Following are excerpts from a June 19th interview with Congresswoman Shelley Berkley of Nevada's 1st district. Congresswoman Berkley, who is an active member of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, is on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which oversees senior transportation. Congresswoman Berkley also serves on the House International Relations Committee and its Middle East and Central Asia subcommittee. Michelle Labgold, Acting Director of UJC's Washington Action Office spoke with Congresswoman Berkley about transportation for seniors, the Middle East peace process and her legislative priorities for the year.

Michelle Labgold: Congresswoman, what are your top priorities for this year?

Congresswoman Berkley: On the international scene, making sure that the roadmap laid out by the President does not encumber Israel in any way, move towards secure borders free from terrorist attacks, dismantling of the terrorist infrastructure, having the Palestinians account for the millions of dollars that the United States and members of the European Union provided for them, have Israel's right to exist be recognized by all of its Arab neighbors and the Palestinians so they can live within secure borders. 

On the domestic side, issues that are important to my community are the issues I concentrate on. Las Vegas has the fastest growing school age population, fastest growing senior population, fastest growing veterans population. Educational issues are a top priority for me. Right now the budget presented by the Administration underfunds the Leave No Child Behind initiative by $9 billion that cuts the guts out of programs that are very important: drop-out prevention, after school programs, bilingual programs, literacy programs, teacher training programs. 

With the fastest growing senior population, protecting social security, preserving Medicare [are my priorities]. I am a believer in the Medicare system and I am a proponent of providing a prescription medication benefit within Medicare. I cannot tell you with certainty at this moment what is going to be on the floor to vote for next week when we take up the prescription medication benefit under Medicare, but I am hopeful that we will be able to craft a bipartisan bill and not the partisan bill that has been proposed by the Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives at this point. 

The Administration's budget underfunds veterans heath care programs by $6 billion, which I find ironic at a time that we are speaking so highly of our men and women in the armed forces deployed throughout the World in Afghanistan, Iraq and in other places. We are going to have a whole lot of new veterans when our war against terrorism is over. If this is the way we treat our current veterans, what we are going to do with our future veterans as well? Those issues are top priorities for me.

Labgold: As you may know, in your own community and across the country there is a tremendous increase in the need for transportation services, particularly among the older population. Without adequate and affordable transportation, seniors in our communities are unable to access services available to them, which hinders both their quality of life and their well being.  What thoughts do you have on that subject?

Berkley: With the fastest growing senior population [in Las Vegas] in the United States, transportation needs of seniors are very important. We have a taxi bus system that provides low cost transportation. We are in the process of constructing a monorail system throughout the Las Vegas Valley, which will transport not only tourists but also locals, including our seniors. Good transportation not only helps individual citizens, particularly seniors, but it also improves the quality of life for everybody.  Instead of spending hours in traffic you are home with your loved ones. It [transportation] also lowers air pollution levels from cars idling in traffic. That is a very important issue not only in Las Vegas, but throughout the United States.

Labgold: Congresswoman, how do you work within your caucus to build support for issues of concern to the Jewish community?

Berkley: I have been a pro-Israel activist for most of my life, very active in Federation, AIPAC, ADL, American Jewish Committee and so forth, and without any fear of contradiction, I would say the United States Congress is very supportive of issues that affect the Jewish community, particularly our strong support of the State of Israel. I realize not every member of Congress has a Jewish constituency and a passion for the issues as I do, but along with the twenty-six other Jewish members of Congress, we do our best to educate other members who may not be as sensitive to these issues as we are about the importance of a strong relationship between the United States and Israel and also trying to explain the difference between a victim of terrorist attacks and a perpetrator.

Labgold: On a personal note, over the years you have been an active member of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas.  Could you share with our readers why involvement in the Jewish community is important to you?

Berkley: I believe as a Jewish people, we cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. This is the first opportunity we have had in our history to truly make an impact in the society in which we live.  It is our responsibility as Jews and as citizens of the United States of America to participate fully in the political process. If we do not stand up for ourselves, nobody will stand up for us. We lead the way when it comes to social issues such as education, transportation needs, social security, sensitivity towards our fellow men, and in these trying times with our war against terrorism. It is our obligation not only to our ancestors and the six million Jews that died in the Holocaust, but more importantly for future generations of Jewish Americans and Americans in general, our children, our grandchildren, and unborn children to come.

Labgold: Thank you for your time.

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