Nevada Delegation Splits On House Speaker Plan

(Sean Whaley/Nevada news Bureau) – Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., announced today he will back a spending reduction plan put forth by House Speaker John Boehner because it proposes a balanced budget amendment that will protect the United States’ AAA credit rating.

A vote on the plan scheduled for today was delayed, however.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said the plan is “dead on arrival” in the U.S. Senate if it passes the House.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., opposes the Boehner plan. Nevada’s third congressional district is currently vacant.

In announcing his support for Boehner’s plan to cut federal spending and raise the debt ceiling by an Aug. 2 deadline, Heck said: “Default is not the real problem – the real problem is the potential for a downgrade to the United States’ AAA credit rating. What would it mean to Nevadans if the United States lost its AAA credit rating? If the United States loses its AAA credit rating, interest rates will rise on everyday items such as credit cards, car loans, student loans, small business loans and mortgages.”

In a conference call with reporters today, Heck said: “And I have full faith in the speaker’s leadership and I think that given the hand that he was dealt, with the constant to and fro with the White House, that he has got a plan on the table that accomplishes the necessary goals to prevent a downgrading of our credit report.”

Boehner’s plan only calls for a vote in the House and Senate on a balanced budget amendment.

Heck said the actual spending reduction in the plan is only a first step. The real solution to reducing federal spending is a balanced budget amendment.

“I think the House plan is an excellent down payment,” he said. “It’s by no means the final payoff. And I think the way we eventually fix this issue is to pass the balanced budget amendment and have it ratified by the states.”

Berkley told the Las Vegas Review-Journal she did not like the two-step process to raise the debt ceiling because it would require another round of debate a few months down the road.