Washington Report, August 1983

United States Senator Chic Hecht's Washington Report VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 WASHINGTON D.C. AUGUST 1983 Dear Fellow Nevadan: This newsletter is intended to keep you up-to-date on recent U.S. Senate action which may have an impact on you, your family or your business. It also includes a list of key legislation I've supported since my term began seven months ago. Hopefully, this information will be of interest and will prompt you to advise me of your views on pending legislation or issues facing the 98th Congress. Also, if you are having a problem involving the Federal Government, please let me know. Your United States Senator is elected to serve your interests and those of the State of Nevada. Input from you is important. Please keep me informed on how you feel about the critical issues facing Congress this year. And, as always, let me know if I can be of assistance to you in any way. Sincerely, Hecht & Co To Visit State In August During August, when Congress is in recess, I will be touring much of our State along with members of my legislative staff, in an effort to visit with as many Nevadans as possible. Those who have written to me regarding legislative matters or simply for help in cutting through bureaucratic red tape will have an opportunity to discuss issues directly with me and in many cases, with members of my staff who deal directly with issues of interest to you. The tour will also allow me to visit with my Advisory Committees which have been established throughout Nevada to keep me informed on any problems I can help solve within their communities. The tour will be split into a southern and a northern swing. It all begins with an August 10th meeting with my Clark County Advisory group and includes a type of town hall meeting with residents in Searchlight, Laughlin, Overton and Alamo over the next several days. Students from Nevada receive a briefing on Senate issues from Senator Chic Hecht during a visit to the Capitol as part of an educational program devoted to involving high school students in the workings of government. On August 25, I will be joined by my Washington legislative staff on a 13-day tour with scheduled stops in Reno, Fernley, Fallon, Eureka, Ely, Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Yerington, Hawthorne, Tonopah, Austin, Battle Mountain, Carlin, Elko, Winnemucca and Lovelock. Make plans to spend some time with me when we visit your area and become acquainted with the legislative experts on my staff. We're all here to help; and I look forward to seeing you very soon. Itinerary, pages 2 & 3 More Power, Safety For Hoover Dam On August 4, the Senate unanimously passed an amendment I introduced on June 21st which would provide for additional hydroelectric development at Hoover Dam. My amendment to the Reclamation Hydro Authorization Bill also serves as the legislative capstone to a negotiated settlement of the long-standing Hoover power allocation dispute among Nevada, Arizona and California. continued In my maiden speech on the floor of the Senate, I urged quick approval of the proposal which represents the culmination of many months of tough, no-nonsense negotiation. The legal fees alone that will be saved as a result of this out-of-court settlement would probably go a long way toward retiring the national debt. The 50-year power allocation contracts for Hoover Dam are due to expire in 1987. Competition for this resource among power customers in the three states has been fierce, and last Fall a major lawsuit was brought by Nevada and Arizona over the Department of Energy's proposed marketing criteria for post-1987 Hoover power. Until recently, all efforts to negotiate an out-of-court settlement had failed. The amendment helps resolve the lawsuit by authorizing the retooling of Hoover's 50-year old generators to provide approximately 500 megawatts of additional capacity. Nearly half of this new capacity will go to Nevada, increasing our State's share of cheap, clean Hoover power by over 60 percent. All this was not the result of one man's work. I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of Governor Dick Bryan when he was Attorney General, our current Attorney General, Brian McKay, and former Governor Bob List. Office Addresses and Phone Numbers WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE 302 Hart Building "Washington; O.C. 20510 Phone (202) 224-6244 LAS VEGAS OFFICE 300 Las Vegas Blvd., Suite 426 Las Vegas, NV 89101 Phone (702) 385-6605 RENO OFFICE 300 Booth Street, Suite 2014 Reno, NV 89509 Phone (702) 784-5007 CARSON CITY OFFICE 308 N. Curry Street, Room 201 Carson City, NV 89701 Phone (702) 885-9111 Hoover Dam has had an enormous impact on the development of the American Southwest. Nevada Representative Francis Newlands introduced the original legislation which formed today's Bureau of Reclamation. Recent