Shelley Berkley: “I rise in support of H.R. 1695. I particularly wish to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) for his…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 1695. I particularly wish to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) for his help with this issue; the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Oberstar), who was instrumental in making sure that this, in fact, was heard by all the parties; the gentleman from Utah (Chairman Hansen) for his extraordinarily diplomatic work on these efforts; and I want to thank my colleague the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons) for graciously acknowledging my involvement, and I wish to do the same to him. Mr. Chairman, I represent the fastest growing district in the United States, which is located in one of the fastest growing States in the United States. I have 5,000 new residents a month coming into Southern Nevada to establish residence and raise their families there. In addition to that, we have 32 million visitors a year coming to Southern Nevada to enjoy the exciting family entertainment that Las Vegas offers to its visitors. A very large percentage of that 32 million visitors that come to Las Vegas do so by accessing McCarran Airport. Because of the unprecedented growth and the extraordinary growth that we have experienced in Southern Nevada, it has become apparent recently that the McCarran Airport will be at 100 percent capacity by the year 2008.”