Reid switches focus to anti-terrorism spending

Benjamin Grove

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 | 10:35 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who has been leading a charge in Congress to create more than a half-million jobs, has pared back the plan and shifted his focus from new construction programs to anti-terrorism projects.

The Reid plan is no longer geared toward providing money for general construction projects nationwide that might have included the Strip monorail, Interstate 15 construction or a proposed high-speed train between Las Vegas and Anaheim, Calif.

But the new plan does contain money states could apply for to implement anti-terrorism measures such as food safety and airport security programs. Reid and other key Democrats are trying to negotiate a proposal Republican lawmakers will accept, aides said.

"This is not our original provision -- we thought that what we had before was good," Reid spokesman Nathan Naylor said. "But we're trying to go the extra mile to get something out of (Congress). We tried to take out anything we thought was contentious or debatable."

At issue is a broader debate in Congress about how to jumpstart the economy. In short, Republicans want corporate tax breaks; the Democrats support more limited individual tax cuts, spending to create jobs and extending unemployment and health benefits to laid-off workers.

Reid last month envisioned one piece of the stimulus package as a $30 billion plan for mostly rail, transit and highway construction projects, a few of which could benefit Nevada.

Reid later joined Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.V., who pitched a smaller package: $20 billion for transportation and water projects. The two lawmakers, mobilizing the nation's mayors to lobby on their behalf, said the legislation would create jobs as unemployment soars.

But GOP leaders have not embraced the plan.

So Reid and Byrd have trimmed their proposal back to something more politically feasible. This week, the plan re-emerged as a $15 billion proposal strictly geared toward anti-terrorism projects that are not earmarked for specific states and would not be perceived as "pork" for key lawmakers.

"Legislation is the art of compromise," Reid said earlier this month.

Along the way, Reid has dropped from his first proposal $2.2 billion that could have been used in part to further develop a futuristic proposal to construct a Las Vegas-to-Anaheim high-speed magnet-propelled train. Also gone: money that states could use for transit and transportation projects like the under-construction Strip monorail and widening of Interstate 15.

It's not yet clear how much Las Vegas could get of the new $15 billion pie -- if Congress embraces it as part of the larger stimulus legislation. States likely would apply for the money for the anti-terrorism programs.

According to Reid, the latest plan includes:

* $4 billion for bioterrorism prevention and food safety programs

* $2.1 billion for federal anti-terrorism law enforcement

* $2 billion for state and local antiterrorism law enforcement

*- $1.2 billion for mass transit security

* $1.1 billion for border security

* $1.1 billion for airport security

* $1 billion for federal computer security and upgrades

* $900 million for nuclear power plant security

* $800 million for Amtrak security

* $600 million for state and local fire-fighting programs through the Federal Emergency Management Agency

* $200 million for port, rail and ferry security