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StumbleA do-over for Ensign, tourism bill
Nevadan shares in passage of bill that would boost promotion of travel to U.S.
Thursday, Sept. 10, 2009 | 2 a.m.
John Ensign
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- John Ensign leads debate on tourism bill (9-8-2009)
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Crisis managers have said the best way Republican Sen. John Ensign could rehabilitate his image after disclosing his affair with a former staff member would be to bury himself in his work.
Ensign should not be seen or heard much, they said, unless he is showing that he is working hard for his home state.
The senator returned to Washington this week from a tour of Nevada in which he repeatedly apologized for the affair with the wife of one of his best friends and top aides, and set out to do just that.
As the Senate convened for the fall session, Ensign was among the first senators on the floor, making a speech about the importance of the Nevada-friendly Travel Promotion Act.
The action was a do-over of sorts, for Ensign and the bill.
Ensign had missed a procedural vote on the legislation this summer — a vote held the day he flew back to Las Vegas to disclose his affair.
The Travel Promotion Act would charge every foreigner visiting the country $10 to fund an advertising campaign to promote the United States abroad. It has been a long-running priority of the travel industry.
The bill passed the House last year, thanks in part to the support of then-Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev. But the Bush administration was opposed to another layer of government, and the bill died.
The tourism industry tried again this year, recognizing President Barack Obama supported the bill as a senator, as did several of his top officials when they were in Congress.
The bill also has a friend in Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who brought it to the floor during a lull in the Senate schedule in mid-June.
The bill passed its first hurdle 90-3 (with Ensign absent), but quickly became entangled in a leadership struggle as Republicans and Democrats quarreled over extraneous amendments.
When Reid stepped in and called for the vote, the legislation could not reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance. Only two Republicans, Ensign and a senator from tourism-heavy Florida, voted yes, and a handful of Democratic senators were absent.
Reid set up a do-over as soon as Congress returned from the August recess, knowing he had the votes for passage.
Ensign, whose absence from the earlier vote was widely noted in stories about his affair, seized the opportunity to play a role.
He talked up the bill on the Senate floor this week, reminding opponents — including much of his party’s leadership — that the money raised by the $10 visa charge would be matched by the private sector to build up the national fund.
Ensign also noted the power of advertising to attract visitors.
“One of the reasons ... I wanted to go to Australia was because they advertised,” Ensign explained, describing the Great Barrier Reef, some of the sites of Sydney and the “gorgeous beaches.”
While global travel has increased in recent years, the number of visitors to the United States has declined since the 9/11 attacks, he said.
He noted that each U.S. visitor spends an average of $4,500, which has a ripple effect throughout the economy, especially in hard-hit tourism economies such as Nevada’s.
Reid and his Republican counterpart had previously reached an agreement to allow a vote. The do-over worked: The bill was approved Wednesday 79-19. It now moves to the House.
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tax increase
Emsign had hid zipper open
hey johnnie boy i slept with my best friend /senior staffer's wife, then fired them both when i got caught, then ran to mommy and daddy to fix my boo boo ensign...
a total and complete scum bag...
when does the ethics investigation start buddy???
hmmm???
oh by the way...
how is the cult doing???
still a member of promise keepers???
what a scum bag you are!!!
Glad for all the positive comments... You will all be glad to know that He will win re-election every time he runs... You people probably don't even vote... I love it... Keep up the support... JE is the greatest thing going for the State of Nevada
Ensign's outlook for 2012 is looking better and better. He's cutting taxes and keeping the bureaucracy from growing as much as the tax & spend democrats want it to.
A true conservative would not want this bill. Good businesses can advertise on their own.
Ensign is just like Bush having the government spend money.
I greatly appreciate Reid's leadership on this issue. Tourism is absolutely critical to Nevada's economy, especially in Southern Nevada. Anything that can be done to promote tourism means money and jobs invested in our state and that is exactly what we need right now.
Taxing the tourist (the golden goose) is a terrible idea. In my travels to other cities, I avoid places like Phoenix and Cleveland since their rental car tax rates are so high and the service at the "rental car center" is poor.
Let the casinos market directly.
Where are the Republican's wanting no socialism/central planning?
Vote out both REID and ENSIGN! We can do better by drawing a name random from the voter rolls to be in Congress.
He lives in a house were there is a strange fascination with Hitler, Pol Pot and Mao.
That ought to make a good commercial.
He's not getting much money for his campaign, people don';t like to be identified with him.
I noted that TheU commented that Ensign will always win re-election and unfortunately he is right. Millions of dollars in campaign funds allow him to ignore constituents, hide for weeks on end,engage in obvious bribery and blackmail tactics (to hide what I consider an error that could have been apologized for and left alone); pander to small private gatherings of insurance, healthcare, and special interests groups and then propose that he has been in touch with Nevadans.
Nevadan and American citizens are no longer represented in Congress. The seats at the table are for wealthy special interests. It is what it is. Ensign's focus is on their agenda and whatever Daddy wants.
Tourism + socialism = sourism
Take some time to understand that you are NOT entitled to extra priviledged because you are a wealthy "Christian" white man. Women are not here for your entertainment--it is not your right to use anyone.
Yes, we all make mistakes and I hope that you have actually learned from them but I have heard little to say tht you thought that you had done wrong. I have heard only that you felt that you were entitled to behave in a manner that is different than "regular" folk because you (and your C-Street cronies) believe that you are on a different plane from the rest of us; a higher one. I hope that is wrong.
Now it is time to do your job. Do your best to improve the lives of ALL Nevadans--not just white boys with money and power. Help ensure that all citizens have access to healthcare that is at least as good as what can be had for FAR less money in Europe with much higher success rates. Save the children here in Nevada and all those that depend upon our elected officials to act in their best interests.
Let us know that you are forgivable by agreeing that you did wrong. You were a lousy husband and father. Cheaing on your wife and providing terrible examples for your children is more than wrong-it is immorale.
Provide for those you were elected to protect!
Joy Sayler