♪♪♪ Support for Nevada Week is provided by Senator William H. Hernstadt.

(Amber Renee Dixon) Welcome to a special edition of Nevada Week.

This statewide programming is part of the Nevada Decides 2022 Election series presented by Vegas PBS and KNPR.

I'm Amber Renee Dixon, and with me is KNPR's Joe Schoenmann.

In preparation for the November election, we're focusing on issues that matter most to Nevadans before they head to the polls.

(Joe Schoenmann) And we'll be joined shortly by Congresswoman Dina Titus, Democratic Candidate for Nevada's 1st District.

We had hoped to stage debate with her opponent, Mark Robertson, but the format of the debate couldn't be more-- It couldn't be agreed upon.

Congresswoman Titus opted instead to take time with Nevada Week to answer questions about topics impacting Nevadans.

-Joe and I will be asking questions, and there will also be video submissions from local community members on behalf of their organizations with questions tied to some of the topics we will be discussing tonight.

So let's get started by welcoming Congresswoman Dina Titus, Democratic Candidate for Nevada's 1st District.

Congresswoman, thank you for joining us.

You will now have one minute for an opening statement.

(Congresswoman Dina Titus) Well, thank you very much for having me.

It's unfortunate that my opponent didn't want to be here to discuss the issues.

You know, I am Dina Titus.

I represent District 1 in Congress.

People know me, they know my record.

They know how hard I work and that my integrity has never been questioned.

You know, I've been with Nevadans through good times and bad.

Remember the housing crisis?

We saved homes for over a thousand people, and I still run into them on the street.

And I'm there fighting now during this period of inflation that comes on the wake of what was never anticipated, a COVID plague was what it really was, and it cost jobs.

Nevada had a 35% unemployment rate.

But we brought that down, and now we're coming back because we're a resilient community.

Very proud to represent it, and I think we still have work to do.

-Congressman, I want to go back to the COVID.

You talked about the unemployment numbers.

At your district, from Spring Valley to Paradise and parts of the Strip, includes a lot of Culinary Union members, thousands in fact; and it's been reported that about 20% of the Culinary Union members are still unemployed.

Do you have ideas on how to turn that around?

-Well, I do, you know.

Right now we have created in Nevada, more jobs than anytime in history.

And that's true for the US, too.

We've gone from 35% to about 4%.

But there are still people out of work, and there are still businesses that need workers.

You know, what we need to do is invest in workers' training, because it's a new economy.

It's a global economy.

Maybe someone who was washing dishes can now be a computer programmer.

So there's a lot of investment in that.

And also, you know, all of the recovery packages that kept small businesses from just going under are now coming back.

They're getting that grant money that was a lone, and now it's a grant.

So there are opportunities for people to work in those jobs.

Culinary, though, took care of itself.

A lot of the unions worked hard to keep their folks employed, give food baskets, give vaccinations.

So they work together.

-So one of the issues behind the unemployment numbers is the fact that when those members were laid off during the period of unemployment during COVID, they came back-- They wanted to come back, but the jobs weren't there or their salaries were reduced.

Do you think if this ever happens again, or at the time, should the federal government have put requirements on businesses to make sure that they hire back the same people at the same wages that they were before the pandemic occurred?

-Well, you know, the Nevada Legislature did that; they passed a rehire bill.

And they looked at that at the state level.

One of the things I've been doing is tried to bring tourism back.

Our airplanes are full, our gaming revenues are up, but we don't have as many conventions as we used to have.

And we don't have international travel because the rules are so different for so many countries.

As that is becoming more even, those jobs will come back as those people come back for business travel as well as tourism.

-Congresswoman, the Congressional Leadership Fund, which is the super PAC dedicated to getting Republicans elected to the House, recently came out with an attack ad against you, claiming that the federal spending you supported was reckless and led to record high inflation.

How would you respond to that?

-Well, that's an old trope from the Republicans, "Cut spending."

