Economic Rescue Package

Our economy is in trouble and we’re all feeling the pinch. There are many factors that have led to this crisis, but much of it is the result of years of deceptive lending practices, negligent oversight and deregulation that all failed to place the interests of hardworking Americans first. Now, the credit market is virtually frozen, Americans have lost billions in their retirement-savings accounts (including IRAs, 401ks, etc.), home values continue to plummet, and the unemployment rate in Nevada and across the country continues to rise.

In response, the Bush Administration requested that Congress provide the Treasury Secretary with a blank check to purchase bad assets from financial firms without any oversight. We all have an interest in ensuring the stability and vitality of the financial market. That is why my colleagues in both the House and Senate worked in a bipartisan fashion to improve the Administration’s proposal in order to ensure accountability, provide protection for taxpayers and do more to prevent foreclosures.

• First, we improved oversight of the asset-purchase program, so that Congress and the public would be able to see how taxpayer money was being spent.
• Second, we demanded that the Treasury receive stock warrants (similar to stock options) which give taxpayers a stake future profits of any company benefiting from government intervention.
• Third, we said that if a company receives government aid, its CEO cannot be rewarded for his/her failure with a golden parachute courtesy of the taxpayer.
• Fourth, we mandated that the federal government develop a plan to stop foreclosures on homes tied to mortgages purchased under the Treasury plan. It was critical that the government do more to address the root cause of the current crisis and help families keep their homes.
• Lastly, we temporarily increased the FDIC limit for individual depositors from $100,000 to $250,000. This will help protect Americans’ savings in the event of further bank failures and instill confidence in our banking system.

I am pleased that this legislation was passed along with a number of other measures important to Nevadans, which I have been working hard to pass for years

• Energy Tax Incentives: These provisions will help Nevada and the nation become more energy independent, strengthen our national security, improve the environment and create tens of thousands of new jobs. The bill extends the tax credit for electricity produced from clean renewable sources, such as solar, wind, biomass and geothermal, as well as tax credits for energy efficient appliances and improvements to new and existing homes. These, as well as other provisions in the bill, including a new tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles, will work to reduce our dependence on oil.


• Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) and the Secure Rural Schools program: Since 87% of Nevada’s land is owned by the federal government, increasing funding for Secure Rural Schools and PILT will help compensate our rural counties for lost revenue they need to fund schools and emergency services.


• Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT): The AMT is a parallel tax system originally designed to ensure that wealthy taxpayers paid at least a minimum amount of income tax. Because of flaws in its design, however, the AMT has threatened to affect middle-income families. The legislation we passed continues the temporary relief from the AMT enacted over the past few years which will prevent nearly 21 million taxpayers from having to pay this tax.


• Tax Extenders: Extending the deductions for college tuition, teachers’ out-of-pocket classroom expenses and state and local sales taxes—a key source of tax fairness for Nevadans—will save hardworking families hundreds of millions of dollars at a time when many are struggling to make ends meet in our current economic climate. In addition, the bill extends for an additional year the new property tax deduction for those taxpayers who don’t itemize their deductions for an additional year.


• Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act: When this law is enacted, 113 million people across the country will have the right to non-discriminatory mental health coverage, including 82 million individuals enrolled in self-funded plans who cannot be assisted by State parity laws.

Click here for a list of items in the measure that help Nevada. While I regret that Congress had to intervene in the financial market, I believe that this measure was an important first step in our efforts to stabilize our economy and protect Main Street from the crisis on Wall Street, but much more will need to be done.

Economic Recovery Proposals

In addition to passing the economic rescue legislation, I have called for a new set of economic recovery proposals to combat the slumping economy in Nevada and throughout the country. As Nevada families struggle through one of the worst economic situations in state history, I am working toward legislation that strengthens our economy by creating jobs, fighting foreclosures and cutting taxes. To read more about this recovery package click here.