House Democrats passed a series of bills to reopen agencies affected by what is now the longest government shutdown in American history as federal workers in Nevada begin to feel the brunt of the impasse over funding President Donald Trump’s border wall.

But those bills—which would fund most of the nine of the 15 Cabinet-level departments that are closed, including Agriculture, Transportation, Interior and Housing and Urban Development—will likely not be taken up by the Republican-controlled Senate. Trump has threatened to veto the measures, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said the president must first agree to sign legislation before he will hold a vote on any deal.

All of Nevada’s House Democrats voted for the bills, while Republican Rep. Mark Amodei opposed the legislation.

Amodei, who supports securing the border, said in a statement Friday that Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, should be willing to negotiate with the president rather than passing bills Trump will not sign.

“Since Speaker Pelosi still refuses to negotiate on any agreement that includes funding to secure our borders, the House wasted another week voting on her same dead-on-arrival proposals that will not reopen the federal government,” Amodei said. “I urge the Speaker to quit giving us keys to cars that don’t run, and to let us consider taking the keys to a car that actually has the potential to be driven across the finish line.”

Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat, urged Trump to end the shutdown, which she said comes at the expense of people in Nevada and around the nation. The cease in government spending will have cost the economy approximately $3.6 billion by the end of Friday, according to S&P.

“Donald Trump said he would be ‘proud’ to shut down the government over a border wall that he promised Mexico would pay for - and in the process he’s preventing thousands of hardworking Nevadans from receiving their paychecks,” Titus said in a release. “I’ve worked with my Democratic colleagues to pass legislation in the House that would end this shutdown and get our government up and running again. I hope the President will soon recognize that the American people have had enough of this latest Trump tantrum.”

At issue is Trump’s request for $5.7 billion to build a wall on the Mexican border, which he believes will help control illegal immigration and crime. But Democrats in Congress have rebuffed the request, arguing that a wall would be ineffective, a waste of money and immoral. Some have reminded him that when he campaigned in 2016 he said that Mexico would pay for the wall.

The disagreement led to Congress blowing through the Dec. 22 deadline for passing legislation to keep the government open.

Trump is considering using his executive power under the Constitution to declare a national emergency on the border, which would allow him to build his wall with funds already appropriated for other emergencies. But many Republicans are concerned such action would set a bad precedent and drain funds needed to recover from existing emergencies — and likely be challenged in the courts. The president said Friday he would rather Congress act, but he is weighing a possible declaration.

Federal workers missed their first paychecks on Friday. Nevada has 19,115 federal employees, according to Governing magazine.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, said her office is getting calls from the state’s federal workers including Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees.

“Right now the fight and the focus has been on opening up the government, helping the federal workers in our state, to help them get by right now until we can pay them,” she said last week. “I am hearing from, emails and calls from FBI agents, TSA and other federal workers that this Friday they’re going to miss a paycheck.”

Nevada Indian tribes and workers at the Department of Interior have also felt the squeeze of the shutdown.

Congress last week passed legislation that ensures federal workers will receive their back pay once the government reopens. All the members of Nevada's House delegation voted for the bill Friday, and the Senate passed the measure by voice vote the day before.

Cortez Masto also held a round table with federal workers in Reno Friday. She co-sponsored legislation that would protect federal workers and their families from foreclosures, evictions, and loan defaults during a government shutdown.

Fellow Democratic Sen. Jack Rosen, also held an event Friday with federal workers in Las Vegas.

Gun policy

Both Nevada senators also co-sponsored legislation this week to require a background check for every firearm sale.

“Dangerous weapons should never be able to get into the hands of dangerous individuals,” Rosen said on Twitter. “I’m joining @ChrisMurphyCT because it’s past time we expand background checks for gun purchases. Far too many families have lost a loved one to gun violence. We must act to save lives.”

Since the tragedy that took place Oct. 1, 2017, Nevada’s Democrats have been outspoken supporters of legislation to curb gun violence.

Rep. Steven Horsford co-sponsored the House-version of the bill and joined the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. In a release Horsford said this issue is close to his heart with the loss of his father to gun violence.

“I lost my father to gun violence when I was 19,” he said in a release. “So I have first-hand experience with the pain suffered by those who have lost a loved-one to this violent epidemic. Nevadans deserve leaders who will take on the tough fights to keep their families safe.”

Horsford also made news last week when he announced that he had landed a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. The post came with the help of Titus, who serves on the panel that makes committee assignments for Democrats and who helped make the case for Horsford.

“I made the pitch for him in the committee and he has a good reputation, so it wasn’t a hard sell,” Titus said.

It was a rare appointment, though. Less experienced congressional representatives typically have to wait years to accumulate the seniority to get on the influential panel, which oversees the nation’s tax policy.

Yucca Mountain

Nevada delegation’s opposition to advancing a plan to build a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain will again be tested in the Senate where Kentucky Republican Sen. Lamar has pledged to fund the project in the annual appropriations process.

Alexander’s comment drew fire from both Cortez Masto and Rosen who both said they are ready for the fight.

“I’ll continue to fight like hell to ensure that no more taxpayer dollars are wasted on this unsafe and unwanted nuclear waste dump,” Cortez Masto said.

For a full rundown of the measures the delegates supported or opposed this week, check out The Nevada Independent’s congressional vote tracker and other information below.

SEN. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO
Legislation co-sponsored:
S. 72 – A bill to suspend the enforcement of certain civil liabilities of Federal employees and contractors during a lapse in appropriations, and for other purposes.
S. 62 – A bill to amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate fair prescription drug prices under part D of the Medicare program.
S. 42 – A bill to require a background check for every firearm sale.
SEN. JACKY ROSEN
Legislation co-sponsored:
S. 42 – A bill to require a background check for every firearm sale.
REP. DINA TITUS
Legislation sponsored:
H.R. 349 – To designate a peak in the State of Nevada as Maude Frazier Mountain, and for other purposes.
H.R. 276 – To direct the Secretary of Education to establish the Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award Program recognizing excellence exhibited by classified school employees providing services to students in prekindergarten through high school.
Legislation co-sponsored:
H.R. 299 – To amend title 38, United States Code, to clarify presumptions relating to the exposure of certain veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam, and for other purposes.
REP. SUSIE LEE
Legislation co-sponsored:
H.R. 276 – To direct the Secretary of Education to establish the Recognizing Inspiring School Employees (RISE) Award Program recognizing excellence exhibited by classified school employees providing services to students in prekindergarten through high school.
REP. STEVEN HORSFORD
Legislation co-sponsored:
H.R. 366 – To amend titles XVIII and XIX of the Social Security Act to eliminate cost sharing with respect to coverage of insulin as a covered part D drug under the Medicare program or as a covered outpatient drug under the Medicaid program.
H.R. 356 – To establish the Medgar Evers Home National Monument in the State of Mississippi, and for other purposes.
H.R. 8 – To require a background check for every firearm sale.