Republican Senator: The Majority Leader did exactly what a Senator, I would think, would do.

October 1, 2009

Washington, D.C.—As Nevada Senator Harry Reid’s fight for the Silver State continues, Senate Republicans attacked him for standing up for Nevada.  Reid persisted in his offensive regarding his work to help his state cover Nevadans as part of health insurance reform.  As part of an agreement with the Senate Finance Chairman, Reid secured a deal providing the state full federal funding for people added to Nevada Medicaid under the program expansion included in the legislation.  Under this deal, federal Medicaid dollars flowing into Nevada will increase by more than 30 percent while the state will only have to increase its funding by 1.6 percent.

Even in the course of their attacks Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander gave Reid credit for leveraging his position as Majority Leader to deliver for Nevada. “And so the Majority Leader did exactly what a Senator, I would think, would do,” said Alexander. “[Reid] introduced an amendment, or proposed an amendment to the Senate Finance Committee and said take care of Nevada.”

Reid said that he will continue to fight for Nevada as the health care bill is debated. “Our unemployment rate is more than 13 percent,” he said Wednesday on the Senate Floor. “The people of Nevada are hurting, and I make absolutely no apologies, none, for helping people in my state and our nation who are hurting the most.”