REPRESENTATIVES HELP IN UNEXPECTED WAYS
Cortez Masto’s office sent an inquiry to the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Homeless Outreach Team staff and local organizations worked together to obtain emergency housing. The office also asked to expedite Ledo-lighten’s disability claim.
“I encourage every Nevadan — whether you voted for me or not — to reach out to my offices if ever I can be of service,” Cortez Masto says.
The six members of Nevada’s congressional delegation can become involved in emotional situations, such as when Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-nev., helped a family bring a relative’s body back from overseas.
“I do get involved from time to time on different things,” Rosen says. “I met with the family, met with the parents, followed up to be sure that the body got here fine. I talked to them a few times. As a parent myself, it’s the most horrible thing you can imagine.”
Rosen says her office has helped people with erroneous foreclosures on their records and residents whose identities have been stolen.
“Sometimes it’s a little bit of paperwork that gets lost in the big shuffle and we help them,” she says.
When U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-nev., was elected in 2011, there were more cases related to the housing crisis than they assist with now, according to his office. Summer has brought an uptick in passport assistance as people travel abroad, while issues such as veterans affairs, Social Security and health care remain steady.
Amodei’s office has helped get a replacement Medal of Honor issued for the closest living relative of a soldier who served in a Dakota Territory battle in 1876.
“A federal government that is centered (approximately) 2,500 miles away can be a pretty distant, cold and unresponsive entity,” Amodei said. “This is why the 2nd Congressional District constituent services efforts are centered around the following values: closeness, warmness and responsiveness.”
In an immigration case, Amodei helped a dad who approached him in a Carson City store. The man’s son was in the Army and had orders to return to the U.S. but needed help getting a visa for his fiancee. The case reached U.S. Embassy officials in Manila, Philippines, and was resolved within days.
Cortez Masto’s office has opened more than 670 cases this year, with 40 percent dealing with immigration. More than half of the immigration cases in the office of Rep. Ruben Kihuen, D-nev., are people applying for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, according to Kihuen’s office. His office has closed almost 30 cases that have resulted in a DACA card, residency, work permit or naturalized citizenship.
Kihuen said recently in a statement that his office had helped residents secure more than $400,000 from federal agencies since January.
“Every day, constituents contact our office requesting assistance with a variety of federal agencies,” Kihuen said.
The office of Rep. Dina Titus, D-nev., helped bring $1.6 million in savings or retroactive pay in 2016 from a variety of federal agencies for almost 1,000 constituents.
“My office is the customer-service division of the federal government,” Titus said. “Whether it’s Social Security, immigration issues or veteran problems, we are here to help. My husband even helped a constituent get her cat down from a tree.”
Megan Taylor, a spokeswoman for Sen. Dean Heller, R-nev., says his Nevada offices focus on casework and outreach.
“Sen. Heller’s state office is made up of regional representatives who handle certain issue areas,” Taylor said. “Everything from Medicare and Social Security, to veterans, immigration, post office, military and passports.” yvonne.gonzalez@gmgvegas.com / 702-990-2464 / @ ymgonzal