record flows of water have been released through the Federal dam system along the Colorado River. Without the flood control benefits of these dams and the reservoirs behind them, this year's unusual weather patterns would have been more devastating to human life and property all along the Colorado River. Economic Recovery Is Underway With each passing day, it's becoming more evident that Reaganomics has now taken hold and that economic recovery is finally underway. President Reagan is effectively attacking the causes of our economic woes: big Government, wasteful Government spending, high taxes and needless regulations. As a result, the recovery should be a lasting one and not simply a reaction to the band-aid approaches of the past which treated not the causes but merely the symptoms of our economic woes. There is ample evidence for optimism. This May, industrial production rose 1.1 percent for the sixth monthly increase in a row. Factories are operating at the highest capacity levels in more than a year: 71 percent. Furthermore, new factory orders for manufactured goods are at their highest level in 18 months while manufacturers' inventories are at their lowest levels in a year and a half. Statistics mean little, however, to the men and women who are still searching for work. In June the civilian unemployment rate stood at 10 percent, after peaking at 10.8 percent in December. But there is an even brighter statistic: 99.6 million Americans are employed! That is more than the level of employment, November, 1980. Employment in the auto industry has increased 105,000 since November; and GM alone has recalled 53,000 workers since January. The President's most impressive economic victories have been his efforts to lower inflation and interest rates. Inflation was 13.1 and 12.4 percent in the last 2 years of the Carter Administration. For all of 1982, the rate was 3.9 percent. Inflation for the first quarter of this year was the lowest in nearly 18 years. The prime interest rate under the last administration rose from 6 to 21.5 percent. Today it's dropped to 10.5 percent, the lowest level in 4 years. The sharply lower interest rates have helped spur our all-critical housing industry to the highest level in more than 31/2 years. Housing starts are up 75 percent and building permits are up 71 percent over a year ago. Existing home sales for May were up 54 percent, the highest level in 2 1/2 years. See Recovery, page 3 Itinerary Down South WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 1983 4:00 p.m. Meeting with Clark County Advisory Committee at Union Plaza Hotel 7:30 p.m. Dinner at Pahrump THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 1983 8:30 a.m. Breakfast in Searchlight 10:30 a.m. Coffee in Cal-Nev-Ari 12:00 noon Lunch with senior citizens at Searchlight 3:00 p.m. "Chat with Chic" meeting with constituents in Laughlin FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1983 12:00 noon Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at Overton 3:00 p.m. "Chat with Chic" meeting with constituents in Alamo 5:00 p.m. "Chat with Chic" meeting with residents from Pioche/Caliente area in Caliente Itinerary Up North Recovery, page 2 THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 1983 9:30 a.m. 12:00 noon 2:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m. FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1983 12:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1983 Coffee with constituents in Ferrfley Lunch in Fallon with Members of the Churchill County Advisory Committee, at The Waterhole Tour of Fallon Naval Air Base "Chat with Chic" town hall meeting in Convention Center Lunch in Eureka, Owl Club Barbecue in Ely at Murray Summit sponsored by Cowbelles 8:00 a.m. 9:30 a.m. 12:00 noon Breakfast with White Pine County Advisory Committee in Ely "Chat with Chic" meeting with constituents in White Pine Chamber of Commerce rooms Pony Express Days, Fairgrounds, Ely The Nation's Big Three auto makers report that the sale of new cars in June rose a substantial 48 percent from a year earlier. We must continue the battle! We must continue to stimulate our economy to create more lasting jobs, and we must reduce the huge deficit. But as President Reagan's economic policies continue to take hold, business and industry will continue to expand, taking more and more Americans off the welfare rolls and putting them back on the tax rolls. SUNDAY, AUGUST 28, 1983 Travel day MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1983 7:30 a.m. Breakfast at Edgewater Country Club, Lake Tahoe TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1983 9:30 a.m. Tour Carsonite International Corporation 12:00 noon Luncheon with Carson City, Douglas, Storey Advisory Committees at the Ormsby House 3:30 p.m. Meeting with Yerington residents on Court House Lawn WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1983 8:30 a.m. 