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- Lands bill on way to president (3-25-2009)
- Henderson primed to receive 500 acres from federal bill (3-18-2009)
- Titus ventures into less friendly parts (10-30-2008)
- Titus goes to Washington (11-17-2008)
- Massive plan for fed land unveiled (6-6-2002)
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As President Barack Obama signed into law Monday a massive public lands bill that contains several items for Nevada, the day’s upbeat event raised political questions for the state’s lawmakers here.
Does Republican Rep. Dean Heller, who wrote some of the Nevada provisions only to twice vote against the bill, get to take credit for his legislation becoming law?
Does Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, who was not yet in Congress when the bills for her Henderson district were introduced, still get to enjoy a victory lap for casting her vote to help them pass?
Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Reno, said both lawmakers can — and likely will — take credit for the bill’s success, and “neither is being dishonest here.”
Herzik expects Heller will promote the parts of the bill he championed while disassociating himself from the broader legislation. Titus, he imagines, will take credit for having finished the work started by her predecessor.
Such selectivity is standard operating procedure in politics. “This is an ideal type of bill because everybody can claim credit,” Herzik said.
Titus said she realizes she cannot fully claim the Nevada provisions put forward partly by her predecessor, Republican Rep. Jon Porter, whom she defeated in November. Yet she also notes the realpolitik of the situation: “I’m here and I voted for them to pass.”
“They are parts of a bigger bill that took my support to get through,” Titus said. “While I’m not saying I get credit for the initializing — they came before I was here — I’m certainly part of getting them passed.”
Indeed, as Obama entered the stately East Room of the White House on Monday, he was surrounded by a dozen lawmakers from both parties who helped bring the bill to him, including Titus and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The legislation is a crowd-pleasing omnibus lands bill — a compilation of more than 150 separate bills that won widespread support by majorities in both the House and Senate.
The legislation sets aside 2 million acres for wilderness protection, making lands off-limits to motorized vehicles and energy production.
The Nevada provisions were more localized: In Southern Nevada public lands will be freed for development near the Nevada Cancer Institute and the Henderson airport, and for the Orchard Detention Basin flood control project.
In Northern Nevada land will be swapped in the Carson City area, with some acres set aside for protections and others made available for public and private development. Land near a rail line in Reno will also be freed up for commercial use.
The legislation also includes a water agreement among several Colorado River states, among other items for Nevada.
Often, the Nevada lawmakers work together on bills despite their partisan differences, and that was true for several of these provisions.
Despite the omnibus bill’s popularity, the legislation has had a long and difficult journey to the president’s desk.
The bill was routinely hung up by Republicans trying to force votes on amendments Democrats were trying to avoid — including one that would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons in national parks in Nevada and other states, which helped derail the bill last year.
In fact, most of the bills were holdovers from last year, when a single senator, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, blocked the package from advancing in the Senate. The legislation came to be known at the “Tomnibus” bill.
Reid made the bill a top priority when the new Congress began in January. He called senators to a special Sunday session to advance it.
It took two tries in the House and once more in the Senate before the bill was cleared for Obama.
Titus, Reid and Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley twice voted yes. Heller and Republican Sen. John Ensign twice voted no.
Reid said Monday the new law is “one of the most important conservation efforts in decades.”
Berkley said the land for the cancer center she championed will enhance the medical facility’s “lifesaving mission.”
Heller, however, is being criticized by the Democratic campaign arm for voting against a bill that included items he wrote. The Democrats’ news release was headlined: “Heller opposes own legislation — huh?”
Ensign’s spokesman said although the bill contained “important provisions for Nevada,” he was concerned about the costs involved, as well as banning potential energy production on lands nationwide.
Titus received word over the weekend that the White House wanted her to stand alongside the president at the White House ceremony.
Titus has received the star treatment since defeating Porter in what had been a Republican-held district. She will likely face a tough reelection fight in 2010, and pictures by the side of the popular president are a potential asset.
A White House official said Monday that Titus was invited because multiple projects in the bill will have significant effect on the congresswoman’s district.
Titus was one of just two freshmen House Democrats appearing alongside the president.
“To be invited to be part of the team that put it through is a nice compliment,” Titus said at the event. “Porter’s gone. I’m here. We’re moving forward.”
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