They always say cut spending, but they never tell you what they want to cut.

They don't want to cut those tax breaks that they gave for the very wealthy not too long ago.

If you'll recall, when all the Strip shut down-- restaurants were closed and venues were closing, gig workers had no employment --that money was spent to get us through COVID.

And it did.

We gave loans to businesses.

Do they not want us to do that?

Those businesses kept people employed.

Did they not want us to do that?

Schools got reopened.

Would they have voted against that?

They're always quick to say something like that, but never offer anything of a plan of their own.

Just like Obamacare; they tried to do away with that 60-something times, never could come up with an alternative.

So it's easy to say cut spending and not so easy to do it and say where you would do it.

-And as part of the conversation surrounding Nevada's economy, we wanted to highlight specifically the ability of Nevadans to afford housing.

-Yes.

-On that topic, here is a community submitted question.

-Hello.

My name is Nina, and I'm with the Nevada Youth Empowerment Project.

I am a former foster youth and a single mother struggling to get by in Reno.

Here is our question: With wages going up 18% in the last 20 years and housing 58%, what is your plan to create 30- to 50% AMI housing for those on restricted income or minimum wage for our seniors or young adults?

-And, Congresswoman, real quick before you answer.

Just a quick note about Nina's question.

AMI, for those who don't know, stands for Area Median Income.

-Okay.

Thank you.

Well, affordable housing has always been a problem in Nevada.

This isn't new as a result of COVID.

We've never had enough to keep up with growth.

And now the same thing is happening in Reno as those businesses increase, like Tesla.

In some of the recovery bills, there was assistance for paying for mortgages, there was assistance for paying for rent.

Also, some of the federal funding that went to the state went into a program that the Governor has called Home Means Nevada, to provide assistance.

Another thing you can do is give tax incentives to people to build low income housing or affordable housing.

And that's a federal program that does exist and which I support.

Also, any kind of land use or lands bill here in Clark County ought to provide set-asides where affordable housing can be built.

But you got to get people to build it.

And I know it's a problem.

Like I said, I still have people saying, You saved my house.

I have people living in their car.

Talk to anybody at Whitney Elementary, where those children are just sleeping from couch to couch.

You can't learn in a situation like that.

So housing is critical.

We need to incentivize people to build it, we need to provide land where you can build it, and we need to help people with their mortgages and their rent.

And another thing that's happening is a lot of these big corporations are buying up houses and neighborhoods and turning them into B&Bs and taking them off the market for people to be able to afford.

And that needs to be looked at.

-How can you stop that?

-Well, right now there was a petition that Culinary pushed before North Las Vegas City Council.

It didn't pass, but that issue is gaining momentum because it's being found in neighborhoods across the valley.

-And you had mentioned that, the Clark County Lands Bill.

Well, it's currently at a standstill at last check in Congress.

What would you do if reelected to get that pushed through to open up more land for development and perhaps help the affordable housing issue?

-Well, I sponsored the bill in the House, the exact same bill; but Catherine led it in the Senate, and it just went awry with some of the negotiations.

But I do believe if you are going to take land and put it up to be developed out of where it exists now, which is just kind of empty and in reserve, controled by the BLM, you ought to make it conditional on some of those areas being built with affordable housing.

And that's the way it was in the bill.

You also want to conserve land.

So it has to really be a compromise.

We can't just keep developing in this valley, because look at Lake Mead.

That water is going down, down, down.

If you don't have the water, you don't need more people.

-I want to get back to Lake Mead.

-I thought you would, Joe.

-That Lake is in real trouble.

Not since 1937 has it been this low.

And it was only low then because it was still filling up after it was constructed.

Meanwhile, the seven states that were supposed to come up with some kind of agreement failed to do so in August.

There was no consequence to that.

Obviously, they're working behind the scenes on this, but can Congress step in and force the issue?

-Well, Congress can step in and do some things; but now that law of the river has been established for decades, and nobody wants to give up their share.

