John Ensign: “tourism is the backbone of the economy of my State of Nevada. It has taken a nosedive over the last year with the crash…”

“tourism is the backbone of the economy of my State of Nevada. It has taken a nosedive over the last year with the crash of the Nation's economy. More than ever, the industry has needed a lifeline that was recently given to my State when the legislation I authored with Senator Dorgan, the Travel Promotion Act, was signed into law by the President. Our legislation will revitalize the tourism industry across our country and in my State of Nevada by reintroducing our rural class destinations to people all over the world. On the piece of legislation before us, I have offered two important amendments to the FAA bill that will also help tourism in my State and will create jobs in this important industry. Last week, Senator Reid and I sponsored an amendment that will encourage more construction on land around McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, which will ultimately create more jobs for the area. Our legislation lifts an outdated deed restriction for land surrounding McCarran International Airport which previously prevented development on this land because of an agreement with the Bureau of Land Management that enforced noise mitigation for airlines flying overhead. However, because of technology, aircrafts are not as noisy as they were 10 years ago, when this restriction was put in place.”