Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s Third District released the following statement today on President Obama’s remarks on travel to Las Vegas.

“I understand the sentiment the President was trying to convey in his remarks, although I do think it gives the wrong impression of Las Vegas and was a poor example to illustrate his point.  I agree with President Obama that companies that are receiving billions of dollars from taxpayers because they are on the brink of collapse should not be spending that money on lavish trips whether to Las Vegas or anywhere else.

“We certainly want to encourage tourism to Las Vegas and let people know our city is a wonderful destination for business trips – but for companies who haven’t taken billions in bailout money.  The real question shouldn’t be about where these companies are going, but instead, ‘If you have taken taxpayer money, should you be taking trips anywhere right now?’  It is this kind of behavior that undermines the public’s faith in our efforts to fix our economy.

“A flourishing tourism industry is vital to the health and economic success of Las Vegas and Nevada.  We have been hit especially hard during this economic recession as our tourism sector has felt the full brunt of the downturn and unemployment has reached a 25-year high.  Now is the time to work together to turn our economy around and pull our nation out of this recession so we can reinvigorate the tourism industry in Las Vegas and across the country.”

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Tags: Las Vegas