12:30 p.m. 1:45 p.m. 8:00 p.m. Tour Ammunition Depot in Hawthorne Luncheon with Mineral County Advisory Committee, El Capitan, in Hawthorne "Chat with Chic" meeting with constituents, El Capitan "Chat with Chic" town hall meeting in Tonopah, Mizpah Hotel, Room 311 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1983 12:00 noon Luncheon in Battle Mountain with members of the Lander County Advisory Committee, Nevada Club 2:00 p.m. Tour of Duval Gold Mine at Carlin FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 1983 8:00 a.m. Afternoon Breakfast with Elko County Advisory Committee, at the Red Lion Labor Day Parade and other activities, Elko SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1983 11:30 a.m. Luncheon with Humboldt County Advisory Committee in Winnemucca 3:00 p.m. Parade, Winnemucca SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1983 12:00 noon Luncheon, Lovelock Park, Lovelock MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1983 7:30 a.m. Pancake breakfast in Fallon 10:30 a.m. Labor Day Parade, Fallon 1:00-5:00 p.m. Picnic in Mills Park, Carson City TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1983 12:00 noon Luncheon with members of the Washoe County Advisory Committee, Ascuaga's Nugget in Sparks Key Votes Interest and Dividend Withholding (Kasten-Dole Compromise amendment 1180) to delay implementation of the 10 percent withholding requirement on interest and dividends and to focus compliance efforts only on those not paying taxes. YEA Social Security Reform Package (H.R. 1900) to assure the solvency of the Social Security Trust Funds. YEA Senatorial Pay Raise (S. 8520) to give Senators a pay raise of $9,100 a year while postponing a limit on outside earnings. NAY Jobs Bill (H.R. 1718) provides productive employment for hundreds of thousands of jobless Americans, to hasten or initiate Federal projects and construction of lasting value to the Nation and to provide humanitarian assistance to the indigent. (Includes approximately $2.5 million for Nevada). YEA MX Missile basing mode funds. (S. CON. Res. 26). YEA Abortion Amendment (S.J. Res. 3) empowering the Congress and State Legislatures to ban, restrict, or permit abortions YEA Refugees Pose Problems For Nevada Perhaps the most critical question facing the Congress this year is that of communist aggression in Central America. This is not some distant war, far across the globe. El Salvador is nearly a thousand miles closer to Nevada than is Washington, D.C. This close proximity poses some very serious threats to our national security and to the well-being of our citizens. According to Congressman Tom Coleman (R-Missouri), the Chairman of a Congressional working group on Central America, if the region were to fall to the Communists, the United States could expect a massive influx of up to seven million refugees. When Cuba fell to Communist Revolutionaries, over a million Cubans fled to the U.S. This represents over 10 percent of the entire Cuban population. Rep. Coleman's estimates are based on a conservative 8 percent and are contained in a June 25th report to President Reagan detailing the social and economic consequences of massive immigration to the U.S. of Central American refugees. The report states the flow of refugees could cost American taxpayers $25 billion Washington, D.C. - A delegation from the Greater Reno- Sparks Chamber of Commerce got a guided tour of Senator Chic Hecht's new office in the Hart Building. Mr. and Mrs. Tony Fiannaca, Doris Eklund, Royle Melton, a Reno native and member of Senator Hecht's legislative staff, and Fred Davis. while putting increased pressure on unemployment throughout the nation. The report cites State Department statistics that estimate the average cost of providing for a refugee in this country is between $3,500 and $4,500. If only a small fraction of these so-called "feet people" make their way into Nevada, it would mean immeasurable costs to us in social and economic terms. The impact on the job market would be dramatic, especially in the unskilled labor positions where unemployment is already high. Although there are persistent critics of the Reagan Administration policies in Central America, these critics display little regard for the costs of a communist takeover in economic or human terms right here at home. Country 8% Refugees $$ Cost to U.S. to U.S. Costa Rica 192,000 $672,000,000 El Salvador 370,000 $1,295,000,000 Guatemala 600,000 $2,100,000,000 Honduras 328,000 $1,148,000,000 Nicaragua 200,000 $700,000,000 Panama 160,000 $560,000,000 Total 1,850,000 $6,475,000,000 Mexico 5,360,000 $18,760,000,000 Combined Total 7,210,000 $25,235,000,000 UNITED STATES SENATE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510 PUBLIC DOCUMENT OFFICIAL BUSINESS U.S.S. BLK.RT. CAR-RT-SORT POSTMASTER: DO NOT MARK ON OR ABOVE THE LABEL ? OCR. ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED.