Lawmakers are on recess after failing to fund the Department of Homeland Security last week. As the subcommittee chair, you spoke about the impacts of the partial shutdown. What's at risk?
It just creates instability. I understand that folks are concerned, and rightfully so, about Minneapolis. We had talked about the need to pivot in terms of what the culture and the approach was. They're in the process of doing that. The frustrating thing to see is we passed the bill, negotiated – Democrat, Republican, Senate. Now with that second shooting, it's become completely political. DHS is being held hostage. TSA didn't have anything to do with it. FEMA didn't have anything to do with it. The Coast Guard didn't have anything to do with it.
Lawmakers are calling for reform. What changes do you support?
In the bill that cleared the House floor, that was body cameras. And there's other areas where it's like the circumstances under which lawmakers can visit detention facilities, they need more definition. As a member of Congress, if I want to go in and see what's going on in a federal facility, then I should be able to go.
You have said that ICE should prioritize targeting the most dangerous criminals, but over the last year, nearly three-quarters of people arrested do not have criminal records. Why are these individuals being targeted by ICE?
I don't know that it's three quarters are not the worst first or whatever. That's one of the things we're getting from ICE right now. What are the numbers for people who had asylum applications that went through the due process and were found not to be worthy of asylum? You say there's other people too. Listen, if you get a DUI, you're here illegally, they deport you.
Do you personally think that if the only thing someone does wrong is they are in this country illegally, but they do everything else right, they're working, they have kids here, is deserving of being detained?
There are ways for you to make that right. Overstaying a visa, I mean, do you get rid of all the visa laws? There's a lot of people that have done it. They're not a priority. But you need to find out what the rules are, as opposed to just I got my fingers crossed, and I'm counting on people going the other way. One side says, 'Get them all.' The other side says, 'Leave them alone.' I've supported Dreamers legislation. I've supported temporary workers. I've put my vote where my beliefs are.
Let's talk about your retirement. What led to this decision?
I've been in for 15 years. I'm a chairman of an Appropriation Subcommittee. I feel blessed. I'm 67 years old. It just felt like it was time.
We are less than a month away from the candidate filing deadline in Nevada. The Democratic field is getting crowded, but no Republican has stepped forward yet. Have you spoken to any Republicans who are considering running, and do you think there's enough time for a viable Republican to get a campaign going?
No, I haven't spoke [sic] to anybody. Yes, I think there's enough time, which is why I timed my announcement when I did for everybody to evaluate, decide what they think best for them. There have been instances where people haven't stepped out until there were days left to the end of filing. I have always had a primary and always had a general. It's not just a regular seat. You've got urban areas and then you've got areas that are more rural in nature. So it's not a one-size-fits-all, or just talk about homelessness in the Truckee Meadows versus what's going on in mining country in Elko. You spend about 24 hours a week to fly from Reno to DC and back again. That also takes a toll.
In 2021, you publicly shared that you were treated for cancerous tumors on your kidneys and a cancer spot on your esophagus. You're around five years in remission, which is a big milestone. How is your health?
Well, I'm not in remission. Actually, I was lucky. In both instances they were surgical. Here's the important word – cured. My health is fine, but I gotta tell you, if I ran this time and was elected, I would celebrate my 70th birthday in Congress. I want there to be more to my later years than serving in Congress.
What was your proudest moment in Congress?
I got approached by the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots and Crew Members Association. These guys wanted a memorial at Arlington National, and I go to the people at Arlington Cemetery, and they go, 'We're in the graves business. We're not in the memorial business.' These people were asking for six square feet. I went to the amphitheater on the day they dedicated that memorial. I was absolutely humbled with the gratefulness in knowing that mission. It happened because people who thought it was important ended up getting together and making it happen for these folks.
You've effectively labeled areas in rural Nevada for conservation, the expansion of Naval Air Station Fallon and returning of ancestral lands to Indigenous tribes in Nevada. Are you satisfied with the land you've secured from the federal government? Or is there more to be done?
We want to get done this year the Northern Nevada Economic Development Act, which we expect to have on the floor in the next 30 days. It conveys some land to Douglas County to use for flood control and conveys some land to the Washoe Tribe in Douglas County and the Tahoe Basin. The biggest part of acreage is in Pershing County, where you have the Union Pacific checkerboard. It's basically not usable, but it would allow for some mining stuff to go forward. There's a couple of infill pieces in the City of Reno. The biggest question is east of Sparks for potential development. On all these land bills, that's what keeps Nevada viable as a state that's 80% owned by the Feds, no tax base and economic development.
This year, federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act expired, resulting in monthly premiums doubling. Seventeen Republicans did cross party lines last month to renew those. You did not, but you voted in favor for a different plan.
It was a straight continuation of subsidies without any change in the program at all. We're going to keep spending that money for the next 18 months, or whatever it was, that's not a resolution for people who want affordable health care and access to it.
What do you have to say to the Nevadans who are experiencing extreme hikes in their monthly health insurance rates?
I'm one of them. I'm in an exchange too. I pay $1,000 a month for me, single guy, and another $50 a month to the attending physician's office.
But you're also making $170k.
Yeah, making 170k, by the time you pay all your stuff, the take-home is significantly less than that. I'm supposed to have two households in the DC and Reno market is not a great deal. I'm not getting rich. We should have a program for you which you can rely upon, which doesn't rely on billions of dollars or subsidies, most of which don't even go to supplement you, and they go to insurance companies.
Under President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill, Nevada is receiving a historic $180 million for rural health care, but state officials warn it will not offset the estimated loss in federal Medicaid spending. With the [loss of] subsidies, people could lose insurance, hospitals could close. What concerns do you have for rural health in Nevada?
Just the ones you mentioned. The amount that was given to them isn't going to solve the problem. Until you do the reform that we talked about, Medicaid, they've got to change because the insurance companies are using them to go, well, 'we're not paying any more than those guys.' With people saying, well, 'there's people that have basically lost their health care.' There are still ways to get your health care. They're not efficient. The emergency room is a terrible place to get it, but it's better than nothing.
I know that you've probably also talked to rural hospital administrators that any changes to Medicaid are pretty detrimental. Are you happy retiring knowing that these big Medicaid cuts are looming after your time is done?
I'm comfortable leaving office knowing that I've done everything I can, so while I appreciate you giving me the responsibility for the whole Congress, they never gave it to me, or things would be different. I don't think it should be a death sentence that you have to serve in Congress until all these things that were a problem long before I got there, haven't all been solved. I look forward to forwarding you my list of accomplishments too, and you can decide whether or not I earned my pay.
