Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03) announced that up to $195 million in funding has been made available from the Department of the Interior to support drought resiliency projects, water management planning and design improvements, and cooperative watershed management projects. Congresswoman Lee fought to secure these funds by championing and voting to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as through her work as a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee.   “Last Congress, I helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to ensure that your taxpayer dollars get to work for Nevada, and that includes tackling the drought,” said Congresswoman Susie Lee (NV-03). “Southern Nevada continues to face the worst drought in 12 centuries, and we need bold solutions to protect our precious water, natural resources, and the hardworking families who depend on them. Today’s announcement reflects a strong investment in those solutions and helps put our state and the West on a path to long-term sustainability.”  This funding comes primarily from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s WaterSMART program. As a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Lee ensured this program was properly funded by helping to secure $124 million more than what was initially requested by the Biden Administration for the current fiscal year. In Southern Nevada, WaterSMART funding has helped support initiatives ranging from the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s landscape rebate program, which incentivizes residential property owners to replace turf with water-efficient landscaping, to the ongoing restoration of the Las Vegas Wash, which returns more than 200 million gallons of water a day to Lake Mead from the Las Vegas Valley.  Today’s funding announcement includes up to $55 million for drought resiliency funding to develop projects that can increase water management flexibility, and up to $35 million for planning and design grants to support water management improvements, including efforts to enhance water supplies and create comprehensive drought contingency plans.  You can read more about this announcement here. 

U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Department of Housing and Urban Affairs (HUD) have made updates the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act’s (SNPLMA) Affordable Housing Guidance to make it easier to build affordable housing units on federal land across Nevada. Senator Cortez Masto worked with local stakeholders in Las Vegas to repeatedly push for streamlined and improved guidance. “Nevada is facing an affordable housing crisis and we need to be doing more to ensure we can build more homes for working families,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “For too long developing affordable housing on public lands in Nevada has been bogged down by an inefficient process, and I pushed for these vital improvements that will make it easier to build more homes for Nevada’s working families.” The Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) contains provisions allowing for the sale of public land in Clark County to build affordable housing, but a burdensome process has been keeping developers from being able to access the land they needed to begin construction. In April, Senator Cortez Masto attended a groundbreaking for the first affordable housing complex in more than a decade that has been constructed on land obtained under SNPLMA’s affordable housing authorities, and she has consistently advocated for a better, more streamlined process. The BLM and HUD updated SNPLMA’s “Nevada Guidance” that guides the implementation of the law in response to repeated advocacy from Senator Cortez Masto and her office. The new guidelines will: 2.    Formalizes the process for HUD and BLM to make land throughout Nevada available at a discount for rental or for-sale homes serving families with incomes below 80% of Area Median Income; 3.    Establishes a streamlined process to assess affordable housing proposals in the state and calls for a review the process after ten years. Senator Cortez Masto has been a leader in the fight to lower housing costs and keep Nevadans in their homes. In the Senate, she is a reliable champion of affordable housing, including leading the Affordable Housing Bond Enhancement Act and the HOME Reauthorization Act to help more families afford homes. She is also a sponsor of the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act and the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act to help build more affordable housing across the country. She has secured more than $1 billion for affordable housing in the state, helping build and preserve more than 14,000 new affordable housing units.

