Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

WHERE I STAND (GUEST COLUMN):

Senate working swiftly to right Nevada’s — and nation’s — course

Harry Reid

Harry Reid

In August, Brian Greenspun turns his Where I Stand column over to guest writers. Today’s columnist is Harry Reid, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

Almost a year ago our state and our country demanded a new direction. As we in the Senate undertook that task, we knew that just as the challenges we face were not created in a day, they would not go away overnight. But we also knew we had no time to waste in getting to work.

There is no question that hard work is beginning to pay off. So far this year we have started to get Nevada and the nation back on track by passing bills to revive our economy, strengthen our national security, honor our troops and veterans, protect our environment, demand accountability, promote equality and ensure progress.

One expert from a conservative think tank called this Congress “as active and productive as any I can remember.” It’s true — we have passed more serious, substantive laws than any Congress since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first term.

One of those is the economic recovery plan we passed in the winter. It is an aggressive program that puts people back to work, ensures middle-class families can get ahead and invests in our future.

I fought to secure for Nevada more than $1.5 billion of that funding, and ensured our state received the largest increase in Medicaid funding of any state in the country.

As the Las Vegas Sun reported last month, those investments are paying dividends. This summer 2,000 more young people have been able to get summer jobs, we’ve created nearly 300 new jobs for teachers and support staff in Clark County schools, and the Centennial Hills Park and Ride will lead to as many as 1,000 more jobs. In just the past month alone, the transportation and utilities industries added 800 jobs.

I am confident the steps we’ve taken this year — and that we continue to take — will ultimately anchor Nevada’s recovery. But I also know that we must do more.

That is why I am fighting to stabilize health insurance for those who have it and secure it for those who don’t. In the coming weeks the Senate will pass a plan that lowers costs, keeps insurance companies honest, and helps small businesses afford to hire more workers and give them affordable health care. Health insurance reform is economic reform, and it is imperative that Democrats and Republicans come together to pass a plan this year.

In the coming months we will continue to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and make Nevada a world leader in clean power and clean-energy jobs. Tapping into our state’s vast resources will create good-paying jobs in construction, manufacturing and engineering, and reverberate to countless other industries. And we’ll lower your energy bill while we’re at it.

We will also make sure the abuses that got us into the mess never happen again. That is why this year we protected consumers from fraudulent credit card companies, cracked down on mortgage scams, reined in out-of-control government contractors who waste taxpayer money, and helped more struggling homeowners keep their homes. And it’s why we will continue to fix the financial system so that we never again will have to ask taxpayers to bail out the institutions and banks that created this crisis.

As in any emergency, it’s important to understand how we got here. I am not interested in looking backward to place blame on others, and I have never taken up the Washington hobby of pointing fingers for political gain.

But it is important to learn from past mistakes so we do not repeat them. There are two primary reasons we found ourselves in such a deep hole. The first is that for too long, we’ve put off today’s problems till tomorrow. And the second is that too many focus only on where we differ, not where we agree.

We no longer have the luxury of doing either. Only by working together — not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Americans — can we put the jobless back to work, make sure everyone can afford to stay healthy and create a clean-energy economy for this new century. Only if we work as partners, not as partisans, can we preserve the American dream for so many Nevadans who fear losing their homes.

And I have never forgotten that every penny we invest belongs to you. That is why I will always ensure that every taxpayer dollar be used efficiently and responsibly.

We’re closer to the starting line than the finish, but we’re most definitely on our way to helping our state and our nation not only recover, but prosper.

An ancient saying tells us that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I’m proud to say we’ve taken more than a few steps in the right direction — and I’m determined to keep going.

In August, Brian Greenspun turns his Where I Stand column over to guest writers. Today’s columnist is Harry Reid, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate.

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