Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

What’s under the tree in Washington for Nevada’s delegation?

Harry Reid

Carolyn Kaster / AP

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014, in Washington, D.C.

Dean Heller

Dean Heller

Click to enlarge photo

Steven Horsford

Click to enlarge photo

Congresswoman Dina Titus

Click to enlarge photo

Rep. Mark Amodei

Click to enlarge photo

U.S. Congressman Joe Heck (R-NV) responds to a question during an editorial board meeting at the Las Vegas Sun offices Monday, Aug. 11, 2014.

What’s on your Christmas list?

For Nevada’s members of Congress, it’s fair to say their wish lists extend beyond the new Taylor Swift album or an iPhone 6.

It has been a rough year in Washington, especially for Democrats who in November lost power in the Senate. In Nevada, Rep. Steven Horsford lost his seat, and Sen. Harry Reid lost his majority leader title.

Here’s a look at what Nevada lawmakers might be wishing for this holiday season as they head into a new congressional session in January.

Democratic Sen. Harry Reid: That Gov. Brian Sandoval stays in the governor’s mansion

Reid, the Senate’s soon-to-be minority leader, is up for re-election for a sixth term in 2016. Political forecasters show Reid has an edge on any Republican challenger — except Nevada’s popular Republican governor.

Reid, however, seems to relish the challenge Sandoval would present, or at least is playing it cool.

“Brian Sandoval and I have a good relationship,” Reid told Politico. “If he wants to run, it’s a free country, let him run.”

Republican Sen. Dean Heller: A spot on the Senate Finance Committee

After losing a bid this fall to chair the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, Heller said there’s a consolation prize he’d lobby his colleagues for: a spot on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which deals with taxes and revenue. The former stockbroker currently sits on the Senate’s banking panel, which deals with monetary policy.

A week before Christmas, he got his wish. “I want to stand up, and everyone say, ‘That’s the guy we’re going to listen to,’ ” Heller said.

Rep. Steven Horsford, D, CD-4: To find out what went wrong — and how to fix it

Horsford has accepted that North Las Vegas Democrats didn’t come out to vote for him Nov. 4.

As he prepared to step down, he made plans for a listening tour through the district to find out why middle-class voters failed to come to the polls. What he hears could determine whether he makes a run for his former seat in 2016.

“What the election results show me or tell me, is first and foremost, it was not a Republican wave,” Horsford said.

Rep. Dina Titus, D, CD-1: Funding for America’s highways

The Las Vegas Democrat will take over in January as chairwoman of the I-11 caucus, a group of Arizona and Nevada lawmakers trying to win funding for an interstate connecting Phoenix and Las Vegas and beyond.

For the project to happen, Congress must fundamentally change the way it funds American highways — the kind of major overhaul Washington can’t seem to agree to these days.

“We’ve got to do it,” Titus said. “I think even Republicans know we’ve got to do that.”

Rep. Mark Amodei, R, CD-2: Maybe just a stocking stuffer

The Northern Nevada Republican seems to already have gotten his Christmas wish: Opening up some federal land in Nevada to recreation and commercial development in exchange for closing other land for wilderness protection. Eight Nevada lands bills passed Congress this month, the first major lands package since 2009 to be approved.

“If we actually end up getting this package through,“ Amodei said in early December as the deal was being negotiated, “it would be like, knock me over with a feather.”

Rep. Joe Heck, R, CD-3: To pass a real budget

Two weeks before Christmas, Congress barely scraped up enough votes to pass a one-year, $1.1 trillion budget for the government. Negotiations happened behind closed doors, and lawmakers had just days to review the 1,600-page document.

Next year, Heck hopes to see Congress debate and vote on a budget for each federal agency “so we’re not governing by crisis,” he said.

Rep.-elect Cresent Hardy, R, CD-4: To make waves

Nevada’s newest member of Congress will come to Washington at the bottom of the seniority totem pole.

But the Mesquite native has a chance to work on legislation that matters to Nevada. He’ll sit on two key committees: natural resources and transportation.

Hardy said one of his top priorities is to return federal land to Nevada.

“I want to prove I can be the best representative I can be,” he said.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy