From trillion-dollar budgets to WWII female fighter pilots: Nevada’s week in Washington

By Amber Phillips

Friday, March 27, 2015 | 2 a.m.

WASHINGTON — This week, Congress finished the painful task of putting dollar signs on its priorities.

But you're more likely to see their results in a campaign ad than any law signed by the president.

Lawmakers debated and voted on two Republican versions of multitrillion-dollar budgets for the federal government. Broadly speaking, the House of Representatives and Senate budgets repeal the 2010 health care reform law known as Obamacare, raise defense spending while cutting federal aid programs and try to bring America into the black again over the next decade.

The documents are blueprints that set overall spending levels but won't have any impact on real laws — that comes later when lawmakers take their cues from the budget to craft spending bills for government agencies. Instead, "budget-o-rama," as this week is known in Washington, is mostly used as a political tool to win points with voters while forcing the other side into awkward positions.

Nevada's six congressional lawmakers fought to get support in the budget for building an interstate highway, I-11, and aiding veterans. Here's a roundup of their week in Washington:

Sen. Harry Reid fights for national monuments

The Senate minority leader spent much of the week attacking Republicans' budget.

Closer to Nevada, Reid blasted some amendments in the bill he said would hurt the state, including one by Republican Sen. Steve Daines of Montana that would make it harder for the president to unilaterally declare a national monument. Both Congress and the president have the power to do so. Nevada Republicans in Congress have also introduced a bill limiting the president's authority to create a national monument.

Reid defends the law, known as The Antiquities Act

Reid also introduced an amendment to the budget to close a loophole preventing some veterans from collecting both disability and retirement pay.

Sen. Dean Heller focuses on I-11, sage grouse, veterans

Nevada's Republican senator led the way on a bill introduced this week with Reid and Arizona's two senators to move one step closer to building an interstate highway connecting Reno to Phoenix. The highway, I-11, is decades away from becoming a reality, but lawmakers want to lay the groundwork now. There's some movement on the highway down south: While back in Nevada next month, lawmakers will attend a groundbreaking ceremony in Boulder City for the first phase of I-11.

Heller also introduced eight amendments to the budget, an indicator of what issues he'll champion this Congress. Among them: An amendment requiring the Department of the Interior to help states implement their plans to protect the sage grouse before deciding on whether to list the bird as endangered. Heller also wants to hold up bonuses for some Department of Veterans Affairs executives until the agency clears its disability claims backlogs. And he's calling for more money to support female veterans.

Finally, he signed onto a bill that Senate Republicans say would make it easier for rural businesses to get commercial loans.

Rep. Dina Titus focuses on LGBT veterans

The Las Vegas Democrat continued her work fighting for disenfranchised veterans, especially LGBT vets. She reintroduced a bill that would allow all legally married veterans access to VA benefits. Here she is talking on the House floor about it:

And as Clark County School District prepares for spring break, she is introducing a bill today that would create a federal program to help feed needy schoolchildren when school's not in session. About 58 percent of Clark County students rely on free and reduced-price lunches from school, and more than 170,000 students in Southern Nevada face hunger at home, Titus' office said.

Also, fun fact: Titus is the only Greek-American woman in Congress.

Rep. Mark Amodei focuses on his rural district

The Northern Nevada Republican supported Republicans' budget. He was also happy to see Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican and chairwoman of a powerful energy committee, introduce a bill that Amodei has championed: streamlining the mineral permitting process to expand the country's rare earth mineral mining industry.

Amodei's bill to do that passed the House of Representatives last Congress but stalled in the Senate.

Next week, he'll also hold an agricultural town hall meeting in Carson City "as part of an ongoing dialogue to ensure we are doing what we can to support an important part of our economy and way of life."

Rep. Joe Heck gets a fix to the 'doc fix'

For two and a half years, the Republican representing Las Vegas' suburbs and Southern Nevada has pushed for a rehaul in the way Medicare pays doctors. The way it stands now, Congress must act every year to stop automatic cuts to doctors treating seniors on Medicare. Political tensions mean lawmakers are often left scrambling to find the money. Heck, who is a trained emergency physician, has said "there is really no greater threat to Medicare" than the current system.

This week, the House voted to get rid of that current system and created a permanent one instead. Heck was elated, and in a statement urged the Senate to take up the bill, known as the "doc fix." "A permanent fix … will give our seniors the peace of mind that they will be able to see the health care provider of their choice," he said.

But its future in the Senate is uncertain, where Reid is at odds with House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi about abortion language in the deal.

Outside the budget debate, Heck continued his work leading another debate on how to restructure the military's benefit system to save the government money. One idea would create a 401(k) type of savings plan for veterans.

Rep. Cresent Hardy charges forward on I-11

Nevada's newest member of Congress kept the momentum going after introducing his first bill last week, then penning a controversial op-ed on Yucca Mountain over the weekend.

Hardy joined with Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona Republican, to introduce an I-11 bill similar to Reid's and Heller's. Titus and Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., joined the bill. Hardy holds a leadership role on the House Transportation Committee and has said getting I-11 built is one of his top priorities.

“This effort is as important as anything to our economic stability and growth as a state,” he said.

Hardy also celebrated Women's History Month by honoring on the House floor one of the nation's first female World War II pilots, who flew at Nellis Air Force Base in Hardy's district.