Ensign to Coburn: Back off the Vegas-critical comments

By Lisa Mascaro

Friday, Feb. 27, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Saying he is fed up with the Vegas bashing, Sen. John Ensign this week pulled aside a fellow Republican senator who has been declaiming against “junkets” to the city by federal agencies.

Ensign said he impressed on Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn that comments by the fiscally conservative anti-pork crusader were incorrect and were damaging the Las Vegas economy.

“We had a conversation,” Ensign said Thursday afternoon.

“I just let him know how bad our economy is doing, and I explained to him this is really hurting — that busboy, that waitress, the person that makes up the rooms. It hurts all of the little people,” Ensign said. “Hopefully we put a damper on the whole thing.”

Coburn had singled out a Federal Emergency Management Administration meeting in Las Vegas, wrongly believing it involved flying federal employees to the city from across the country. The meeting is a training session for Nevada FEMA employees.

Coburn also has decried a conference of 300 veterans cemetery administrators scheduled for Las Vegas.

Tourist traffic is way down on the Strip, and lost gaming revenue is contributing to a massive state budget shortfall. The state’s unemployment rate is 9.1 percent.

Against that backdrop, Las Vegas has been held up by some in Washington as a symbol of wasteful government spending by federal agencies and by financial institutions bailed out by taxpayers.

The run of bad publicity began when congressional Republicans railed against the possibility that Las Vegas city officials would use stimulus money on a planned mob museum. Forty-two other governments were considering the use of stimulus money on museums, but some in Washington singled out Las Vegas.

Next came a comment by President Barack Obama, who said it is inappropriate for companies receiving bailout money to jet to Las Vegas for a conference. After that, at least one corporation canceled a Las Vegas event, despite comparisons that show Las Vegas compares favorably to other major cities in the cost of holding corporate meetings or conventions.

Tuesday night, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal joined the parade, saying the stimulus bill contained a wasteful $8 billion for high-speed rail projects that include a long-sought link from Southern California to Las Vegas. The statement was false. The money will be distributed among competing projects. No money has been designated for the Las Vegas line.

Ensign and Coburn are legislative brethren of sorts — fiscal hawks who rail against excessive government spending. The two are also believed to be housemates, sharing a home with other lawmakers.

The two senators appear to have reached an agreement. The Oklahoman will continue going after wasteful government junkets, but will do his best not to focus on Las Vegas for public scorn.

Coburn spokesman Don Tatro said the senator “is not singling out Las Vegas and will continue to monitor federal employees’ attendance at conferences regardless of the destination.”

Ensign said he has made the point with Coburn that tourism matters.

“We’re getting him to understand not only the importance to the Nevada economy, but the importance of the American economy, and how these kinds of statements are not healthy right now,” Ensign said.

“It was just unfortunate that it came on top of the president’s comments,” he said. “It was just kind of piling on.”