Washington, D.C. (July 26, 1999) —
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-NV) today
gave the following speech on the floor of
the U.S. House of Representatives, objecting
to a bill proposed by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-TX)
that would torpedo efforts to expand the Las
Vegas Convention Center.
“Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to
voice my strong opposition to H.R.2398, a
bill that would have disastrous consequences
for the economy of my district–Las Vegas,
Nevada. H.R. 2398, referred to the Ways and
Means Committee, is an example of the worst
type of federal government meddling in
local matters and senseless over-regulation.
I believe this is an issue of importance to
Members of Congress and local governments
across the country.
Here’s the situation in a nutshell.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors’
Authority needs to expand its convention
center to accommodate the growing needs of
major trade shows and conventions.
This type of business is the life blood of
the economy of my district, and hundreds of
thousands of jobs depend on it.
I know because I worked in the tourism
business for many, many years, and I served
as a business consultant trying to meet the
needs of the convention industry in my
hometown. I know first hand how
critically important it is for Las Vegas to
expand its convention center, and I know how
important these facilities are to dozens of
other communities around the nation.
Just two weeks ago, the Las Vegas
Convention and Visitors’ Authority was
ready to issue revenue bonds, exempt
from federal taxes. As you know, local
government entities routinely issue tax
exempt bonds to meet their building needs.
The bond measure would allow my hometown
convention center to add enough floor space
to meet the needs of the convention business
and maintain our reputation as one of the
finest convention venues in the world.
The bond measure was the result of
responsible local government planning for
the future to maintain a strong economy for
the benefit of the 1.3 million residents of
southern Nevada.
Then something shocking happened, and it
happened right here in the House. From
2500 miles away, one of my district’s most
important economic development projects was
torpedoed - only temporarily, I hope.
At the last minute, the convention authority
was forced to postpone its sale of bonds
after H.R. 2398 was introduced by Mr. Tom
DeLay on June 30.
Mr. DeLay’s remarks in the
Congressional Record indicate Houston
can’t compete with Las Vegas as a
convention destination, so why not target
Las Vegas with legislation to stop the new
convention center? H.R. 2398 bears the
obscure, and seemingly harmless title of
“The Private Activity Bond Clarification
Act of 1999.” In reality, this
measure would drop a bomb on the proposed
Las Vegas convention center expansion, and
on any other public building project in the
United States that uses similar tax-exempt
financing.
The Las Vegas convention center expansion
project is a model of prudent use of public
monies and sound planning. The bonds
would be repaid through hotel room tax
revenues, revenues that will grow exactly
because there will be more convention space,
attracting more visitors to southern
Nevada. With a federal tax exemption, the
cost of the convention center bonds will
be low, and the convention center will be
able to accommodate conventions that
otherwise would be turned away. The
financing, through tax-exempt bonds, meets
every state and federal rule and regulation.
But now, out of the blue, comes H.R.
2398. This bill seeks to kill the
federal tax exemption by changing the IRS
codes, even though the current IRS codes set
clear qualifications for projects in
order to be tax exempt.
H.R. 2398 is simply a solution in search
of a problem. It sets out to fix
something that ain’t broke. And in
the process, H.R. 2398 could do a whole lot
of damage. H.R. 2398 could drive up
the costs of convention centers
and arenas around the country by banning
tax-exempt bonds for these projects.
It promotes the absurd concept that the
federal government should tax local
government.
For no good reason, H.R. 2398 gobbles up
local dollars by forcing local entities such
as the Las Vegas convention and visitors’
authority to borrow money at higher interest
rates, because they would no longer qualify
for federal tax-exempt status. This
amounts to an unfunded mandate, and an
onerous burden on our cities and towns.
I say we should be encouraging the
economic boost that convention centers bring
to a community, not discouraging them. H.R.
2398 is totally out of step with the times.
I know Mr. DeLay must be aware that we are
in an era of streamlining the IRS not
expanding it. We are in an era of reducing
government intrusion on state and local
matters, not meddling in them.
We are in an era that recognizes the
value of public-private partnership to
stimulate economic growth. And, we are
certainly in an era when we are all trying
to lower the tax burden, not raise it.
H.R. 2398 is on the wrong side of all these
issues, and we must reject it....for
the economic health of our local
communities. The defeat of H.R. 2398
will also defeat federal government
meddling in local affairs and defeat
over-regulation. And, it will be a
victory for common sense.”
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