Legislative gamble may backfire, force cuts in services to poor

Las Vegas Sun
By David McGrath Schwartz
Monday, June 8, 2010

Carson City — As if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid didn’t have enough on his plate, now Nevada lawmakers are looking to him to prevent another budget crisis.

Nevada faces an $88.5 million budget hole, as federal legislation that lawmakers and Gov. Jim Gibbons banked on to balance the budget is in jeopardy.

During February’s special session — called to close a then-$800 million budget gap — legislators assumed Congress would contribute more to Nevada’s Medicaid program, as the federal government has since the stimulus passed in January 2009.

A bill that passed the U.S. Senate did just that. But at the last minute, conservative “Blue Dogâ€