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Interview: Incumbent Republican Mark Amodei Seeks Fourth Term in U.S. House

U.S. House of Representatives

The race for Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District is between Incumbent Republican Mark Amodei, who has served in the role since 2011, and Democrat Chip Evans.

Reno Public Radio’s Noah Glick sat down with Mr. Amodei to discuss his thoughts on the economy, public lands, veterans’ issues and more.

Noah Glick: Let’s start with public lands. You recently passed a bill granting more land to native tribes in Nevada. Tell me a little bit about what went into that.

Mark Amodei: “In all honesty, a lot of this stuff that we’ve been able to do is stuff that was there when we got there. It just wasn’t moving, and this is an example of that. We went to the tribes early on when we got here and said, ‘Could you guys maybe get together and we do one bill?’ They did, we passed it last session in the House. So it’s a housekeeping thing, but it’s a big deal for those folks because it gives them local control with what they want to do with their tribal areas.”

Where do you stand on federal vs local control?

“I’ve been criticized. I’ve got a bill in right now. If it were the law today, it would transfer 17 million acres: seven million of it would be to outright private sales, ten million would go to the state. And people are going, ‘Oh my God, you’re going to ruin this stuff.’ Well, wait a minute. First of all, the first seven million that would be sold are lands the federal land use agencies—the BLM, Forest Service—have identified as suitable for disposal. The next ten million would be transferred to the state but with a deed restriction that says you can’t change the use, you can’t cut off any access. And by the way, if you transferred all of that, the federal government would still own 75 percent of the state of Nevada.”

“If the federal government were better at collaborating with the Washoe County Commission for instance, then who owns it would make less difference. I want planning for Nevada to be Nevada-centric and not centric 2,500 miles away.”

The economy is on everyone’s mind, especially here in Nevada. What is your economic plan and what are your thoughts on ways to stimulate the economy here?

“Well, I’m a big believer, as we just got done talking about, in local control. I think it is folks that are in the Nevada Legislature, on the Washoe County Commission, on the Reno City Council, the Sparks City Council—I have a lot of confidence in those folks. And they have a very, very significant impact on our local economy.”

“I’m a believer in the private sector, so anything we can do in terms of trying to give those folks  the tools they need to come here, to stay here. I think a rising tide raises all boats.”

You’ve been somewhat outspoken against the Affordable Care Act in certain aspects. So what does the future of healthcare look like for Mark Amodei?

“Do we need healthcare reform in this country? Yes. Are there some good things in the present Affordable Care Act? Yes. The thing that troubles me the most about it, when you look back when it was enacted, do you know how many public hearings there were in the Congress? Zero.”

“You know, sometimes because I voted to change parts of it, to get rid of all of it or something along those lines, some of my colleagues say quite frankly, ‘What is your obsession with the Affordable Care Act?’ And I guess it’s this: Even unlike taxes, healthcare is something that affects everyone in this nation from prenatal to when you die. So Congress, it’s incumbent upon you to get this right, because affordability, and in Nevada access, is a problem.”

“My answer is the first thing you need to do is learn from the mistakes from the past. You need to have some hearings. You need to talk to nurses, you need to talk to pharmaceutical companies, you need to talk to insurance companies, talk to doctors. It’s time for a major overhaul to make this something that’s meaningful and actually works.”

I’ve got to ask you about the Presidential campaign. You recently said that you do still support Donald Trump, so where do you stand on that now?

"The discussion in the whole area has become so drama-infused. We don’t have Mother Teresa and Gandhi running against each other. But as a practical matter, I believe it’s a team sport. Should you consider Mr. Trump’s conduct? Absolutely. I hope people think it’s appropriate to consider hers too."

"Listen, I’m not going to cut my base into tiny pieces because Donald Trump said some stupid stuff and did some stupid stuff in the past. I’m not going to criticize Mr. Evans because he supports his party’s nominee. It shouldn’t be a shock that I support my party’s nominee."

Mark Amodei is running for his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives against Democrat Chip Evans.

2way_mark_amodei_extended.mp3
Listen to an extended interview.

Noah Glick is a former content director and host at KUNR Public Radio.