Berkley cites jobs as her top priority, blasts Heller vote on employment bills

Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley ventured into Republican Dean Heller's backyard Tuesday to say the big issue for next year's U.S. Senate campaign is job creation.

"For me there isn't a bigger issue," she said in an interview at Carson City's Comma Coffee.

Berkley noted that Nevada has the nation's highest unemployment and foreclosure rates. She accused Heller, who was appointed to the Senate seat earlier this year, of voting against measures that will create jobs, including loan guarantees and measures supporting renewable energy development.

"Dean Heller is voting to protect corporations that ship our jobs overseas," she said. "He should be rewarding them for creating jobs in the United States, not rewarding them for shipping jobs overseas."

Asked about the Obama administration's record of job creation, she said, "I was very adamant with the administration that they weren't moving fast enough."

President Barack Obama is expected to roll out his job creation proposals when Congress reconvenes in September.

Berkley also said she and others are working in Congress to get banks to help stimulate the economy - especially housing sales - by releasing some of the cash they are holding.

Berkley criticized Heller's votes, which she said would kill Medicare, "pulling the rug out from under homeless veterans" by eliminating housing vouchers, and "block-granting Medicaid."

She said that when the campaign heats up next year, "it will be very difficult for him to move away from those positions."

"You can't be proud of that on Monday and move away from there on Tuesday," she said.

Berkley agreed, however, that spending at the federal level must be cut. Asked where she would cut, she said former Defense Secretary Robert Gates identified $70 billion in military budget cuts that could be done without compromising national defense.

She also called for elimination of tax subsidies for big oil companies and for companies that ship jobs overseas.

Berkley said that despite the GOP voter registration advantages in Northern Nevada - especially in rural areas - she believes she can draw voters because she's talking about making sure people have a job, access to health care and other essentials.

"Those are universals that everybody is interested in," she said. "I'm very comfortable in this part of the state; it's Nevada."