Senators serve food, unity

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2002 | 10:09 a.m.

Typically a press release from a senator is a solo act, but Nevada's two senators are changing that.

Whether you call them Harry Ensign or John Reid, Nevada's senators are together everywhere from joint press releases to tours of Nellis Air ForceBase.

On Monday, Sens. Harry Reid, a Democrat, and John Ensign, a Republican, once again put aside their party differences to serve food for troops and talk to military personnel.

"I think it's important that people see us acting as adults," said Reid, the Senate Majority Whip. "We can disagree on issues.

"People don't care about the cat fights," he added. "They want to see us working shoulder to shoulder."

On Monday that meant dishing up meatloaf with volunteers from Opportunity Village who serve 800,000 meals a year at Nellis' Mountain View Dining Facility.

Ensign, who said he now counts Reid as a "true friend," viewed Monday's events at Nellis with greater importance during the current war on terrorism.

After a briefing from the base commander, the senators got a chance to talk with soldiers about their views.

"There are places where we think we can make a difference by working together," Ensign said. "It helps us strategize and not worry about each one using it against the other."

Reid was particularly interested in visiting Nellis during this current recess to see how some of the pork he has directed to the base is being spent. A new hangar now houses an F-22 and land has been purchased for a runway safety project.

Reid has leveraged his position in the Senate leadership and on the Ways and Means Committee to direct millions of dollars to Nevada programs, including military operations at Nellis.

While Reid clearly was responsible for some of the improvements at Nellis, he also diverted plenty of attention to Ensign -- starting with the joint press release.

"When you're talking about which troops have been deployed and who will going next to Afghanistan, it just highlights how unimportant the political differences are at a time like that," said Reid, who stayed behind Thursday from a Senate leadership tour of Afghanistan.

Ensign said whether the issue is the war on terrorism or Yucca Mountain, he and Reid must work together.

"I thank him for breaking ranks with his party in their criticism of Gov. Kenny Guinn when the Yucca Mountain decision was made," Ensign said. "I think that was a huge mistake on their part and he rose above it."