Nevada delegation awaits Bush’s word on local issues

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002 | 9:56 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush huddled with Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and about a dozen other lawmakers Monday at the White House, urging them to reform Medicare despite the political pressures of an election year.

"We had a very frank discussion," Ensign said. "He said that other than the war this was his No. 1 priority."

Bush met with the lawmakers as part of last-minute efforts to prep Congress on his blueprint for the year, to be unveiled in his State of the Union address tonight.

Members of Congess, who will be in the House of Representatives' chambers for the speech tonight, have been meeting with White House officials to try to get their projects on the president's agenda. Members of the Nevada congressional delegation have their own agendas and are waiting to hear what Bush has to say on issues ranging from homeland security to the economy.

Ensign said Bush renewed his call for a national drug card, which would be backed by the federal Medicare program but managed by private health care companies. The plan could ultimately reduce the cost of medications for seniors 10 to 25 percent through bulk buying in a national plan, Bush has said.

Ensign is among a small number of senators Bush tapped last year to help promote the administration's prescription drug plan.

In addition to the drug plan, Bush is expected to outline three major goals in his address: reducing the threat of terrorism abroad, strengthening homeland security and jump-starting the economy.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., a member of the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, will be focused intently on Bush's call for more Defense Department and counterterrorism spending.

Gibbons said the nation in the next decade will need as many as 3,000 new spies -- from intelligence analysts to field officers. The nation has an urgent need for Arabic speakers, Gibbons said.

"One of the things that I was keenly aware of following Sept. 11 was that we have let go for a decade or more our language capabilities," Gibbons said.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said Democrats are most interested to find out where Bush will point the war on terrorism and the economy at home. Berkley met with many of her fellow House Democrats at a retreat in Pennsylvania Sunday and Monday to plot strategy for the year.

Democrats are likely to differ with Bush over the economy, but not the war, most Congress watchers agree.

Berkley is also eager to hear if Bush makes a call for a new wave of volunteerism in America, she said. Berkley is co-sponsor of a bill that would expand opportunities for public service.

"National service is a wonderful way for Americans to give back to their country," she said. "So far we have neither asked Americans to serve, nor provided them the opportunity to do so."

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said he is eager to hear Bush tackle two topics: unemployment and energy policy. Reid said that while Republicans are talking about extending unemployment and health care benefits to laid-off workers, Democrats have deeper, more meaningful proposals. Unemployment in Nevada is 6.6 percent, up more than 2 percent in the last year, Reid said.

"That's tough," Reid said. "I want to know what he plans to do about those workers."

Reid wants Bush to focus more on energy efficiency projects, including more fuel-efficient cars. He wants a bigger emphasis on renewable energy technology including tax credits for companies generating wind, solar and geothermal power.

Ensign said he would like to expand the idea behind Bush's prescription drug card plan.

Ensign, working with Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and others, are pushing a bill that he said would expand the Bush plan to help seniors. It includes a $1,200 annual cap on the amount seniors would pay for medication if their income was less than $17,000.