Catherine Cortez Masto, United States Senator for Nevada
Accomplishments
STRENGTHENING NEVADA’S ECONOMY
- Senator Cortez Masto was the deciding vote to pass an average of $3,000 in middle-class tax cuts to Nevada families.
- During the pandemic, she supported $1,400 stimulus checks to more than 1.6 million Nevadans.
- As the deciding vote to pass the American Rescue Plan, she secured $750 million in grants for travel and tourism communities and $30 billion in assistance for small and mid-sized restaurants.
- Her bipartisan legislation to help set up our domestic supply chain of critical minerals was signed into law and will help us compete with China while creating jobs in Nevada.
- The bipartisan infrastructure deal that she voted for is helping to spur Nevada’s economy and bring in thousands of new jobs.
EXPANDING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE
- Senator Cortez Masto repeatedly voted to defend the Affordable Care Act and save health care protections for 487,000 Nevadans with pre-existing conditions.
- She successfully repealed a painful 40% tax on many middle class Nevadans’ health plans.
- She has consistently fought to lower prescription drug costs by holding big pharmaceutical companies accountable for skyrocketing prices.
- When the coronavirus hit, she helped to cut the cost of health care coverage by an average of $444 per month and made over 40,000 Nevadans eligible for coverage.
- To help Nevadans cope with the mental health impacts of the pandemic, she introduced bipartisan legislation to expand behavioral health crisis services in Nevada and across the country.
- She co-authored bipartisan legislation, which was signed into law, that made historic public investments in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT
- On several occasions, Senator Cortez Masto blocked the Trump administration from dumping nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, and she is leading legislation to ensure that the failed Yucca Mountain project is never revisited.
- She’s worked to protect the pristine Ruby Mountains from speculative drilling.
- She secured $181 million to prevent homes and businesses from flooding in the Truckee Meadows.
- She passed bipartisan legislation to address the wildfires that threaten Nevada communities and jobs, helping deliver a historic $3.4 billion to prevent and combat wildfires.
- She secured critical support for Nevada’s heroic firefighters, including a pay raise and funds to hire additional firefighters.
- She secured $450 million for large-scale water recycling projects, including one that will produce enough water to serve more than 500,000 households in the region.
SUPPORTING QUALITY EDUCATION
- Senator Cortez Masto led efforts in the Senate to deliver funding so Nevada schools could safely reopen for in-person learning and so students would receive the mental health support they need.
- She led efforts in the Senate to deliver funding for more school counselors, increased teacher pay, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for teachers and students, and increased summer classes so Nevada schools could safely reopen for in person learning and get students back on track.
- The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included her bipartisan bills to increase safety for student pedestrians, to improve air quality in schools, and to expand broadband in rural classrooms.
DELIVERING FOR RURAL NEVADA
- Senator Cortez Masto took on her own party and led the Senate fight to protect Nevada’s family farms and ranches from an unfair tax hike.
- She single-handedly stopped new mining taxes which would have hurt a critical rural industry and the tens of thousands of good-paying Nevada jobs it supports.
- She also passed a bipartisan broadband bill to ensure rural Nevadans have access to reliable high-speed internet.
- Amid a shortage of healthcare providers in rural Nevada, she is leading the fight to increase the number of physicians in rural hospitals.
COMBATING CRIME & HELPING VICTIMS
- Senator Cortez Masto led the passage of two bipartisan bills to to combat the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, Savanna’s Act and the Not Invisible Act. The bills forced a review of the crisis by federal and tribal officials and tasked them with developing a plan to tackle the crisis for the first time ever.
- She helped secure $40 million in federal funding for Nevada crime victims after it had been delayed in Washington and helped pass legislation increasing funding for programs to support victims.
IMPROVING NEVADA’S INFRASTRUCTURE
- Senator Cortez Masto passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is bringing thousands of jobs to Nevada while funding critical road and bridge construction. The bipartisan infrastructure deal included her bills to increase safety for student pedestrians, to improve air quality in schools, and to expand broadband in rural classrooms. The law also included historic funding for tribal transportation programs, including aging tribal bridges; improved access to clean water for Indian Country; and improved tribal broadband.
- She secured a $40 million grant to provide a “major safety overhaul” to the Henderson Boulder Highway.
- She led the passage of legislation creating an office dedicated to improving broadband access.
SUPPORTING LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Senator Cortez Masto helped secure $2 million for Las Vegas police to cover additional costs incurred after the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival shooting.
- She led efforts to pass two bipartisan bills to help end the epidemic of law enforcement suicide.
- She helped pass bipartisan legislation making sure law enforcement had the necessary resources to fight sex trafficking.
THANKING OUR TROOPS & VETERANS
- Senator Cortez Masto helped pass two of the largest pay raises for service members in a decade.
- She secured a deal with the Veterans Department to build a National Veterans Cemetery in Elko, ending a decade-long fight for the project.
- She’s passed multiple bills to help veterans by promoting the use of outdoor spaces to treat mental illnesses, extending veterans’ benefits to conditions associated with exposure to Agent Orange, and significantly overhauling U.S. military housing.
- During the pandemic, her legislation to allow student veterans to access their full housing benefit while attending classes online was signed into law.
DEFENDING REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
- Senator Cortez Masto has helped lead the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would enshrine a woman’s right to choose into federal law and guarantee equal access to abortion in every corner of the nation.
- She cosponsored legislation to ensure women seeking abortion care are not penalized based on how much they earn or how they’re insured.
- She was a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s efforts to limit access to family planning and reproductive health care, including working to block federal court nominees whose records showed they would roll back women’s health care and reproductive freedoms.
PROTECTING TRIBAL COMMUNITIES
- Senator Cortez Masto has led efforts to address the epidemic of missing, murdered, and trafficked Indigenous women, passing bipartisan bills to ensure that the federal government is better equipped to prevent violent crime against Indigenous women and girls.
- She secured coronavirus relief funding for the Indian Health Services and additional funding for tribes and urban Indian health organizations to address mental health needs for these communities.
- Through the American Rescue Plan, she helped secure the largest investment in Native programs in history, including Native education and housing.
- The bipartisan infrastructure law she supported included historic funding for tribal transportation programs, including aging tribal bridges; improved access to clean water for Indian Country; and improved tribal broadband.
PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING
- After the financial crisis, Senator Cortez Masto worked to hold the Big Banks accountable and delivered $1.9 billion in relief to Nevada homeowners.
- She has worked directly with the Treasury Department to secure down payment assistance for Nevadans in communities hit hardest by foreclosures.
- She made sure to include emergency rental and mortgage assistance for Nevadans in the American Rescue Plan.
- She’s leading the fight to stop housing discrimination that often targets women, people of color, and rural Nevadans, including shady lending practices.
Resources