So that's why they couldn't come up with an agreement.

You know Nevada, surprisingly, has done a really good job on conservation.

We got less of an allotment, because who anticipated this many people would be living in the desert?

But some of the things that Congress has done, we had water in the-- money in the infrastructure bill to make water delivery more efficient.

There was a provision in there that is a joint effort with California to use recycled water.

We've got to think outside the box, though.

We need to do things like drip irrigation like they do in Israel.

I know DRI is working on that.

And they're growing cotton in the desert in Arizona.

That just doesn't really make any sense.

We're growing alfalfa in the desert, uses a lot of water.

I suggested we not grow alfalfa because that just gets shipped to China.

Grow hemp instead.

We know there's a market for that here.

-Any solution is going to be very expensive, and a lot of the states and the cities around the Colorado River still have plans to move forward.

In Las Vegas, we're growing again, really very quickly.

How do you manage that growth with an eye toward the conservation of water and, you know, really saving Lake Mead and really saving this area economically?

-Well, you know, I've been talking about sustainable growth since I was in the Legislature.

I had the ring around the valley in 1995 to say we need to grow in, not out because the more you spread, the worse it gets.

They put a noose around my neck on the cover of a magazine from the homebuilders.

They called it "ring around the valley," "ring around the rosie."

Now they're realizing sustainable growth is really something important.

Local government has done some good things, though: low water use plumbing, taking out ornamental grass, watering only on certain days.

Now they're doing swimming pool sizes.

All of that will help with conservation, but you have to be sure that you plan your growth in anticipation of how much water is going to be there.

And it's a pretty dire situation right now.

We've got enough banked to last us for a while, but we have to be smart about it.

We're in a 1200-year drought.

We are the sunniest, the hottest, the driest state in the country.

We need to recognize that.

-Let's move now to the topic of abortion rights.

The reversal of Roe v Wade restored the ability of states to ban abortion.

Being that the right to an abortion is largely protected within the state of Nevada within the Constitution here, how much of a priority is it for you should you be reelected to implement or try to pass a federal law that would protect abortion rights for the entire country?

-Abortion is a very big issue in Nevada and nationwide.

It has motivated women to get more engaged.

I have always been pro choice, and I was in the Legislature when we pushed through Question 7.

For now, women in Nevada are protected because of Question 7.

It locked in the statute, and you can't change it without another vote of the people.

Most states don't have that provision.

However, if a national ban is passed, it would supersede Nevada's law because of a national law.

National Supremacy Clause supersedes a state law.

And let's just say maybe there's some question about it.

And if there were and we went to court, look who's going to make the decision, the same court that has already overturned abortion.

The House has passed a women's health care bill that puts in place a national provision allowing abortion.

The Senate hasn't, but we will continue to push that.

You know, if the Court can overturn abortion because it's not specifically in the Constitution, they can overturn other things that aren't in there, the right to vote, school desegregation, who you choose to marry, birth control.

None of that is written out in the Constitution.

Founding Fathers didn't anticipate that, but the Constitution is flexible enough to allow the Supreme Court to enact it.

And that has been a precedent for 50 years that they just overturned, 50 years.

-If you were to be reelected and you faced a Republican majority in Congress, how would you make any progress on this issue?

-Well, the Republicans will do a ban.

They've already said it, my opponent supports it.

Graham has offered it, and McConnell, you know, they will try to push through a ban.

In the minority, of course, you don't have the votes, but you have to use other things.

You would offer amendments--excuse me--try to stall the process, try to get states to pressure the Court.

There are other ways that you can do it.

But you're right, the votes would not be there.

And that's what women are so concerned about.

If the Republicans take the House and the Senate, they will do it in a minute.

They've been trying to do it for 50 years.

We just didn't believe them, and now they've done it.

-You know, the abortion issue goes to health care, especially women's health care.

A large focus is being put on children and mental health care throughout the state.

