Nevada car dealers are winners with clunkers

Nevada car dealers racked up more than $13.8 million in cash through the federal government's Cash for Clunkers program, according to a report by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

On Friday Reid said that's how much the government has repaid Nevada dealers for sales made via the program.

The nationwide program was designed to boost car sales by offering cash incentives to people to trade in their cars for newer, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Reid says Nevada dealers have been repaid for 97 percent of the deals they made through the program.

"This was a very successful program that not only put money in the hands of Nevada business but strengthened our state’s environment," he said.

Here's a copy of Reid's entire statement:

REID ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $13.8 MILLION IN CASH FOR CLUNKERS REPAYMENTS

Nevada has now been reimbursed for 97% of dealer payments

Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid today announced that Nevada auto-dealers have been repaid more than $13.8 million dollars in the highly successful “Cash for Clunkers” program which means that 97% of payments are complete.

In August, Reid authored a letter to the Department of Transportation urging them to move more quickly on reimbursing auto-dealers. In it, he said “This program has had a significant stimulative effect on the sale of cars in the U.S., and dealers have submitted hundreds of thousands of vouchers for processing,” Reid wrote. “In order to capture a sale but also make use of the CARS incentive, dealers have been forced to effectively finance the CARS vouchers to buyers until they are reimbursed by the federal government, placing a strain on dealers’ balance sheets that, if prolonged, could eventually offset some of the benefits of the program.”

“I’m pleased that the Department of Transportation heeded my advice and did such an outstanding job in securing these repayments for Nevada auto-dealers. This was a very successful program that not only put money in the hands of Nevada business but strengthened our state’s environment.”