West Wendover, Nev. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) spent the week in Pershing, Humboldt, Lander, Eureka, and Elko Counties to meet with rural Nevadans and discuss her work to support their communities, families, and businesses. Cortez Masto has now visited all seventeen Nevada counties this year.
“Every year, I make an effort to visit all seventeen Nevada counties because I know how important our rural communities are to our state’s economy and culture,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “It’s my job in the Senate to fight for every Nevadan, no matter where they live, and I’ve delivered robust federal support to expand broadband access, combat wildfires, protect farms and ranches, and help improve the quality of life for rural and Tribal communities across Nevada. It’s always a pleasure to hear from so many hardworking Nevadans, and I’ll continue to advocate for them back in Washington.”
In Lovelock, Senator Cortez Masto met with the Lovelock Paiute Tribe to discuss their ongoing work to improve internet access for Tribal members. In 2022, they received crucial broadband grant funding supported by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Senator also met with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Director Lucas Ingvoldstad to highlight $27.1 million she delivered to support high-speed internet in Lovelock and the surrounding areas. Statewide, she has helped secure millions to expand broadband access and has pushed the administration to update their National Broadband Map to accurately reflect the state’s broadband needs and ensure Nevada will receive its share of funding.
Senator Cortez Masto toured Winnemucca’s new Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center, which opened in Spring of 2023 and provides Winnemucca families with a wide range of services, from affordable groceries and SNAP benefit assistance to health screenings and housing assistance. During the tour, the Senator talked about her work to protect federal food-assistance programs in this year’s annual Farm Bill.
The Senator also met with members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes in northern Humboldt County. In 2022, she helped secure grant funding to teach new generations the Tribe’s native language and has passed legislation to preserve Native languages across the country. A member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Senator Cortez Masto is a strong voice for the Tribal Nations in Nevada, including through her work to combat the ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women (MMIW) and to ensure that Tribal communities have the resources they need to upgrade their infrastructure and access clean energy.
The Senator continued her tour with stops in Orovada to speak with community members and County Commissioner Ron Cerri about the importance of standing up for Nevada’s rural and ranching communities. She’s led the fight to protect family farms and ranches from an unfair tax hike and introduced legislation to safeguard rural communities from cyberattacks targeting their businesses, facilities, and the U.S. food supply chains. She also toured Winnemucca Farms to continue discussions on Nevada’s priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill.
In Battle Mountain, Cortez Masto met with local students, teachers, and faculty at Battle Mountain High School. A third generation Nevadan, Senator Cortez Masto attended Nevada public schools and has stood up for Nevada’s students throughout her time in the Senate. She’s also championed bipartisan legislation to put rural Western communities on an equal footing when it comes to applying for critical infrastructure grants to improve public facilities, including local school buildings.
Senator Cortez Masto traveled to Elko’s Ruby Mountains to meet with local outdoor recreation business owners and conservation leaders. Thousands of Nevadans and tourists enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, and skiing in the Ruby Mountains each year, and the Senator is pushing her bipartisan legislation to ensure that these public lands aren’t disrupted by speculative and unproductive oil and gas development, and she has called on the Biden administration to safeguard the Rubies as well as the Ruby Marshes. She also helped pass the historic Great American Outdoors Act, which was signed into law and provides robust funding to preserve and maintain public lands across the country.
While in the Ruby Mountains, the Senator joined with officials from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) for a tour of Lamoille Canyon five years after a devastating fire burned 9,000 acres in the area in 2018. She discussed her comprehensive legislation to prevent wildfires and her push for permanent pay raises for federal firefighters. She’s been a leader on efforts to address the wildfire crisis in the West and secured billions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support wildfire risk reduction and prevention.
In Wells, Cortez Masto met with the Wells Rural Electric Company and toured the city’s business district. The Senator worked to deliver key funding for rural Nevada electric co-ops in both the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and is pushing for responsible permitting reform to support rural electric grids.
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