And on that topic, here is a community submitted question.

-Tiffany, Children's Advocacy Alliance, Executive Director.

Nevada children and families face an unprecedented mental health crisis.

While there have been recent investments, much more is needed.

What are your priorities for children's mental health in Nevada?

-Well, ever since I've been in the Legislature in Congress, we have had not enough counselors in schools, not enough professionals here in the state to meet the need.

First, you have to take the stigma away from mental health.

It's not anything to be ashamed of.

Second, you have to be sure that mental health is treated equally in insurance plans to physical health.

It shouldn't be something that's kind of left out as a second thought.

We need to provide incentives for people to study.

We need to have enough counselors in schools.

We need to recognize the stress that children have been under this last year with COVID.

Addressing child suicide, how many young people do you find that, teenagers who are committing suicide?

So it has been a priority, and all the health care bills that we have passed and special money set aside in the Cares Act to help us recover from COVID.

Because COVID was not just a physical problem, it was a mental emotional problem as well.

-Our next topic is gun control.

Mass shootings continue to happen across the country.

Las Vegas, of course, five years ago was the site of the deadliest mass shooting in modern history.

You are a member of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

Of all the gun control measures that are out there, what is on your wish list to be passed next?

-Well, you're so right about the shooting at the Mandalay Bay.

That was in my district.

We got the call in the middle of the night, and there's nothing good about that except for perhaps what a resilient community we are and how everybody came together, from people on the frontline, EMTs, to people in restaurants who were feeding folks who were giving blood.

It was an incredible time.

So I am a member of that, and I support doing away with assault weapons.

You don't need an assault weapon to do recreational shooting or do hunting.

I mean, I grew up in the South.

My daddy had guns.

He went deer hunting till he had two little girls who saw Bambi , and that kind of put an end to that.

Right now the bill that I've been pushing the most is against bump stocks.

Bump stocks you put on a gun, and it can make and act like a machine gun, and that's exactly what they used in the Mandalay Bay shooting.

We passed a bill, but it was only a first step because we couldn't get it out of the Senate.

But it did do some things for the gun issue.

It had funding in there for schools and mental health.

That goes back to the previous question.

It closed the boyfriend loophole where if you're convicted of beating up your girlfriend, you can't get a gun.

And it enhanced background checks.

All of that's good, but we need to get rid of bump stocks too.

-In your opinion, what is the most realistic piece of legislation in terms of gun control to be passed next?

-Well, I think bump stocks have a chance because when I introduced it before in the House, it got more Republican votes than any of these other provisions.

It wasn't a lot; it was about 15.

But at least people can recognize the danger of bump stocks.

So we're gonna keep pushing for that.

-According to the nonprofit, Everytown for Gun Safety, Nevada has the 16th highest rate of gun deaths in the US.

What would you like to see state legislatures here in Nevada do to reduce that rate?

-Well, I have to commend Assemblywoman Hardy because she did a great job in the last session.

She was a survivor of October 1 event, and so she was able to push through a bump stock law here in the Nevada Legislature.

Also, even though people think of this as a cowboy state, the public in Nevada voted in an initiative process to have background checks.

So people like to have guns, they like to go hunting, they like to skeet shoot or target shoot, but responsible gun owners and the people of Nevada support having some kind of reasonable restrictions.

-Congresswoman, with the time we have left, I want to get into education a bit.

It's sort of an unfortunate tradition in Nevada to be ranked lowest in the country in all sorts of different parameters related to education.

Is there anything at the federal level that you can do to help a state like Nevada with its education system?

-Well, my opponent wants to do away with the Department of Education, which would be really dumb, because then we wouldn't get all the federal funding for women's sports, for discrimination, for disability, for underprivileged children.

All of that is federal money that comes to the states.

You know, as part of the Recovery Act, this school district got almost $800 million.

Now, the School Board is often in disarray.

I hope they invest that money in sustainable programs.

