Nevada's Republican congressmen support juvenile crime bill

      WASHINGTON -- The House passed a bill last week making it easier for prosecutors to bring adult charges against juveniles accused of federal drug or violent crimes.
      Lawmakers voted 286-132 for the Republican-written bill. It allows juveniles 13 and older to be tried as adults in federal cases, and proposes grants to states that toughen their laws. Current law allows youths 15 and older to be tried as adults in some circumstances.
      Sponsors said the bill would nip young criminals before they commit more serious offenses. Critics said it would skew the justice system to harsher punishments rather than steering efforts toward crime prevention and counseling.
      Reps. John Ensign and Jim Gibbons, both R-Nev., voted for the bill.
      Before passing the bill, lawmakers defeated an alternative written by Democrats. It put more emphasis on crime prevention programs and retained the current law by which judges, rather than prosecutors, decide when to prosecute juveniles as adults.
      The Democratic alternative was killed, 200-224. Ensign voted for it while Gibbons voted against it.
     Endangered species protection
      The House fended off an effort to weaken the Endangered Species Act by exempting flood control repairs and maintenance.
      California Republicans whose districts were flooded in January spearheaded the drive. They charged the law prevented necessary maintenance and eventually contributed to levee breaks and the loss of lives.
      But Republican moderates joined a majority of Democrats to oppose the bill, calling it an attempt to gut the Endangered Species Act. They offered an amendment to provide a very limited exemption to repair already damaged flood controls.
      That amendment passed, 227-196, causing sponsors of the broader exemption to withdraw their support, effectively killing it.
      Ensign and Gibbons voted against the limited exemption.
     Public housing debate
      Lawmakers continued debating changes in public housing law, defeating several attempts by Democrats to strip parts of the bill.
      Among other provisions, the bill requires public housing tenants to perform two hours a week community service to keep their subsidy. Defeated was an amendment by Rep. Melvin Watt, D-N.C., that would have required tenants to be paid minimum wage for their labor as well.
      Watt argued the wages would encourage work habits. Critics said the amendment overlooks that tenants already are receiving a government housing subsidy for their efforts.
      The Watt amendment was defeated, 140-286. Ensign and Gibbons voted against it.
     Western road fight
      The Senate voted for legislation making it easier for Western states to build roads across certain federal property.
      In response to a complicated land access issue dating more than 130 years, the latest legislation would restore the ability of states to determine what is a right of way across federal land, and with it the ability to build roads on them. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt proposed earlier this year to give that authority to the federal government.
      Sponsors said they wanted to reinstate a right that states have had since 1866. Sen. Dale Bumpers, D-Ark., argued it would allow states to build roads across national parks and other land monuments.
      Bumpers proposed an amendment to leave the authority with the federal government, but he was outvoted, 51-49.
      Sens. Richard Bryan and Harry Reid, both D-Nev., voted for the Bumpers amendment.
     Automatic funding
      The parties fought over a provision that seeks to avoid a government shutdown later this year if Congress can't agree on a budget.
      Republicans inserted an automatic funding resolution into a disaster spending bill nearing passage. The resolution sets budget amounts that would kick in automatically if there's a budget stalemate.
      Democrats complained it would shortchange certain programs, and encourage Republicans to stall on setting authentic budgets.
      The automatic resolution was passed by a party-line 55-44 vote. Bryan and Reid voted against it.