As Congress tries to hammer out a budget deal and other end-of-year business, Nevada’s delegates have limited their dispatches from the nation’s capital.

Nevada’s sextet only issued a total of 23 news releases this week — down from 34 the prior week.

Two of the state’s federal representatives stayed entirely silent this week, at least in the form of written communication. Rep. Ruben Kihuen, who has kept a low profile amid sexual harassment allegations, and Rep. Mark Amodei, who rarely issues formal press releases, didn’t send a single missive.

As for the email bulletins that did land in media mailboxes this week, they lacked any common thread. Rep. Jacky Rosen continued an assault on the GOP-led tax reform bill. The Senate passed its version late last week and then voted to send it to a conference committee, where lawmakers will try to resolve differences between it and the House iteration.

Meanwhile, Rep. Dina Titus remained angry about the national monument review; Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto called for a ban on bump stocks; and Sen. Dean Heller lauded President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

But of all the action happening in Washington, D.C. this week, Amodei may have delivered the most candid remarks on a very Nevada issue — wild horses. The Republican congressman talked to the Washington Examiner and explained why he’s not against a legislative amendment that would, in his words, effectively “kill horses.”

Read below to see why Amodei has taken that stance on the wild horse issue as well as what other delegates really wanted the public to know this week. As always, we’ve kept the actual punctuation of the press release subject lines.

CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO

Number of press releases issued this week: 8

The details: As sexual harassment allegations continued to permeate Congress this week, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto refrained from calling for fellow Nevada lawmaker, Rep. Ruben Kihuen, to step aside. The Democratic senator, however, issued a statement on Sen. Al Franken’s decision to resign.

“I am extremely disappointed in Senator Franken,” Cortez Masto wrote. “The experiences shared by the brave women who have come forward show a disturbing pattern of behavior.”

Cortez Masto also urged for a culture change within Congress, starting with reforming the ethics process. Congress, she said, “must stop using taxpayer dollars to settle sexual harassment claims.”

Her seven other media missives touched on a variety of topics, including law enforcement in Native American communities, a recommendation to shrink Gold Butte National Monument and botched hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.

She also testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on a topic that hit close to home — bump stocks. The Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people attending a country music festival on Oct. 1 used bump stocks, which accelerate the rate of gunfire of semi-automatic weapons, during his shooting spree.

“I believe we must pass this legislation so the law is clear: bump stocks do not belong in our country,” she said. “We cannot and should not wait to do this through a lengthy rule-making process that could take years. The victims of the October 1st massacre and all Americans need action now.”

Press release subject lines:

• 12/4: Cortez Masto Applauds DOJ Grant for Hiring, Rehiring Police Officers in Paiute, Shoshone Communities
• 12/5: Cortez Masto Urges President to Swiftly Nominate Aggressive Head of Consumer Watchdog
• 12/5: Cortez Masto: Trump Threatens A Century of Environmental Protections
• 12/6: Cortez Masto Calls Out GOP on Wall Street Reform, Consumer Protection Hypocrisy
• 12/6: Cortez Masto, Colleagues Call for Investigation of Botched FEMA Contracts for Hurricane Recovery Efforts in Puerto Rico
• 12/6: Cortez Masto Testifies Before Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing to Ban Bump Stocks
• 12/7: Cortez Masto Statement on Resignation of Senator Al Franken
• 12/8: ***MEDIA ADVISORY*** TOMORROW, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 9 at 4:00 p.m. PT in Reno - Cortez Masto to Join First Responders and Volunteers at Annual El Sol Toy Drive

JACKY ROSEN

Number of press releases issued this week: 8

The details: Three of Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen’s eight press releases this week focused on what she referred to as the Republicans’ “disastrous tax bill,” which she voted against sending to conference committee to reconcile the changes between the House and Senate versions.

Rosen described the tax plan as “reckless,” saying it will add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. Several estimates show that the tax cuts would add between $1.63 trillion and $1.78 trillion to the national debt but wouldn’t pay for themselves, only spurring between $516 billion and $1 trillion in economic growth. “The Republican tax plan will slam many hardworking families in Nevada with a tax increase over time and spike their health-care premiums, just so billionaires and giant corporations can receive an unnecessary tax cut,” Rosen said.

She also criticized the provision in the legislation that would repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, pointing to a report from the left-leaning Center for American Progress showing that 31,000 people in her district could become uninsured if the legislation passes. (Some of those people would willingly choose to opt not to purchase, while others could be priced out of the market.)

“The Republicans’ tax plan is really just another attempt to undermine and repeal key components of the Affordable Care Act, which will lead to higher health-care premiums and leave tens of thousands of Nevadans in my district without health insurance,” Rosen said.

