Reid's `Dead-of-Night' Maneuvers on Measure Contradict Pledge

[NVMojo]

People in rural Nevada are upset about this last minute deal that will grab their water for Vegas where Reid's son, Rory, serves as county commissioner and other interesting connections exist ...

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who has pledged to stop ``dead-of-night legislating,'' did a little of his own in the final hours of this year's congressional session.

Reid slipped two home state projects into the last major bill Congress passed last week: a transfer of federal land in Nevada to state and private control that's almost two-thirds the size of Rhode Island; and a $4 million grant for a hospice. Neither had been approved by any congressional committee.

Reid said the land measure will help Las Vegas and other cities in his state grow and the hospice money rights a flawed Medicare ruling. One senator and some government watchdog groups criticized the actions, pointing to promises by Reid and the new Democratic majority in Congress to change a lawmaking process known for targeted funding and secretive deals.

``Doing anything last minute shoved into an irrelevant measure -- that's exactly what Harry Reid said he was going to stop,'' said Steve Ellis, vice president of programs at Taxpayers for Common Sense, a Washington-based nonprofit that monitors government spending. ``It goes against the grain of transparency and openness.''

Not all of Reid's Nevada constituents are happy with the results. Approval of the land measure surprised a major purported beneficiary, the government of White Pine County.

more...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aKTqqn9GSk20&refer=home

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

1. I got to tell ya, this bothers me about Reid

and always has.
He seems to be quite the "good for me, well fuck you" type of glad-handing politician.

We are going to need better.

[Toots]

15. So do you oppose Hospice

You know the GOP would never approve of helping the dying cope. I applaud Reid for getting this for his state...

[Robbien]

20. He didn't get it for his state, he got it for ONE hospice in his state

A hospice which was so badly run it couldn't pay its bills so asked for a tax credit which ALL other hospices in the entire country do not get.

This is pork, pure pork. Reid pandering to his lobbyist by giving this one hospice (and only one hospice) our taxpayer money free of charge.

edit: "Mr. Reid’s amendment provided $3.8 million in relief to the Nathan Adelson Hospice." http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/15/washington/15medicare.html?ei=5087%0A&em=&en=313c1813265235fb&ex=1166331600&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1166202134-aXxtmAq5wTudlh/eZ8ywBA

[NVMojo]

22. a little background here on the water grab for thirsty LV developers:

visit this site:

http://www.greatbasinwater.net/

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Unless There's Something Else Here That They're Not Telling Us ...

This is pretty disturbing - first the Brave Congressional Dems say that they won't stop Bush, but will keep a clean house - then they soil their house within days. I guess they're back to the "we suck less than the rethugs, so who else you gonna vote for, you sucker!" platform that they had from 1992-1994. I expect it will yield the same results.

[NVMojo]

4. I still can't figure out why he keeps sticking his hand where he shouldn't

this deal will directly benefit a bigtime buddy of his: Harvey Whittemore ...google the name and you will get the connection ...he really should have given a bigger shit about creating another Owens Valley scenario. And so should have Senator John Ensign, R, and Reid's church pal. These people disgust me.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

5. Tell me if I have this straight

The problem with this is it was an indulgence to the casinos at the expense eastern Nevada voters. Who now may have to deal with future drought so that Las Vegas can thrive.

[NVMojo]

7. ah ...casinos are one thing, land developers are another ...

and they could care less about eastern Nevada ...just do the usual Reid maneuver and make large portions of it "wilderness study areas" but just like the Lincoln County Land Bill of a few short years ago, let "utility corridors" be allowed in these wilderness study areas on federal land for developers to get rich ...

what really frustrates me is there are many things about Reid I like ...just not these greedy deals with the public's assets.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Thanks

I needed to understand the local opinion on the matter.

Reid is so much better than anyone who misrepresents me, but I do understand, deals such as this are still not good.

[NVMojo]

12. Lone Star, this is a tough one ...like I said in another post, I like much about Reid

but this stuff makes things sticky when fingers are being pointed at the GOP.

[az chela]

3. Are there any honest poliicians??????

I think this country is so screwed!!!!

[MannyGoldstein]

6. Yes, But They're All 'Unelectable'

whatever that means.

Boy, are we dummies. We only vote for schmucks.

[NVMojo]

8. or it takes schmucks to get elected these days ...

[Patchuli]

9. Any Dem that plays those games,

needs to go the way of the Elephant Brigade...

