Tuesday, March 8, 2005 | 10:56 a.m.
WASHINGTON -- The Senate may be poised to reject President Bush's proposal to siphon federal land sale profit away from Nevada.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is confident he will have 45 votes -- the Senate Democrats, plus Independent James Jeffords of Vermont -- lined up to oppose the proposal, Reid spokeswoman Tessa Hafen said.
And Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is likewise seeking pledges from at least six Republicans, which would total a 51-vote majority of the Senate, enough to snuff out the proposal.
Ensign also has had "several conversations" with a key lawmaker on the issue, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Judd Gregg, R-N.H., Ensign spokesman Jack Finn said. Ensign is one of 12 Republicans on the committee.
"He's working every angle," Finn said.
The budget panel is key to the proposal's future, as it is scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday to set a federal budget resolution for the fiscal year -- and the Bush proposal is not likely to be included in it, congressional sources said.
The resolution does not bind Congress to spending limits or curb their ability to pursue a specific White House budget proposal. But it serves as an important guideline for lawmakers as they craft appropriations bills.
A spokeswoman for Gregg declined to say whether Gregg supports Bush's proposal, which could ultimately siphon hundreds of millions of dollars from Nevada coffers.
But Gregg "understands that this is a sensitive issue, particularly to Sen. Ensign," Gregg spokeswoman Cara Duckworth said. Gregg intends to craft a budget resolution that has the support of all Republican members of the panel -- including Ensign, Duckworth said.
At issue are proceeds from the auction of federal land in Clark County. Under the 1998 Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act crafted by Nevada lawmakers, public land is being sold at auction and the profit is used for education, water and land programs in Nevada.
But Bush budget officials are pushing legislation to funnel 70 percent of the profit to the federal treasury for deficit reduction. Nevada lawmakers are lobbying against it.
White House Office of Management and Budget officials say the profit is far higher than expected and that U.S. taxpayers should see a return on federal land sales.
There's big money at stake. The budget Bush sent to Congress last month noted that land sales were expected to net roughly $70 million a year for Nevada, but are expected to garner roughly $1.2 billion this year alone. If the state keeps 30 percent of the profit, Nevada still would net far more than expected, OMB officials have said.
Republican lawmakers have been reluctant to voice strong support for the Bush proposal but several have said they intend to give the issue careful consideration as a deficit-reduction measure.
Several Democrats last week blasted Bush for reaching into Nevada's cookie jar. Bush is looking for money in the wrong places to offset a deficit created by his tax cuts, said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the land sales issue.
The Bush proposal's future in the House is unclear. Nevada lawmakers last week urged the House Budget Committee to reject the proposal. The House panel, too, is scheduled to consider a House budget resolution on Wednesday.
The House panel typically does not take action on specific budget proposals, opting to set bottom line guidelines for lawmakers to follow. Therefore the Bush proposal on Nevada land sales is not likely to be a part of the House budget resolution, committee spokesman Sean Spicer said.
That issue would be left to the House Resources Committee, he said.
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