Last week, embattled Congresswoman Shelley Berkley who once was a co-sponsor of legislation that would transfer federal land in Lyon County to create jobs in Northern Nevada, sided with a radical environmental group and voted against the Yerington Land Conveyance and Sustainable Development Act.
This legislation would enable the City of Yerington and Nevada Copper to develop over 10,000 acres of land for the Nevada Copper Pumpkin Hollow project and it would yield nearly 800 new jobs.
Over three-quarters of the Silver State is owned by the federal government, yet when the far-left League of Conservation Voters told Berkley to oppose the legislation – because it would privatize public land – she quickly obliged.
A bundle of 14 proposals that included transferring federal land to Yerington easily passed the U.S. House on Tuesday, giving a spark to Lyon County where the unemployment rate stands at 15.1 percent. The proposed land transfer is a major cog in the revitalization of the county’s copper mining industry. But on Tuesday, the measure also found itself in the middle of the Dean Heller vs. Shelley Berkley campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Heller. Although Berkley, D-Las Vegas, was a co-sponsor, she voted against the bundle that included the Yerington Land Conveyance and Sustainable Development Act. (Ray Hagar, Yerington land-transfer bill passes U.S. House; trouble in U.S. Senate looms, Reno Gazette-Journal, 06/19/12)
“The federal government owns over three-quarters of the land in Nevada and it’s remarkable that embattled Rep. Shelley Berkley took the advice of a radical environmental group and opposed the sale of a small parcel of land, which would create 800 new jobs,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesman Jahan Wilcox. “With the unemployment rate at 15.1 percent in Lyon County, it’s clear Berkley would rather side with her liberal friends in Washington, than enact pro-growth, pro-jobs policies that will get the Silver State working again.”
BACKGROUND …
Shelley Berkley Voted Against The Yerington Land Conveyance and Sustainable Development Act
Although Berkley, D-Las Vegas, was a co-sponsor, she voted against the bundle that included the Yerington Land Conveyance and Sustainable Development Act. (Ray Hagar, Yerington land-transfer bill passes U.S. House; trouble in U.S. Senate looms, Reno Gazette-Journal, 06/19/12)
Which Will Create Nearly 800 New Jobs In Lyon County
The [Yerington Land Conveyance & Sustainable Development Act] will create approximately 500 construction jobs by 2013. At full operation in 2015-2016, Pumpkin Hollow is expected to employ nearly 800 people directly. (Senator Dean Heller, Heller Applauds House Passage of Yerington Mining Bill, Press Release, 06/19/12)
Because The League Of Conservation Told Berkley To Vote No
Dear Representative [Berkley]: The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) works to turn environmental values into national priorities. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters nationwide, and the media. LCV urges you to vote NO on H.R. 2578, the so-called Conservation and Economic Growth Act, an over-reaching assault on America’s lands and wildlife that blocks or rolls back conservation laws on federal lands, guts environmental review, and privatizes public lands. (League of Conservation Voters, Letter To Rep. Shelley Berkley, See Attachment, 06/18/12)