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the bipartisan Supporting Our Seniors Act to create a National Advisory Commission on long-term care services for seniors and individuals in need of support for activities of daily living. The commission would assess and provide regular reporting to Congress on service delivery, financing, workforce adequacy, and other issues related to long-term care in order to help increase seniors’ and individuals with disabilities access to affordable care services.  “Having cared for my aging parents, I know how important access to affordable, quality care and support services can be for families and their loved ones,” said Senator Rosen. “Our bipartisan legislation would help to increase access to long-term care by creating a commission to examine the challenges and needs in care services. This legislation will help provide invaluable information to Congress so that we can develop better solutions to ensure seniors have access to the care and support that they deserve.” “Americans are living longer and their health care needs will continue to evolve,” said Senator Boozman. “Establishing a national advisory commission will help us better prepare for future challenges in regards to coordinating services, training a workforce to meet seniors’ and individuals’ with disabilities needs as well as providing information and options to empower them and their caregivers with the resources available. I’m pleased to join Senator Rosen in leading this bipartisan initiative.” “Affordable long-term care services for seniors and other individuals is paramount to a strong healthcare system,” said Michelle Webb, DNP, RN, CHPCA, President of the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association, and Ginger Marshall, MSN, ACNP-BC, ACHPN, FPCN, CEO of the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association. “Creating a Commission on Long Term Care is just the first step in ensuring seniors have access to the care they need.  The importance of including individuals with experience in Palliative Care on the Commission is extremely important in the formation of this venture, as they have the unique skill set, training, and education to care for people who need long-term care. On behalf of the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association (HPNA), and our nearly 10,000 members we commend Senators Rosen and Boozman in introducing the Supporting Our Seniors Act to further address the need for affordable, accessible long term care in the United States.”  “Access to comprehensive, person-centered care should be a right, not a privilege, for every American,” said Ben Marcantonio, Interim CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. “NHPCO is proud to endorse the Supporting Our Seniors Act and thank Senators Rosen and Boozman for prioritizing the future of the hospice and palliative care community through this bipartisan commission addressing long-term care.”   “The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine is proud to offer its strong support for the Supporting Our Seniors Act, and we commend Sen. Rosen and Sen. Boozman for their leadership in recognizing the important role palliative care plays in improving the lives of people residing in long-term care,” said American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine President Holly Yang, MD, HMDC, FACP, FAAHPM.  “A growing number of older Americans are living with serious or complex chronic illnesses, and more families are facing demanding caregiving responsibilities. Prioritizing and addressing their palliative care needs is critical to ensure that older adults and those with serious illness receive the right care when and where they want to receive it.” As co-founder and co-chair of the Senate’s bipartisan Comprehensive Care Caucus, Senator Rosen has been a leader in helping Nevada’s seniors access quality long-term care. Senator Rosen recently introduced a pair of bills that would help increase the number of doctors trained in palliative care and improve hospice care for patients by increasing access to blood transfusions for those who rely on this care to maintain quality of life. She also introduced the Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act to provide comprehensive palliative care services much earlier in the course of illness, helping improve both the quality of care for patients and their families and the outcomes of treatment.

Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) announced that nearly $33 million dollars in grant funding is heading to Nevada to restore and protect Pyramid, Summit, and Walker Lakes. Senator Cortez Masto drafted legislation to extend the Desert Terminal Lakes Restoration program, which was set to expire in 2023, and worked with Senator Rosen to pass the provision into law in 2022. “We must protect and preserve Nevada’s unique landscapes and lakes so that they are accessible for generations to come,” said Senator Cortez Masto, “This funding will support important conservation work being done by Nevada Tribes and the communities who rely on these vital water resources.” “The Walker Basin is a beautiful natural ecosystem and home to diverse wildlife and lakes that we must protect,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to have helped secure this funding by extending the Desert Terminal Lakes program so that we can preserve the basin for future generations.” Pyramid, Summit, and Walker Lakes are considered “terminal lakes” because they are isolated bodies of water that have no outlets, making them extremely vulnerable to disruptions and changes in water flows. This grant funding will support voluntary water acquisitions, community-based conservation efforts, and environmental stewardship programs in the Pyramid, Summit, and Walker Lake basins to help recover these unique ecosystems and benefit local fish and wildlife species, communities, and Tribes. Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen have been a strong advocate for Nevada’s natural and cultural resources. They’ve passed critical legislation to permanently fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which protects public lands in Nevada and across the country. Senators Cortez Masto and Rosen have been vocal supporters of the Avi Kwa Me national monument in Southern Nevada and have both urged Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland to support the creation of the Bahsahwahbee (or Swamp Cedars) National Monument in Eastern Nevada.