Rosen also criticized the Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s plan to downsize Gold Butte National Monument, introduced legislation to expand health-care choices for disabled veterans and urged Congress to reauthorize funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

Press release subject lines:

• 12/4: ICYMI - ROSEN APPLAUDS CMS FOR FULFILLING DELEGATION REQUEST TO FUND CHIP, URGES CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP TO IMMEDIATELY REAUTHORIZE PROGRAM
• 12/4: ROSEN VOTES AGAINST BRINGING REPUBLICANS’ DISASTROUS TAX BILL TO CONFERENCE
• 12/4: ROSEN STATEMENT ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S DECISION TO DOWNSIZE NATIONAL MONUMENTS
• 12/5: ROSEN RESPONDS TO SECRETARY ZINKE’S PLAN TO DOWNSIZE GOLD BUTTE
• 12/6: REP. ROSEN HELPS INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO EXPAND HEALTH CARE OPTIONS FOR DISABLED VETERANS
• 12/7: ROSEN SPEAKS ON HOUSE FLOOR AGAINST REPUBLICAN TAX SCAM
• 12/7: ROSEN SENDS LETTER URGING SENATE LEADERSHIP TO TAKE UP BIPARTISAN LEGISLATION TO PROTECT SENIORS’ ACCESS TO MEDICARE
• 12/8: NEW REPORT: REPUBLICAN TAX BILL COULD INCREASE THE NUMBER OF UNINSURED IN NV-03 BY 31,000

DEAN HELLER

Number of press releases issued this week: 4

The details: With last week’s critical tax vote behind him, Republican Sen. Dean Heller’s attention was on a host of different issues this week, from touting his support for changes to public lands to praising the White House’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

President Donald Trump signed Heller’s CHIP Stability Act on Friday as part of a two-week funding bill to keep the government open and avert a shutdown on Saturday. The legislation addresses the lack of congressional action on refunding the state-run Children’s Health Insurance Program, which officially ran out of federal funding on Sept. 30.

Heller, along with all the other members of Nevada’s congressional delegation, has been a vocal proponent of Congress re-funding the health insurance program. This measure will allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to suspend their statutory formula and use all available redistribution funds — unused CHIP funds from the prior two years — to fully fund states’ CHIP programs through the end of December.

“I applaud the President for signing into law this legislation that ensures there is no gap in funding for CHIP,” Heller said in a statement. “CHIP is a lifeline for thousands of vulnerable children, and that’s why it’s vital we keep this program operational.”

Heller also praised the Department of Interior’s recommendation to modify the boundaries of Gold Butte National Monument and introduced a bipartisan public lands will that would authorize legislation allowing certain government agencies in the western United States to use the proceeds of certain federally designated areas to protect lands of “exceptional conservation value” in other press releases this week.

Press release subject lines:

• 12/4: Heller, Heinrich Introduce Bipartisan Public Lands Bill
• 12/4: Heller Welcomes Interior Department’s Recommended Action on Gold Butte
• 12/6: Heller Praises White House Decision to Recognize Jerusalem as Capital of Israel, Commitment to Relocate U.S. Embassy
• 12/8: President Signs Heller’s CHIP Stability Act into Law

DINA TITUS

Number of press releases issued this week: 3

The details:

In late July, Democratic Rep. Dina Titus stood in a Las Vegas office surrounded by members of groups such as Battle Born Progress, Friends of Gold Butte and Nevada League of Conservation Voters who were delivering passionate speeches about saving the state’s national monuments.

They were angry that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had canceled a roundtable discussion with them regarding the President Trump-initiated review of national monuments. Fast forward four months, and Titus’ unhappiness with Zinke doesn’t appear to have diminished.

The congresswoman lashed out at his decision to recommend shrinking the size of Gold Butte, which sits northeast of Las Vegas.

“Secretary Zinke has been busy snorkeling, fundraising, and undermining the integrity of the Interior Department,” Titus wrote in a statement. “He is in no position to make a sound judgment on Gold Butte. When he traveled to Nevada in July, he did a few photo ops, made an erroneous argument that Gold Butte was denying water rights to locals, and skipped out on a meeting with other advocates and me.”

Her two other news releases this week pertained to sports betting and the GOP’s push for concealed carry federal reciprocity. She sent a letter to the leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee requesting a hearing on sports betting.

“Legalizing sports betting with regulation and safeguards would diminish problems caused by the black market and allow state governments to generate additional tax revenue to fund local communities,” she stated in the letter.

Press release subject lines:

• 12/4: Titus Requests Sports Betting Hearing
• 12/5: TITUS STATEMENT ON GOLD BUTTE
• 12/5: VIDEO: Titus Fights GOP Concealed Carry Reciprocity Push

RUBEN KIHUEN

Number of press releases issued this week: 0

The details: Embattled Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen did not put out any press releases this week after he was accused by a former campaign staff member of sexual harassment a week ago.

The woman, who worked as the finance director for Kihuen during his 2016 congressional bid, told BuzzFeed that the freshman congressman made repeated sexual advances toward her during the campaign and, not knowing what to do with her complaint or feeling comfortable to bring it to campaign leadership, quit her job only five months after she started.

Kihuen told ABC News on Tuesday that he would not resign his seat.

MARK AMODEI

Number of press releases issued this week: 0

The details: No press releases again this week from Republican Rep. Mark Amodei. However, the Northern Nevada congressman had strong words in the Washington Examiner this week when talking about an amendment that would allow the Bureau of Land Management to sell or, in some instances, euthanize the animals.

“At its core, with this amendment, we will kill horses,” Amodei told the Washington Examiner. “I don’t use that or say that lightly. I have nothing against horses. I don’t want to kill horses. I know they make movies about horses, and not cows. I get that. They are an iconic symbol of the West. But I’ve got news for you, horse advocates. Policy makers, unless we are willing to get behind a policy and stop saying we won't kill one horse, at some point, we will have to start slaughtering horses because the overpopulation is so out of control. I don't support the status quo.”