[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Pages 26327-26328]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                 NEVADA

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, the story of Nevada is the story of America, 
really. We became a State on October 31, 1864, the 36th State to join 
the Union. As America has grown and grown up, so has my State in many 
different ways. America isn't the only one that has grown up; so has 
the State of Nevada. As America has changed, Nevada has evolved just as 
dramatically. Lands that were once frontier are now cities on the front 
lines of technology and industry. Where our land was once dominated by 
homesteads, it is now dotted by energy-efficient homes.
  In these 145 years since the birthday of Nevada, which will be 
celebrated this Saturday, we have come a long way. But one thing has 
not changed since that Halloween in 1864: Forward-thinking Americans 
are still coming westward, calling Nevada home, and many of them are 
coming eastward from California, where we get a lot of new residents.
  The State of Nevada was joined to the Union at the height of the 
Civil War. Just as Congress was voting on the 13th amendment that would 
abolish slavery, ``Battle Born''--which is our motto--``Battle Born'' 
Nevadans continued to fight for equality, freedom, and progress, 
including nearly 1,000 Nevadans who today serve bravely in our Nation's 
Armed Forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, around the globe, and here at home.
  The day before yesterday, I called the mother of three children who 
had lost her husband in Afghanistan. I see in the morning news coming 
out of Nevada that I am going to have that same responsibility later 
today when I call the family of Josue Hernandez Chavez, who was killed 
yesterday in Afghanistan. He is from Reno, NV, just like the soldier's 
family I called the day before yesterday was from Reno. These two men 
died following a long, strong tradition of soldiers, sailors, airmen, 
and marines who have defended America in both war and peace.
  Nevada is honored to be the home of some of our most important and 
premier military installations in the world, and certainly in the 
United States, including Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base, 
Naval Air Station Fallon, which is the home of Top Gun, and the 
Hawthorne Army Depot, as well as many National Guard armories and 
Reserve readiness centers.
  Outside of Nevada, much attention is paid, of course, to the 
entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas. That attention is 
deserved, as Las Vegas has built itself from a desert outpost to the 
entertainment capital of the world as well as the city on the vanguard 
of the clean energy revolution. But every corner of the State is 
playing a critical role in leading our Nation toward energy 
independence. It is a revolution fueled by Nevada's boundless 
innovative spirit and its unlimited natural resources.
  Indeed, Nevada is an outdoor enthusiast's dream. A lot of people 
think of Nevada as a desert, but it is not. We are the most mountainous 
State in the

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Union, except for Alaska. We have more than 300 mountain ranges. We 
have 32 mountains over 11,000 feet high. We have one mountain about 
14,000 feet high. We have some of the most beautiful wilderness areas 
in all of the Nation, Alpine Meadows, mountain sheep. A lot of places 
don't have--we have mountain goats in Nevada; Sheldon Antelope Range 
set forward by Theodore Roosevelt, the most sparsely populated area in 
all of the United States except for Alaska; and, as Mark Twain said, 
Lake Tahoe, the fairest place the whole Earth affords. It is a 
beautiful lake shared by California. There is only one other lake like 
it in the world, and that is in Russia, Lake Baikal. It is a beautiful 
lake. It is really the gem of the Sierras. So from its snowcapped peaks 
to its searing desert, the Nevada landscape is as diverse as the 
backgrounds of those who helped settle it, those who live and work 
there today.
  It is also a wonderful place to raise a family. I know that firsthand 
because I was born and raised in Nevada, as have been all of my five 
children. My wife is like so many people--in fact, the majority of 
people; she was born in California and worked her way into Nevada with 
her family.
  When we ensure that all Nevadans can afford quality health care and 
can count on a good-paying job, it will be even better. That is why I 
come to work each day, to make life easier for my neighbors back home. 
That is why I am working to help our country prosper, our economy be 
raised up as it once was. That is why I am working to protect our 
State's natural beauty. That is why I fought to end the plan that would 
have made Nevada the Nation's nuclear dumping ground.
  I am really proud to be a Nevadan. I am humbled that the people of 
Nevada have asked me to represent them in various capacities for a long 
time. I am proud that the Senate has recognized the 145th anniversary 
of our State's ratification of the Constitution.
  Nevada is going to recover economically. It remains open for 
business. In the words of the State song, it will always be home to me. 
Home means Nevada, home means the hills, home means the sage and the 
pines. That is our State song.

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