GOP wants to hurt seniors while massaging Big Oil, China

Nevada was hit particularly hard by the economic downturn and families throughout the state continue to struggle just to make ends meet. The problem is clear: We need more good-paying jobs here in the state.

Unfortunately, far too many in Washington just don't have their priorities straight.

With the highest unemployment rate in the nation, one would expect Nevada's representatives in our nation's capital to be spending every waking hour focused like a laser on getting people back to work. Instead of a "jobs agenda," however, far too many in Washington seem to have an "anything but jobs agenda," spending precious time on issues that not only won't help our unemployment situation, but actually would harm Nevada's middle-class families.

For example, this year Washington Republicans voted overwhelmingly in the House and Senate in favor of a budget proposal that, according to The Wall Street Journal, will "essentially end Medicare." How? By turning seniors' health care over to private insurance companies.

The effect of this radical change would be disastrous, increasing premiums for the average American senior by approximately $6,000 a year.

The question is: How are turning Medicare over to insurance company bureaucrats and increasing seniors' out-of-pocket costs going to create jobs in Nevada?

The answer? They're not.

But it doesn't end there.

Last month, a handful of Senate Republicans tried to block common-sense legislation holding the Chinese government accountable for their unfair trade practices that are cheating American workers out of millions of jobs.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, Nevada has lost an estimated 16,000 jobs since 2001 due to currency manipulation by the Chinese. Given the jobless rate in the state, it was unconscionable for those senators to side with the interests of the Chinese government rather than the state's unemployed.

Yet, that was the clear priority for a number of U.S. senators.

A third example is the repeated votes by some Washington Republicans to protect taxpayer giveaways to the nation's biggest oil executives, funneling millions of dollars into their campaign accounts.

Just last week, oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips posted billions in soaring profits for the third quarter. However, there were still those in our nation's capital who voted to protect $21 billion in taxpayer funded handouts padding the pockets of these CEOs. How is that putting Nevadans back to work?

At a time when Congress should be urgently working to create good-paying jobs that stay in Nevada, too many in Washington have taken their eye off the ball to focus on killing Medicare, protecting the Chinese government or standing up for Big Oil CEOs.

We need to stay focused on putting Nevadans back to work. But that means picking and choosing the right priorities.

Instead of slashing Medicare benefits, let's start taking advantage of Nevada's abundant natural resources such as wind, solar and geothermal energy to make our state the clean energy jobs leader of the nation.

Rather than fixing the unemployment crisis in China, let's tackle Nevada's jobs crisis by empowering small businesses to begin hiring again through incentives and better assistance.

And instead of padding the pockets of the bigwigs in the oil industry, let's help our men and women in uniform find employment when they return home after risking their lives fighting overseas.

Families across Nevada are desperate, and it's long past time for those in Washington to start making job creation the top priority it deserves to be.

Now is not the time for an ideological battle about whether we should pull the rug out from under Nevada seniors. It's time for an action strategy that zeroes in on practical solutions that will get our state working again.

Only then will we be able to get Nevada's economy moving and people back on the job.

Shelley Berkley, a Democrat, represents Nevada's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.