This morning’s Las Vegas Sun confirmed what we’ve known for a long time – that any shortfall Nevada experiences when it comes to federal funding based on taxes paid is due largely to Carson City leaving money on the table, the census’ failure to keep up with Nevada’s growth and the state’s demographic realities. However, the latest data from the Internal Revenue Service and the US Census Bureau show that Nevada actually received roughly 97 cents in federal spending for every dollar we send to Washington in taxes in 2008. Further, because of Senator Reid’s leadership position, Nevada has consistently out-performed the vast majority of states in the nation by taking home a much larger than average amount – sometimes more than twice the average – in earmarked funding for important state and local projects.  Earmarked funding is particularly important for states like Nevada to fund job-creating transportation, defense, and infrastructure projects, especially considering the tens of millions of federal dollars the state leaves on the table.

2008: Nevada received 97 cents in federal funding for every dollar sent to Washington. According to the IRS, Nevada sent roughly $17,753,419,000 in taxes in FY 2008. According to the Census Bureau, Nevada got about $17,259,856,000 in federal funding in 2008 –approximately 97 cents in federal funding for each dollar sent to Washington in taxes. (IRS, State Tax Statistics; US Census Bureau, Quick Facts - Nevada)

HARRY REID IS DOING MORE TO MAKE UP FOR NEVADA’S FEDERAL FUNDING SHORTFALL THAN ANYONE ELSE THROUGH EARMARKED APPROPRIATIONS

Taxpayers for Common Sense report confirmed Reid secures more earmarks for Nevada than the rest of the delegation combined. “Reid is one of Senate’s top earmark recipients with more than a quarter-billion dollars … that’s what Taxpayers for Common Sense, an independent watchdog group famous for exposing the ‘Bridge to Nowhere,’ found in a report that discovered, not surprisingly, members of the Senate Appropriations Committee led the way but that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had the sixth most solo ($91 million) earmarks and eighth most joint ($223 million) earmarks. 168 in all, total of $267.6 billion. None of the other members of Nevada’s delegation came close, with Sen. John Ensign at $79 million, Reps. Shelley Berkley and Dean Heller about half that number and Rep. Dina Titus slightly behind them. That is Reid had more than the rest of the delegation combined. And Nevada, because of Reid, ranked 10th overall. The report acknowledges Reid’s leadership post accounts for his and the state’s high ranking.” (Ralston’s Flash, 2/18/2010)