[Lipton64]

10. Remember people: he's still a politician

He's got to play the pied piper to certain constituencies within Nevada in order to maintain and sustain campaign cash flow and pork projects for the Las Vegas area - which is still the fastest growing "over 500,000 people" metropolitan area inside the United States. Huge areas of desert are being gobbled up. The rate of growth there is phenomenal. I've never been to Nevada or Vegas but I have enough commom sense to know that in order to keep your state growing you have to make it easier for your fastest growing regions to continue to grow because otherwise it simply won't.

People faced the same issues when the L.A./Riverside/San Diego "SoCal" sprawl was spreading across the desert from the 50s through the 80s and look at it now - nobody's really bitching any more....

[gulfcoastliberal]

13. Building an aquifer to nowhere...

Mining groundwater millions o years old,all fo a quick buck. That aquifer takes eons to recharge. Harry Reid makes me yearn for the days of Daschle. Reid is a phony, a fake, a back stabber.

[TheZoo]

14. Any Nay-Sayers from Las Vegas?

Just wondering. I've lived here since 1996 and all I hear from the local media is that we're running out of room, which we are. And, if I remember correctly, the money is going back to the state, not a "Re-elect Reid" committee, or anything like that.

Like I said, just wondering...

[NVMojo]

16. well, let's see ...how's housing down there in lights-on-all-the-time land?

[TankLV]

19. I t's just great - not that you'd care a bit about us.

How's all those repuke voters up north diluting all us democrats down here working out for ya?

[NVMojo]

23. how about grabbing water from someone else then?

[TheZoo]

24. Extremely expensive

With Gawd knows how many more people moving into the city, it's pretty expensive living here.

[Little Wing]

17. Las Vegas shouldn't grow. It should be demolished, and maybe relocated

It's not natural to stick a city in the middle of the desert, and the strain it makes on the water supply is enormous.

Just shitcan the entire town and be done with it.

[TankLV]

18. Well fuck you too, speaking as a vegas resident.

I'm sick and tired of the NORTH controlling Southern Nevada's interests - it's time WE SOUTHERNERS got to govern our OWN affairs and receive an EQUITABLE SHARE of the funds WE send to the NORTH.

Don't like the "dead of night" comments - but who wrote this crap anyway?

I applaud Reid's efforts to help Southern Nevada...

[Little Wing]

21. EQUITABLE SHARE of the funds WE send to the NORTH

BWAHAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA

[martymar64]

26. When the Colorado river dries up along with the aquifers . . .

We'll see just how "sustainable" Vegas really is. Nothing can survive without water. Let them eat poker chips.

[judaspriestess]

25. 87% of the land is owned by the BLM

"Reid spokesman Jim Manley said Reid's actions didn't constitute ``dead-of-night'' legislating because his request was the subject of extensive negotiations earlier in the week among congressional leaders over what to include in the measure.

Reid called House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas on Dec. 7 to remind him of an earlier agreement to include the land legislation when a draft released that day didn't include it, Manley said. The House Rules Committee added Reid's measure at about 10:30 p.m. at Thomas's request. Thomas, who is retiring, is a California Republican"


Helping a hospice out? what is wrong with that? ensign also supported this land move. It was added by repuke at 10:30 at night as that Reid's fault?

[CreekDog]

27. I don't see anything untoward in Reid's end of session items

First, the legislation was introduced with the other Nevada senator in August. Second, Reid's staff said that the draft was supposed to include the items, but didn't and when they reminded their House counterpart of the omission, he included it, apparently as promised. Third, because nearly 90% of Nevada land is owned by the Federal Government (actually you, me and the rest of us), the state's growth is essentially subject to the consent of Congress. That is one of the things hemming in Las Vegas growth. Whether you agree with it or not, certainly Nevada and its localities have to get leglislation passed by Congress to grow at times --very few other areas must go through this.

Anyway, after reading the article, which at least provided both sides, and the interpretations in this thread, I wonder if John Solomon (of AP and to be with the Washington Post) is moonlighting here. I say that because it seems like many of the comments and the headline are written in a way that makes it sound like what Reid did was underhanded and slimy. Well, no. As for the dead of night comment he made, it's pretty clear he was referring to things like the Medicare drug program vote in the House and Senate scheduling of controversial measures in the middle of the night --wasn't Terry Schiavo leglislation like that?

He was not talking about this type of instance and everything the article states does not indicate it was last minute leglislating designed to circumvent leglislative procedure.

Anyway, move on, nothing to see here. :o)