Recess doesn’t mean time off for Nevada’s House members

Erin Neff

Monday, Aug. 11, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

It's summer. A time when a congressman's fancy turns to, well, his next campaign.

Whether trotting the globe or stumping through the district, Nevada's five delegates all have an eye toward the next election.

Only Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., gets a pass next fall, as his term does not expire until 2006.

But for the rest, time off provides no rest.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., is still in Iraq on a House Intelligence Committee fact-finding mission.

Similarly, Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., is spending much of the recess in Israel, exploring ties related to her service on the Middle East subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

In a letter to constituents, Berkley said she would be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and other high-ranking government officials. She also will be meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.

"This may well be the most critical and historic time for members of Congress to meet with the prime ministers," Berkley wrote. "The region is at a crucial junction."

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., is readying his district for what will be his initial, and most vulnerable, defense of his office.

As a freshman who has not yet established a strong track record in Congress, Porter is considered to have the biggest House challenge in Nevada.

"The Democrats have to realize that now is the time to get him," said Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. "The only way to get him out is to do it before he gets too entrenched."

Porter spent one week of his recess in Alaska, looking at the viability of drilling for oil in the wilderness area. Porter said he supports exploration of the area to determine if there are oil reserves there that can cut U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

"We've heard that there might be 30 years' worth of oil there, but we don't know, because we're not allowed to see," Porter said. "With the new technology available the foot print on the area would be very small."

Porter also has a trip planned to Israel at the end of the month.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., spent the weekend in Northern Nevada, rolling out new district offices that are also designed to up the senator's visibility in northern and rural areas before next fall's election.

Gibbons is still trying to decide whether he will run against Reid for his Senate seat next year -- a decision that could come by the end of the month when Gibbons returns from Iraq.

Reid was in Ely, Baker and Elko on Saturday securing the Democratic base, and plans to hit Tahoe and Reno today and tomorrow.