Today, Congressman Steven Horsford (NV-04) responded to the Supreme Court decision, 6-3, to gut the ability of private and public colleges and universities to consider race and ethnicity in admission decisions: “Today’s decision underscores the realities that exist in our society that many, as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said in her dissent, would rather ‘ostrich-like’ stick their heads in the sand and pretend that preventing consideration of race will end racism. It will not. For decades, affirmative action has opened doors to segments of our population, from white women, to Black, Latino, Asian, and Tribal youth, who had persevered as barrier after barrier came in their path, including many Nevadans. Inherently, the court is saying those who are wealthy, those who have family that have gone to these institutions, those with the privilege to attend elite prep schools, can have an advantage in getting a higher education, while those who have succeeded despite centuries and decades of institutional abuse and racism, from slavery to internment camps to forced deportations of American citizens, will struggle to compete with the wealthy and elite. “Let’s be clear – Mitch McConnell and conservative leadership are cheering this moment after denying President Obama his rightful appointment to the court. Former President Trump said on the campaign trail, ‘what do Black people have to lose.’ Today, that question has been answered.”

Janet Murguía, President and CEO of UnidosUS—the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization—issued the following statement after today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on race-conscious admissions in higher education:  “While the Supreme Court’s decision is deeply disappointing in its lack of vision about our American future and in its failure to uphold the value of diversity on college campuses, we should keep in mind that this narrow decision should do nothing to stem worthy efforts to continue making our country truly reflective of the people who live here.  “As the former Executive Vice Chancellor at the University of Kansas, I know how essential access to higher education is, and how much a vibrant and diverse student body contributes to the education of every student and to the higher education experience.  “In the Latino community, we will not count ourselves—and our brightest young people—out just because the Supreme Court has chosen to adopt a narrow-minded view of the huge and irreplaceable value that students of color bring to education. And we wholeheartedly agree with Justice Elena Kagan’s earlier observation that admission to colleges ‘are the pipelines to leadership in our society.’   “We should be clear: students of color belong on college campuses. Diversity in leadership is critical to our society, including in the military and public sectors. The same need for diversity applies to our corporate and business leaders. We simply cannot effectively lead complex organizations in a multiracial society if we don’t make room for Hispanic and other leaders of color to take their seat at the tables where the most important decisions get made. Our nation’s future depends on it.  “In that vein, we must avoid what happened in California a generation ago. When Proposition 209 barred race-conscious admissions in California in 1996, Latino student admissions at UCLA and Berkeley dropped by half. Today, more than half of California’s public high school graduates identified as Hispanic, but just 25% of freshmen at all University of California schools and only 15% of freshmen at UCLA and Berkeley are Latino.  “We cannot allow participation of communities of color to experience similar declines in colleges and universities across the country. Everyone involved in education must act with urgency to ensure that colleges remain able to achieve diversity on campus.    “Access to post-secondary education is a gateway to greater economic achievement and contribution, creating stability and progress for families and whole communities. After today’s decision, achieving greater equity in education by any legal means available must now be central to how we all can realize the American dream.   “Alongside our fellow civil rights organizations, we underscore that this decision is limited to just one aspect of college admissions. It cannot and should not disturb our commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. Latinos are one in five Americans, and communities of color together make up nearly 40% of the US population.  We should never forget that diversity is our country’s superpower.”  About UnidosUS UnidosUS is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves as the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization. Since 1968, we have challenged the social, economic, and political barriers that affect Latinos through our unique combination of expert research, advocacy, programs, and an Affiliate Network of nearly 300 community-based organizations across the United States and Puerto Rico. We believe in an America where economic, political, and social progress is a reality for all Latinos, and we collaborate across communities to achieve it. For more information on UnidosUS, visit unidosus.