Reid sees a new era in D.C.

Friday, May 25, 2001 | 10:51 a.m.

Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said this morning the power shift in the Senate will bring a new cooperative era to Washington.

"I'm convinced that it's going to set a new agenda for the country," said Reid, who brokered the historic deal that gave Democrats control of the Senate.

Reid, who will become majority whip, the second most powerful position in the Senate, is being credited with persuading Vermont Sen. James Jeffords to go independent and give the Democrats a 50-49 majority.

"We will now do more than talk about bipartisanship," Reid said. "We will be bipartisan. The president needs us, and we need him. As a result of that, we can do some good things."

Reid said a patient's bill of rights, prescription drug benefits and education will be high on the Democratic agenda in the Senate.

The senior member of the Nevada delegation said he planned to visit today with Jeffords, who stunned Washington by bolting from the Republican Party following two weeks of secret negotiations with Democrats.

"I feel great," Reid said. "But this is not a time for gloating. It's a time for being somber and reflecting and thinking about things we can do for the state and the country."

Reid soon will be the highest-ranking Nevadan ever.

"I got up to take my morning run, and my clothes were still there just like they were yesterday," he said. "But I do feel a little bit more responsibility."

In his new position, Reid will play a key role in determining which bills make it to the floor for a vote, and he will wield influence behind the scenes when deals are cut.

Casino industry lobbyists predicted his rise in power will lead to the demise of the NCAA's bill to ban betting on college sports in Nevada. The fight with the NCAA is the industry's top priority on Capitol Hill.

"Certainly, the chances of killing the bill have improved," said Wayne Mehl, Washington lobbyist for the Nevada Resort Association, the industry's political arm in Las Vegas. "Sen. Reid is going to be able to go at it even harder now."

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. had been cast in the forefront while the Republicans held the reins of power.

Ensign was given much credit for turning a recent Commerce Committee vote on the NCAA bill into a 10-10 tie.

After the vote, casino industry leaders were optimistic about their chances of derailing the measure on the floor.

That optimism has turned into elation, as the focus shifts to Reid in the fight.

"Sen. Reid will be a part of the leadership team that will determine when this bill comes up for debate on the floor, and he can have a significant impact on that," said former Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., who retired this year to go into private law practice.

Bryan, who lists the NRA as one of his clients, said Reid will be in a position to make it much harder for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who loses his chairmanship of the Commerce Committee, to push through the NCAA bill.

"The shadows are lengthening for McCain and his legislation," Bryan said.

Reid this morning was cautious about his ability to kill the bill.

But he added: "I certainly can slow things down very significantly."

Bryan said Reid's new-found influence also will be a plus for Nevada in the fight against making Yucca Mountain the nation's high-level nuclear waste dump.

Reid will take over the chairmanship of the appropriations subcommittee that controls the purse strings for the Yucca Mountain project.

"Our hand has been strengthened with Harry as majority whip," Bryan said. "But it does not mean we are home free on either of these two issues."

Reid's role in persuading Jeffords to defect has given him more leverage with his Democratic colleagues, many of whom now owe the Nevada senator for getting them a committee chairmanship, Bryan said.

"His colleagues are going to owe him big time," he added.

And that, Bryan said, will give Reid even more clout to protect the interests of Nevadans in Washington.

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