada-related legislation that is not likely to surface again this year are a Yucca Mountain bill that sets a timeline for nuclear waste shipments to Nevada and a bill that bans gambling on college sports.

The Yucca bill failed in the Senate by a narrow margin to get enough votes to ensure an override of a presidential veto. The legislation's strongest advocate, Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, has said the bill was dead until a new president occupies the White House.

The betting ban affects only Nevada, because the state is the only one that allows wagers on college sports. The bill seems popular among many senators, and insiders say it likely will pass -- next year.

"I'd say it looks as if it would be difficult to squeeze it into the calendar as the Senate gets set to go home and campaign," American Gaming Association lobbyist Wally Chalmers said.

The Senate also likely will not vote on Nevada Judge Linda Riegle, a federal bench nominee, Reid said. The Senate's record of confirming judges has generated controversy, including allegations of racism and political blockades of some judges.

Still, three of four Nevada nominees were confirmed this year: Johnnie Rawlinson is now a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Kent Dawson and Roger Hunt are now U.S. District Court judges for Nevada.

Reid said Riegle, a federal bankruptcy judge in Las Vegas, will be confirmed next year as a U.S. district judge.

Congress also is set to tackle a number of national issues before members flee Washington until next year:

Important money for Nevada is wrapped in a number of the bills, including multimillion-dollar budgets for federal operations in Nevada such as Nellis Air Force Base and the Bureau of Land Management; $205 million in federal highway money; and up to $413 million for the federal study and development of Yucca Mountain, the proposed burial site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas for the nation's nuclear waste.

"Of equal importance to what is being done in these final weeks is what is not being done," Berkley said, predicting, "Unfortunately we'll have no patients bill of rights."

Insiders agree it is doubtful the two houses and party leaders will strike a deal. Others say political pressure could break the impasse.

"If there is a breakthrough in public perception that the Republicans are holding that up -- which they are -- that may force them to let that go," Bryan said.

"The Republicans are really beginning to panic. Their arrogance is disappearing," said Reid, who added Democratic political momentum would play in the party's favor in the final days of Congress. "I think we'll see a softening of Republican positions on the patients bill of rights and prescription drugs."

But despite the political rhetoric, it's unclear how much progress Congress could make on the complicated topic in just a few weeks.

"The issue is one that, if we put our minds to it, we can get it accomplished," Gibbons, Nevada's lone Republican in Congress, said. "Hopefully we can put aside some of the partisanship that seems to prevail this time of year."