Norton: Nevada gets more than others

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, March 1, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Interior Secretary Gale Norton today said Nevada is reaping a windfall of profits under a 1998 federal land sale law that allows it to finance projects other states can't afford.

Norton cited the example of a $50 million shooting range park expected to be the nation's finest when completed. No other states would receive that much federally-generated funding for a similar project, she said.

"The funding for projects in Nevada is far more than is available anywhere else in the country," Norton said today after a Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee hearing on the Interior budget.

As part of the Interior budget request, President Bush has asked Congress to amend the 1998 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, which allows Nevada to sell federal land at auction and keep the profits. The state uses most of the money for land, education and water projects.

The proceeds have been, and are projected to be, far more than anyone expected, and federal taxpayers should see some of that money returned, Bush budget officials have said.

Bush proposed funneling 70 percent of the profits to the federal treasury to offset the deficit.

Norton said it wasn't clear yet if lawmakers would accept Bush's proposal to change the 1998 law. Clearly, Nevada lawmakers have voiced their opposition, she said.

"It's still early on," she said. "We have not really heard from other members of Congress yet."

Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., chairman of the Resources panel that oversees federal land issues, today declined to comment on the Bush proposal.

Another panel member, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today said she planned to look carefully at the proposal.

"I'm happy to look at any of the amendments presented," she said.

But three Democrats on the panel signaled that Norton might experience some resistence from more than the Nevada delegation.

The Democrats expressed reluctance to support the measure and suggested that Bush was looking in the wrong places to clean up a financial mess of his own making.

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said it was "puzzling" that Bush was saying that he was considering tinkering with a Nevada land sale law as a way to return money to federal taxpayers.

"I wish he had shown the same sympathy for the nation's citizens when he was emptying out the federal treasury to dish out tax cuts to the very wealthy," she said.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said he was not yet familiar with the details of the proposal. But he said the Nevada land sale proposal at first glance seems to be an example of President Bush scrambling for ways to fix a "house of cards" that is the nation's fiscal status.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, agreed. "They are flailing around for additional revenue because they are not willing to face the driving factors that have contributed to the deficit," Wyden said.

Wyden said he has not taken a position on the proposal and would consult with Nevada's senators.