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced its decision on Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina , undermining the Court’s long-standing support for affirmative action in higher education. Affirmative action refers to certain education, contracting, and employment policies–such as race-conscious policies that consider race as one factor in a holistic admissions process–that aim to increase the representation of racial and ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented. These groups include Black, Latino/Latina, Native American, and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students who face systemic barriers to educational opportunity, including cultural biases in standardized test questions and far less access to college preparatory courses, that harms their competitive edge in the college admissions process. The Chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), Congressional Black Caucus Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) released the following joint statement: “Today’s decision deals a needless blow to America’s promise of equal and fair opportunity. Casting aside decades of precedent, the Court’s anti-opportunity majority further undermines its own legitimacy by gutting race-conscious university admissions, which will benefit the wealthy and well-connected most.  “We know that not all students are afforded equal opportunity in our education systems, and we know that diversity on college campuses benefits the entire student body by enriching their college experiences and better preparing them to enter our workforce. Holistic, race-conscious admissions policies allow all students, regardless of their race or ethnicity, to be able to tell the full story of who they are and participate in a thriving, multiracial democracy.  “Importantly, though, this decision should not be viewed to impact race-conscious processes outside the scope of university admissions. “Despite this decision, the Tri-Caucus will never quit fighting alongside the unified civil and human rights community for an America where everyone can find belonging and pursue their aspirations on an equal footing. This extremist Supreme Court does not get to decide our values. We will always fight for diversity and representation in politics, business, culture, and beyond. It’s who we are as a nation and what makes us strong. “Our Members remain focused on dismantling the barriers that hinder progress and will always empower young people to chase their dreams. We will persist in securing federal funding and support for Minority Serving Institutions, conducting rigorous oversight of federal agencies that combat discrimination in education, and exerting pressure on administrators, public officials, business leaders, and community leaders to fulfill their legal and moral obligation to promote equal opportunity as well as champion diversity and racial equity.” CAPAC Chair Chu continues: “After teaching community college for decades, I have long known that students learn best and graduate more prepared when they encounter diversity in the classroom. For AANHPI communities, the end of race-conscious admissions is unlikely to change the net numbers of Asian American acceptances at elite institutions, but AANHPI students from low-income, refugee, or indigenous backgrounds will encounter more hurdles to acceptance. That’s no net positive, and it’s why the majority of AANHPIs in America have expressed support for race-conscious admissions. With over 50 ethnicities speaking over 100 languages, the AANHPI community is itself incredibly diverse, and CAPAC will not lose sight of any part of our community’s access to equal and fair opportunity in admissions.” CBC Chair Horsford continues: “Since 1978, the Supreme Court has held that race-based admissions policies in colleges and universities can be administered in keeping with the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Precedents set decades ago in the landmark Bakke  decision have given students – regardless of their race or ethnicity – a better chance at equal admissions to our nation’s top schools, and our country has been made better for it. By delivering a decision on affirmative action so radical as to deny young people seeking an education equal opportunity in our education system, the Supreme Court has thrown into question its own legitimacy.  “Unfortunately, we have seen backlash to progress many times throughout our nation’s history. During Reconstruction, we had a mere 12 years of Black achievement in policy, politics, the arts and sciences, and education that were followed by 70 years of state-sanctioned Jim Crow. We didn’t stop fighting for equality then and we won’t stop now because too much is at stake to allow extremists to turn back the clock on progress.  “The Congressional Black Caucus is proud to stand alongside our colleagues of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to fight for equal opportunity in admissions and to push back strongly against attempts to use this as a cultural wedge issue to pit communities of color against one another because our nation’s diversity is our greatest strength.” CHC Chair Barragán continues: “Today’s ruling by the Supreme Court dismantles more than 40 years of precedent to increase representation for marginalized groups in university and college campuses, erasing decades of progress. Race-conscious admission policies that allow universities to consider race as one of several factors in the admissions process are a critical and much-needed component to address systemic inequalities and foster diversity. It benefits the entire student body by enriching college experiences and better preparing students to enter their professions. Today’s decision will only benefit the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of marginalized communities and exacerbate barriers students of color face on their path to attaining an education. In California, we saw Latino student admissions drop by half at some of the top-state universities when race-conscious admissions were barred – leading to severely disproportionate representation of the largest minority group in the state at our top schools. Now vulnerable students across the country will be subjected to similar additional hurdles. Affirmative action assures that all of our students are exposed to multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, diverse learning environments that reflect the realities of the global workforce and society that our universities are preparing them to enter. The CHC will remain committed

