Senate Republicans Voted Against Extending Tax Cuts

Posted in News Clips | 06/25/10 | Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's (D-NV) efforts to extend benefits for the unemployed, and many others, was rebuffed yesterday by obstructionists who voted to extend the GOP filibuster. For a group that touts the efficacy of tax cuts, the Republicans were loathe to extend some that directly benefit middle income Nevadans: A $250 tax credit for teachers who pay for supplies out of their own pockets; An extension of the sales tax deduction for state and local taxes; An extension…

Ensign staff tell ethics panel inquiry that lobbying rule-breaking was known

Posted in News Clips | 06/24/10 | By Susan Crabtree In depositions to the Senate Ethics Committee, staffers for Sen. John Ensign have said the Nevada Republican and his senior aides knew  a one-year lobbying ban was being broken when they helped a former staffer set up a short-lived career on K Street, according to two sources close to the investigation. The information was provided as part of a probe the panel is conducting into payments Ensign’s parents made to Cynthia and Douglas Hampton. Ensign was having an affair with…

In spite of cuts to spending proposals, GOP senators may still block more jobless benefits

Posted in News Clips | 06/24/10 | By Andrew Taylor A Republican filibuster appears increasingly likely to kill long-sought legislation extending jobless benefits and a host of other spending and tax measures, despite a new round of cuts to the measure Wednesday that reduced its deficit impact even further. A senior Senate Democratic aide said Wednesday evening that several days' worth of negotiations with a handful of moderate Republicans had failed and that a vote later this week to break the filibuster was likely to fail as well. Democrats would…

Dr. Angle’s prescription

Posted in News Clips | 06/24/10 | By Dennis Myers Republican U.S. Senate nominee Sharron Angle tried to enact legislation requiring physicians to tell women they could get breast cancer if they went ahead with abortions. The Angle measure, Assembly Bill 580 of the 1999 Nevada Legislature, would have required doctors to tell women seeking abortions about “the scientifically reported link between an induced abortion and an increased risk of developing breast cancer later in life.” There is no such link, according to the scientific consensus of that time, a…

Nevada to get $102.8 million for foreclosure prevention

Posted in News Clips | 06/23/10 | Nevada will receive $102.8 million as part of a program to help residents who are trying to avoid foreclosure on their homes. President Obama announced the "Hardest Hit Fund" earlier this year during a visit to Las Vegas. Nevada is among five states that will receive funds from the program, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Nevada will receive the largest amount per resident. “I’ve been working hard to help stabilize Nevada’s housing market and provide resources for Nevadans…

Republican leaders walk fine line on unemployment

Posted in News Clips | 06/22/10 | By Molly K. Hooper and Shira Poliak Congressional Republican leaders are using the nation’s jobless rate as campaign ammunition while facing pressure from some in their ranks who want to stop extending unemployment benefits. Most Republicans on Capitol Hill, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), support unemployment benefit extensions, but say they should be paid for. Democrats contend the extensions are “emergency spending” and should not apply to pay-as-you-go rules. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who has offered legislation on…

Reid: Dems ‘commit to working tirelessly’ to pass campaign finance bill in Senate

Posted in News Clips | 06/22/10 | By Michael O'Brien The Senate's top Democrat wrote House lawmakers on Tuesday to assure them he would work to pass a new campaign finance reform bill in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) wrote House Democrats to seek to reassure centrists that the Senate would take up the Disclose Act, a new campaign finance bill, if the House acts to pass it soon. "Currently, the Senate companion has 50 sponsors," Reid wrote Tuesday. "We commit to working tirelessly for Senate consideration…

Bill seeks to expedite land leases to solar developers

Posted in News Clips | 06/22/10 | By Stephanie Tavares State would get money, but critics say auction plan would slow some projects Solar energy could finally directly contribute to government coffers in Nevada if legislation proposed by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Rep. Dean Heller becomes law. But some solar companies are wary it could keep them from developing new energy plants if the same approach winds up applied to all Bureau of Land Management property. The Nevada lawmakers this month introduced the American Solar Energy Pilot Leasing…

A disingenuous candidate

Posted in News Clips | 06/21/10 | Las Vegas Sun Editorial The real Sharron Angle emerges despite attempts to whitewash views As she sought the Republican U.S. Senate nomination to take on Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Sharron Angle positioned herself as the outsider, willing to take on the establishment. She even went so far as to say, “I am the Tea Party.” About two weeks ago, when Angle won the GOP nomination, she indicated that her views wouldn’t be tempered for the general election, when she will need the…

Definition of recklessness

Posted in News Clips | 06/21/10 | Las Vegas Sun Editorial Angle and her dangerous take on the Second Amendment and its ‘remedies’ There is plenty to cause Nevadans to shudder at the prospect of Sharron Angle becoming one of this state’s two senators in Washington. She pretty much hates government in any form, including Social Security and Medicare. As we wrote Sunday, she would like to privatize Social Security and Medicare, two essential lifelines for seniors. For that matter, she wants to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency, an idea that…