New political capital for Ensign, but will he invest it wisely?

Back in 2001, before Nevada drew itself a third congressional seat, the Silver State was more like a tarnished set of flatware, drawing only looks of apathy from the nation’s political leaders.

But today, as Nevada once again finds itself a presidential battleground, its polished representatives are drawing a closer look.

Nevada, for its measly five Electoral College votes, has never been so powerful.

Sen. John Ensign’s appointment last week to the Senate Finance Committee makes Nevada just one card short of a full house of power.

Ensign, who had already been brought into the GOP’s leadership circle to coordinate next year’s Republican Senate election efforts, will now have a say in the nation’s most critical domestic issues. Whether Social Security or Medicare reform or taxes, trade or funding levels, Ensign is in the thick of it once again.

When he served in the House, he got a taste of the spending side of those issues on the Ways and Means Committee.

With Ensign now on Finance, and Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley and Republican Rep. Jon Porter both on House Ways and Means, we may see more funding to offset the state’s crushing growth.

This three-of-a-kind on the money committees should help protect Nevada’s gaming, mining and tourism industries. And with Harry Reid as Senate majority leader, no piece of legislation gets passed without Nevada’s stamp of approval.

Ensign was appointed to his new post by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to fill a vacancy created by the death of Wyoming Sen. Craig Thomas.

The announcement had barely sunk in back home before Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, used the news to immediately call attention to one of her pet concerns.

In a letter to the press congratulating Ensign on his appointment, Buckley pointed out that the Senate is re-examining funding for SCHIP, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

SCHIP funds Nevada Check Up, which provides insurance coverage for children of the working poor.

“While President Bush wants to cut federal funds for SCHIP, I look forward to working with Sen. Ensign to fully fund this program,” Buckley’s statement read.

The Senate Finance Committee has already agreed to reauthorize SCHIP at a cost of $35 billion, funded almost entirely by a cigarette tax increase (from 39 cents per pack to 61 cents per pack). Republicans on the committee want to eliminate coverage for adults through the fund, in a compromise to enroll 2 million additional kids.

But states have largely had the flexibility to craft the program to meet individual needs. In Nevada, which has one of the highest shares of children who lack health insurance, coverage has been used for prenatal care. Low-income pregnant women would no longer be eligible for that care if adults are kicked out.

In a classic Buckley jab, her statement also mentioned the Nevada Legislature “unanimously” passed a resolution urging Congress to re-authorize SCHIP. Hint, hint: Republicans can have a heart.

Ensign will head right into this firestorm, fresh off his own re-election, but with the responsibility of getting more Republicans elected to the Senate next year.

He may want to take a page from Porter. A new analysis shows he’s voting with the Democrats 25 percent of the time now. Just three years ago, he was practically lock-step with House Republicans, voting with leadership 93 percent of the time.

Porter has $600,000 in cash on hand for next year’s election, where he might face a challenge from Democrat Robert Daskas, a Clark County prosecutor. It certainly wouldn’t hurt Porter to move more to the middle on some issues given the evenly split voter registration in the 3rd Congressional District.

Ensign, who’s made a name for himself as the fiscal conservative John McCain pretends to be, could use the SCHIP issue as a way to chip away at one of his pet peeves — entitlements.

Provided Ensign can stomach supporting the restoration SCHIP funding, he may be able to persuade Democrats that Social Security reform is, in fact, necessary.

Ensign is already a good soldier for the administration, sticking with Bush on the Iraq war and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, despite numerous defections on those issues by fellow Republicans. He’s also stridently supportive of the tax cuts Democrats hope to repeal.

Social Security reform is a dead political issue, but a legitimate policy concern. The second it’s raised in an election year, senior voters scream bloody murder — even though they wouldn’t be impacted by any reforms.

Politicians in both parties pander to the old voters and boomers. They leave my generation to look forward to a retirement during which we’ll receive either just a small portion of the Social Security benefits we’ve been promised — or none of the money we’re in line for after decades of paying in.

Voting to cut SCHIP won’t win Ensign much political capital, and it won’t help his party next year. Supporting the war may not be political suicide, but kicking poor people out of an insurance program never plays well.

At any rate, Ensign has worked hard for his party in Washington, and he deserved the committee seat. Now he’ll be able to work even harder for Nevada.

Erin Neff’s column runs Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at (702) 387-2906, or by e-mail at eneff@reviewjournal.com.