You know, teachers should be paid more.

Everybody recognizes that.

But you need to invest in curriculum that has a future in this state.

You know, some of the schools in my district are magnet schools, and they are starting to do engineering and computering in middle school.

You don't wait till high school.

So there are-- One bill that I'm on at the national level is to create STEM scholarships for the minority-serving institutions, and those here in Southern Nevada would fit that qualification.

And you can get young people into the STEM fields, which are the good paying, long-lasting professions now for the future.

And that's just one little small thing that you can do.

-You know, a big problem with Nevada's education system is funding it.

The state has grown so quickly over the last 30, 40 years.

State funding hasn't kept up with it.

Is there any chance that--and I'm just really kind of spitballing here--that the federal government could come up with a plan to help states that can't keep up revenuewise, where they could infuse money into those states to help with their education as sort of being the cornerstone of everything that happens in this country?

-Well, the money that comes from the federal government follows the students.

So that money already comes.

That's why doing away with the Department of Education would be a really bad idea.

You'd eliminate all that kind of funding, 800 million that, I think, that came to the states from the federal government was a good investment.

I think the investment that federal government makes in supporting magnet schools-- I think magnet schools are great.

That's where you can go to a school with a special interest.

Also, we got to think outside the box like at the community colleges or UNLV.

There's a program I really like that a combination of art and engineering.

You don't often think of that.

But if you think of all the high tech stuff and the design and think of Cirque du Soleil, that's a lot of art and a lot of engineering.

So why aren't we training people for jobs that we have positions for on the Strip.

But the federal government already offers considerable funding to state education.

-You know, for the final topic here, Congresswoman, I want to talk a little bit about infrastructure.

Nevada is going to get about $4 billion over the next five years as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

That funding will go to highways, transit, airports, drought mitigation.

For you, what's the number one infrastructure issue for Nevada?

-Well, I serve on that committee.

I'm a senior member on that committee.

And so all this funding is good for repairs, but we need more access.

The Northeast needs to repair old places.

We need to get new highways, new bridges, new airports.

So all of that is important.

You know, in Nevada, we don't really make anything except maybe dreams come true.

So everything has to be imported.

We import flowers, people, lobster.

So that infrastructure needs to be in place.

Also, there's funding for electric car charging and potentially for I-11 to Phoenix and a speed train to Southern California.

All that's now possible under different pockets of money.

And money for Internet.

You know, we think of remote Nevada, that doesn't have resources, as being out in the country, but, no, it's also in the inner city.

Because we have the old schools, we have children going down to Starbucks to do their homework.

That Internet will make a huge difference.

And now you can't operate without the Internet like you used to couldn't, needed electricity.

-How were you made aware of that problem?

Was that during COVID?

-That's right, exactly.

When you couldn't go to school and you had to study from home.

Children have already missed two years of study.

And if you didn't have a computer, think how much further behind you were.

-As our program nears the end, we want to give Congresswoman Titus an opportunity for closing remarks.

Congresswoman, you have one minute.

-Well, thank you very much for having me.

I always enjoy talking about things that we're doing in Congress and bringing them home.

I used to do Congress on the Corner just so I can meet with people.

And that's kind of been stopped by COVID too.

So this is a great opportunity.

You know, times are tough.

We've got to get the price of oil, gas down.

Inflation we've got to get down.

But I think that will come down as a function of investment.

People who say, Oh, you shouldn't have spent that money, that was an investment in Nevada's future.

And we are resilient; we will come back.

And it would be my honor to continue to represent this area, fight for the people who live here, and I ask them for their vote.

-Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us today.

And a reminder that early voting starts October 22.

The primary election takes place November 8.

For KNPR, I'm Joe Schoenmann.

-And for Vegas PBS, I'm Amber Renee Dixon.

Go to vegaspbs.org/nevadaweek for a link to information on voting in this year's midterms.

And thank you for joining us for this special edition of Nevada Week.

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