WASHINGTON, D.C.: WEEK IN REVIEW

Sunday, March 18, 2007 | 7:24 a.m.

WASHINGTON - Despite all the attention the war in Iraq and the Bush administration's firing of U.S. attorneys received last week, the real action for Nevadans in Washington occurred in House office cubicles.

That's where staff members pulled late shifts to submit requests for earmarks, those special funds that fall outside of the regular budget and got such a bad name for spending abuses in 2006.

If any member of Congress had forgotten which road or hospital projects their constituents want funded, dozens of city officials came calling with gentle reminders. The local officials were in Washington for the annual League of Cities conference.

Freshman Republican Rep. Dean Heller, cheat sheet in hand, worked the House floor Monday, trying to make sure the appropriate party leaders knew what the Truckee River flood control project was all about.

But new House ethics rules from the Democrats left staff with more questions than answers: If money for freeway improvements ends up raising the value of, say, a house owned by the representative, is the earmark illegal?

That debate stretched through the week, as others played out.

Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley hosted Jewish leaders from Nevada who were visiting for the annual American Israeli Public Affairs Committee conference. Berkley has had a tough stance on Iran and has joined other House Democrats who swayed party leaders to drop a legislative provision that would have reined in President Bush's ability to threaten Iran militarily.

"I am a great believer in carrots and sticks, but the carrots taste much sweeter if there is a big stick in the background," Berkley said. "You don't take any options off the table."

By Tuesday, as the firing of U.S. attorneys, including Nevada's Daniel Bogden, dominated the news, Berkley joined those calling for the firing of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. She, too, believes she was misled by his office about the reason for Bogden's dismissal, which Bogden says was to make way for a newcomer seeking a career boost.

Later in the week, talk turned to the possibility that Bogden may not be gone long. Republican Sen. John Ensign's office said that the Justice Department and Bogden "are talking about ways to restore his reputation, and the best way to do that is to reinstate him."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was just about everywhere last week - speaking at American Israel conference, meeting with city officials from Nevada, predicting Gonzales would be fired, announcing his new book deal and trying to stop the war in Iraq.

The Senate turned down his resolution to bring the troops home next year but Reid is pressing forward with another round of war-related legislation this week as the House takes up its bill to stop the president's troop surge.

The House vote will be especially noteworthy for Rep. Jon Porter, whom The Washington Post identified as among those swing district Republicans whom Democrats are targeting in the 2008 election. Porter won with 48 percent in 2006.

Porter has supported the president's plan for a troop surge in Iraq. "He realizes there may be some push back, but Congressman Porter feels very principled about this," spokesman Matt Leffingwell said.

This week will also see Heller in a new role after being named to the House Education and Labor Committee, where he will serve under Porter's ally from his days on the committee, Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif.

Heller's appointment could be seen as payback for being a good team player. Despite a $387,000 campaign debt that requires his attention, Heller has been raising funds for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

And the questions over earmarks will likely continue as the submission deadline was extended into the new week. "That's what's driving members crazy," one Republican aide said Friday. "You don't want to deliver a project for your district and find out later you're in trouble with the law."