Floor Speech For Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Floor Speech For Tuesday, February 15, 2005

During the years I've been in the Legislature, we've sent a number of resolutions back to Washington , supporting various policies and opposing others which we felt negatively impacted Nevada . Among those, I can think of none, with the exception of those related to Yucca Mountain , more important than the one before us today.

Recently, the President, in an attempt to reduce the soaring federal deficit, recommended in his budget that money generated by federal land sales in Clark County be funneled to the national treasury. Specifically, the administration proposed siphoning off 70% of our land sale revenue or some $700 million a year to pay down the staggering $527 billion deficit.

Since the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act was adopted in 1998, land sales in Southern Nevada have generated $1.6 billion. That is much higher than anyone anticipated when the bill was passed, which set aside 5% of the receipts for Nevada schools, 10% for water infrastructure, and 85% for environmental restoration, parks and recreation projects, and sensitive land acquisition throughout the state, including $300 million specifically for Lake Tahoe. Now Washington wants to take it away from us.

If the Bush budget proposal is adopted, it will be devastating for Nevada . Projects like the Clark County Shooting Range , The Spring Mountains Information Center , improvements at Lake Mead and Red Rock Canyon , and the purchase of 770 acres of Incline Lake property east of Lake Tahoe , among others will be jeopardized.

Not long ago, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton visited Nevada and praised our land sale program as a model that could be used to dispose of federal lands and protect sensitive areas elsewhere. She did not mention, however, that the President intended to take our money and use it instead to reduce the deficit. And mark my words, if they're going after the Clark County land sales revenue now, it is only a matter of time before they go after the Lincoln County and Northern Nevada land sales receipts as well.

Good grief, Mr. President, hasn't Nevada done enough? We already receive much less in federal funding than we contribute in taxes. Our federal spending-to-tax ration is .70 for every tax dollar the federal government collects from Nevada , we get only .70 cents back in the form of federal spending. By comparison, New Mexico receives the most with $2.37 per $1 contributed. In fact, Nevada ranks 46th in the nation overall and 50th when calculated per capita.

Furthermore, the federal government owns 86 percent of our land in the state, more than any other in the lower 48. This is land that cannot be developed and remains outside the tax roll which is a terrible deterrent to economic development is rural Nevada .

We helped when the Cold War and as a result, are home to a national sacrifice zone where atomic weapons were tested in our backyards.

Nevadans are proud Americans. We want to do our share. We pay our taxes. We send our young people to fight. We play by the rules and work hard. But this is just too much!

Enough is enough. The money from the sale of land in Nevada should stay in Nevada , preserving Nevada 's natural treasures, building Nevada 's infrastructure, educating Nevada 's children. Nevadans deserve no less.

So I urge your support of this resolution calling on the President to withdraw his proposal and urging our congressional delegation to use their power and influence to stop this unconscionable money grab once and for all.

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/titus/docs/FloorSpeech02132005.cfm