Year in review: A look at what Nevada’s politicians accomplished in 2023

Next to baseball, one of Americans’ favorite pastimes is complaining that nothing gets done in Washington.

Sometimes, that is true. But that’s not to say that politicians don’t try to get stuff done. Nevada’s federal delegates — made up of four U.S. representatives and two senators — have been busy in 2023, despite a standstill in the House while it struggled to elect a new speaker with a government shutdown looming overhead.

Still, Congress managed to pass a short-term spending agreement to keep the government open. It capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors, allowed Medicare to negotiate for lower drug prices and passed bills and resolutions to combat anti-semitism and help support Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.

Nevada’s delegates worked together to pass critical pieces of legislation and provide funding for many projects in the Silver State. They pushed for a new national monument, secured $3 billion for a high-speed rail project that will connect Las Vegas with Los Angeles and successfully requested funding for a new veteran’s hospital in Reno.

Here’s a rundown of what Nevada’s federal delegates accomplished and some of the bills they introduced, and different projects they pushed for.

Defense

In a 2023 wrap-up, Rep. Mark Amodei, the Silver State’s sole Republican representative, touted the approval of the Navy’s proposal to modernize the Fallon Range Training Complex that was included in the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

The defense act, which supports a total of $886.3 billion for national defense, also included other bills Nevada’s delegates pushed for. It included sections that protected the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s access to land managed with the Air Force, urged the Department of Defense to address power systems at Hawthorne Army Depot in western Nevada and required a report on disparities faced by service members at Creech Air Force Base in Indian Springs.

Improving housing

Rep. Steven Horsford’s office highlighted accomplishments Horsford made in housing, such as securing funds for a $4.8 million Affordable Housing Program Nevada, which will support different affordable housing projects, including the Golden Rule Seniors Apartment project and Rome South 2 Senior Apartments in North Las Vegas.

Horsford also co-sponsored bills including the Ending Homelessness Act of 2023, the Downpayment Toward Equity Act of 2023 and the Housing Crisis Response Act of 2023, which would invest more than $150 billion in affordable housing and would create 1.4 million affordable and accessible homes. Those bills were moved into different committees, where they can move forward or be included into a larger bill.

Economy

Horsford and Rep. Dina Titus also co-sponsored the Raise the Wage Act, which gradually increases the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 an hour by 2028.

Sen. Jacky Rosen and Rep. Susie Lee introduced the Small Business Child Care Investment Act, which will make non-profit child care providers eligible to participate in Small Business Administration loan programs to assist them in expanding their operations. They also introduced the Hire Student Veterans Act, which would provide a tax credit to businesses that hire veterans who are receiving educational assistance under programs provided by the Department of Defense or Veteran Affairs.

To address the nursing shortage in the Silver State and across the country, Titus, Lee and Rosen pushed the Train More Nurses Act, which aims to build the nursing workforce and improve pathways for licensed practical nurses to become registered nurses. It was included in bipartisan legislation that is before the senate.

Water and lands

Nevada’s delegates continued to ensure Yucca Mountain will not become the nation’s nuclear waste repository. With Titus leading on the House side and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto leading on the Senate side, the Silver State’s Democratic delegates re-introduced the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, which would require the Secretary of Energy to obtain the consent of affected state and local governments before making an expenditure from the Nuclear Waste Fund for a nuclear waste storage system.

Cortez Masto also introduced the Mining Regulatory Clarity Act, alongside Rosen, which will set forth a process to allow mine operations on public land regardless of whether a mineral deposit has been discovered on the land. Amodei introduced the same bill on the House side.

Cortez Masto and Lee introduced the Open Access Evapotranspiration Data Act to get water use data in the hands of farmers and ranchers and others for improved water management across the west.

Rosen also secured $6 million for the treatment and suppression of Mormon crickets across Western states, which passed the Senate in the Senate’s government funding package in October.

All of Nevada’s delegates pushed for the Lake Tahoe Restoration Reauthorization Act — with Amodei as the primary sponsor in the House and Cortez Masto in the Senate — that reauthorizes the restoration of Lake Tahoe and its surrounding basin through Sept. 30.

Combating the overdose epidemic

Cortez Masto introduced the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act in March to crack down on xylazine, also known as “traq,” which is an easily accessible veterinary tranquilizer that is being used as low-cost cutting agent. The bill was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

In September, Lee introduced the TREAT Youth Act to reauthorize a program that provides grants to improve youth awareness of risks associated with fentanyl and opioids. The bill passed in the House of Representatives as part of a broader legislative package.

Other bills introduced:

• Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act (Titus): Prohibits the Bureau of Land Management from using helicopters for gathering horses and burros.
• Closing the Bump Stock Loophole Act of 2023 (Titus): Codifies a permanent ban on bump stocks, which were used in the Oct. 1, 2017 shooting in Las Vegas.
• No CORRUPTION Act (Rosen): Bars members of Congress from collecting taxpayer-funded pensions if they are convicted of felonies related to their official duties. It passed the Senate.
• No Paydays for Hostage-Takers Act (Amodei): Ensures terrorists who take American citizens hostage are not rewarded with financial incentives and not granted entry into the U.S.
• 21st Century SKILLS Act (Horsford): Amends the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and creates a grant program to promote skills-based training.
• Biking on Long-Distance Trails Act (Lee): Expands outdoor recreation opportunities by developing and completing long-distance bike trails and expanding mapping resources. It is being included as part of the EXPLORE Act.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.