Democrat state senator Lee throws hat into House race

State Sen. John Lee launched a bid for Congress on Monday with rhetorical guns blazing at crisis-driven politicians in Washington who nearly let the nation default on its debt.

Lee thanked U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, a fellow Nevada Democrat and supporter, for helping put together the final deal to lift the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before today's deadline. But Lee went on to criticize most aspects of the compromise, including creation of a "super committee" that could lead to trimming entitlement programs such as Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.

"Today's deal creates a government panel to recommend future spending cuts which will probably end up looking like a circular firing squad where the people most likely to get injured are society's most vulnerable and in need of protection," Lee said in a statement.

Lee said Washington should instead balance the budget by ending tax cuts for international corporations and eliminating tax loopholes for companies that "don't pay a dime in federal taxes."

"The across-the-board cuts proposed in this plan are a convenient way to avoid the leadership of making tough choices," Lee said hours after announcing he would run for a U.S. House seat.

Lee's attack on the debt deal -- and on Washington -- comes as no surprise because the conservative senator from North Las Vegas is running as a "common sense" small businessman. The plumber is the third Democrat to declare a House bid without knowing the outlines of the district he or she would represent.

Lee said he wants to compete for whichever House seat covers most of his North Las Vegas Senate territory once a court-appointed panel draws the congressional district maps.

Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas, and former Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., both announced in July they're running for Congress. Two other Democrats are considering House bids: state Sen. Ruben Kihuen and state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, both of Las Vegas.

On Monday, Kihuen defended the debt compromise during a conference call with reporters organized by the Nevada Democratic Party. He said it took a step toward "getting our nation's debt under control" while also protecting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security from automatic cuts.

"It's not the perfect deal," Kihuen said. "Both sides had to give in a little."

Kihuen said 15 to 20 constituents had called him worried about funding for programs such as college Pell Grants, which ended up receiving more money, although student loans would be trimmed.

Kihuen said he would have voted for the deal, which he also touted on Spanish-language media.

"I firmly believe in compromising," he said. "I built a reputation of being a uniter and not a divider."

Lee, too, would have voted for the debt bill to avoid a default and to support Reid and President Barack Obama, who dodged even deeper GOP-proposed cuts, his campaign spokesman said.

But like most Democrats, Lee isn't happy with the deal, which would allow the debt ceiling to be raised by as much as $2.4 trillion in two phases. That's because the trade-off is $1 trillion in spending reductions over 10 years that would force deep cuts in thousands of federal programs.

And Lee especially doesn't like the 12-member "super committee" -- half Democrats and half Republicans -- charged with recommending $1.5 trillion in further savings by Thanksgiving. Democrats also hope to put eliminating the Bush tax cuts on the table to raise future revenues.

Lee said he agreed government must find ways to get its spending under control. He said the U.S. government spends about $300 billion a month and takes in $180 billion, requiring it to borrow
$120 billion monthly. But he said he is against short-term, eleventh-hour solutions.

"Washington knew we needed to raise the debt ceiling to keep paying the bills," Lee said. "But as usual Congress does not act, chooses waiting until it has to react to its own crisis."

Oceguera and Titus did not respond to a query about how they would have voted on the debt bill. Previously, Titus said she was against a plan proposed by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and she praised the Democratic effort to raise the debt ceiling to avoid default.

All three declared Democrats can start raising money and organizing campaigns, getting a jump on others considering running for three congressional districts based in Southern Nevada.

The seats include one held by Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who defeated Titus in 2010, Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley's open seat as she runs for the U.S. Senate, and a new fourth district Nevada won when its population hit 2.7 million in the latest census.

Both Heck and Berkley voted for the debt bill, which passed the House on Monday.

Titus isn't expected to run for Heck's seat but probably would make a bid for Berkley's redrawn district. Oceguera and Lee are both pitching themselves as moderate Democrats who would do well in a mixed urban-rural district: either Heck's turf that now includes Henderson and unincorporated parts of Clark County or a new fourth district if it includes some areas outside of Clark County.

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