Resource Guide for the Latinx Community of Northern Nevada The Latino Research Center has constructed this bilingual resource guide intended to assist the Northern Nevada Latinx community in finding the services and assistance all in one place, including resources on health, education, and financial aid. We update this each semester, feel free to connect us with additional resources to include! Border-Lines is an interdisciplinary and intersectional academic journal dedicated to the dissemination of research on Chicana/o-Latina/o cultural, political and social issues. Border-Lines is a refereed journal that seeks to publish scholarly articles drawn from a variety of disciplines such as anthropology, education, geography, human health, literary and cultural studies, political science, social work and sociology. You can still enjoy the first three seasons of our De Aquí y De Allá podcast on the below platforms, also available on Amazon, Google Play, Apple App Store, and iTunes. Podcast  latinoresearchcenter.libsyn.com Spotifylatinoresearchcenter.libsyn.com/spotify

“I was born and raised in Nevada and come from immigrant parents. I am the only one in my immediate family who pursued and graduated from college. I attained my undergrad (i.e., B.S. Information Systems) and graduate degree (i.e., Master of Business Administration) from the University of Nevada, Reno. I am currently completing my Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. I enjoy spending time with my loved ones who remind me how important it is to treasure the small moments in life. My role as a Coordinator is to continue the Latino Research Center’s research and outreach efforts and identify opportunities to support and improve resources for our community. My research has primarily focused on understanding employee well-being and how diverse employees balance their work and family roles. Additionally, I study how women’s health and motherhood are affected by their work experiences. I have previously worked in technical settings by supporting different organizations with their information systems. My passion and curiosity to learn more has allowed me the opportunity to use my technical skills to conduct research intended to make a practical impact in our community. Nací y crecí en Nevada y vengo de padres inmigrantes. Soy la única en mi familia inmediata que siguió y se graduó de la universidad. Obtuve mi licenciatura (es decir, una Licenciatura en Sistemas de Información) y un título de posgrado (es decir, Maestría en Administración de Empresas) de la Universidad de Nevada, Reno. Actualmente estoy completando mi Doctorado en Administración de Empresas de la Universidad de Texas en Arlington. Disfruto pasar tiempo con mis seres queridos que me recuerdan lo importante que es atesorar los pequeños momentos de la vida. Mi funcion como coordinadora es continuar los esfuerzos de investigación y divulgación del Latino Research Center e identificar oportunidades para apoyar y mejorar los recursos para nuestra comunidad. Mi investigación se ha centrado principalmente en comprender el bienestar de los empleados y cómo los empleados diversos equilibran sus funciones laborales y familiares. Además, estudio cómo la salud y la maternidad de las mujeres se ven afectadas por sus experiencias laborales. Anteriormente trabajé en trabajos técnicos apoyando a diferentes organizaciones con sus sistemas de información. Mi pasión y curiosidad por aprender más me han brindado la oportunidad de utilizar mis habilidades técnicas para realizar investigaciones destinadas a tener un impacto práctico en nuestra comunidad.”

Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) announced that, after her successful push, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) updated its National Broadband Map to more accurately reflect Nevada’s current broadband needs, which is critical for the allocation of funding for high-speed internet from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s $42 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. A previous, deeply flawed map misrepresented the high-speed internet coverage in Nevada and would have caused the state to lose out on potentially millions of dollars in BEAD funding. The new version of this map identifies nearly 27,000 new broadband serviceable locations across Nevada, in addition to nearly 7,000 new locations without access to high-speed service that were not included in the previous version. “While helping write the broadband section of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, I made sure that states like Nevada would be able to access the funding and resources necessary to connect more households to high-speed internet,” said Senator Rosen. “I’m proud to announce that thanks to my efforts, the updated version of the FCC broadband map accurately identifies additional unserved locations across Nevada, which will help bring more federal infrastructure funding to connect them to high-speed internet. I’ll continue working with the Department of Commerce to ensure Nevada gets its share of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding in June to get Nevadans access to high-speed internet.” Senator Rosen has led the fight to fix the deeply-flawed FCC Broadband Map and increase Nevadans’ access to high-speed internet. Earlier this year, Senator Rosen sent a letter to the FCC urging them to fix the deeply flawed broadband map to ensure Nevada receives its fair share of federal funding. Last year, Senator Rosen led a bipartisan letter to the FCC Chairwoman pushing the agency to fix these inaccurate broadband maps. During a Senate hearing, Senator Rosen even raised the alarm on this flawed broadband mapping and called for immediate improvements to protect broadband investments in rural Nevada.