Berkley, Heller put veterans first, campaign second

Wearing smiles, U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley leaned her head in toward U.S. Sen. Dean Heller's. The two shared a few words as they sat beside one another before addressing a disabled veterans convention Wednesday. They were so close, her swept up hair brushed his forehead.

Minutes later, in back-to-back speeches, both noted their fathers are veterans. Both praised America's forces for their service to flag and country. And both touted their own legislative records of helping Nevada's 260,000 veterans, who make up 10 percent of the state's population.

The two are competing fiercely for the veterans' vote in their 2012 Senate campaign, although attending the convention at the Golden Nugget was billed as official business. By outward appearance, it was hard to tell the cozy lawmakers are in a career-defining election battle.

"I'm more concerned about their issues than worried about any campaign trail that's going on right now," Heller, R-Nev., said outside the meeting. "I know the other side is worried about that."

The other side would be Berkley, D-Nev. She has been aggressively campaigning for months while Heller has stayed more behind the scenes, learning his Senate job and enjoying the role of incumbent. He was appointed in May to complete U.S. Sen. John Ensign's term after he resigned in disgrace.

Berkley said she spoke to the Blinded Veterans Association out of passion for her job.

"I have been one of the leading advocates for veterans since coming to Congress when I first served on the Veterans Affairs Committee," she said outside the meeting. "My vets mean a lot to me."

Berkley gave up her seat on the veterans committee two years ago to serve on the House Ways and Means Committee. She and others in Nevada's congressional delegation got the Veterans Affairs Department to build a $600 million medical center in North Las Vegas. It's scheduled to open next June.

Berkley said she has pushed for better treatment of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. She also has promoted education and jobs programs and help for veterans who, she said, make up 40 percent of Clark County's homeless population.

"You take care of them when they come back, or you don't send them in the first place," she said.

Earlier this year, the House voted to cut spending on a housing voucher program for veterans. It was part of a larger appropriations act, which Heller supported and Berkley voted against. On Tuesday, at a campaign event, Berkley slammed Heller for his vote. In front of the veterans' group she didn't name him, but said, "There are members of Congress that actually voted to end this program."

Republicans argued that saving $75 million by not adding more vouchers to the program made sense because more than 10,000 of the 30,000 awarded have gone unused.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, who attended the convention, said administering the program takes time, and he agreed that holding excess vouchers is a waste.

"The families have to be prepared to go into housing, so it doesn't do much good to bring up, you know, 100,000 vouchers, when it's a process of validating the safety of the houses," he said.

Heller, in his speech, said he has been helping veterans since he took office in 1991 as a Nevada assemblyman. He backed a resolution to help families of prisoners of war and troops missing in action. Then-U.S. Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., helped get the MIA-POW act passed in Congress.

Heller promised to ensure veterans get "all the benefits they have earned and they deserve."

He said his father is a disabled veteran with a missing lung who has had heart and back surgery.

"My door is always open to you," said Heller, who spoke first and did not stay to hear Berkley.

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.