Serving the First Congressional District of Nevada, Congresswoman Dina Titus has built a strong record of achievement as both an educator and a public servant. As a professor, Dr. Titus taught American and Nevada government classes from 1979 through June 2011 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she has professor emeritus status. A noted non-fiction writer, she is internationally known for her expertise in the history and policies related to nuclear power, weaponry, and waste as well as for her knowledge of the popular lore of "Atomic Culture."
In 1988, Dina was elected to represent the people of District Seven in the Nevada State Senate, serving as the Democratic Minority Leader from 1993 to 2008. During her service in the Legislature, Dina was a champion for quality education and renewable energy development, and a strong advocate on behalf of Nevada’s children, seniors, and persons with disabilities.
I believe that economic inequality is a defining challenge of our time, and I am proud to champion the rights of workers to unionize and to engage in collective bargaining for better wages and working conditions. As a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I am focused on making sound, long-term investments in our nation’s highways, roadways, and airports that would create good-paying jobs for hardworking individuals in Southern Nevada and across the country. I will continue to ensure that Las Vegas has a seat at the table in any federal discussion about transportation and infrastructure.
Additionally, I am committed to ensuring that all Nevadans earn a living wage. To that end, I have co-sponsored the Raise the Wage Act, which would raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. No one should work full time and still live in poverty. Of course, we must also insist on equal pay for equal work, which is why I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of the Paycheck Fairness Act.
I believe animals should be treated with care, not cruelty. As a result, I am proud to consistently fight for animal welfare in Congress. I have helped lead the effort to end government agencies from wasting taxpayer dollars on inhumane animal experiments. I’ve also introduced legislation to make sure animals are taken care of in times of emergencies and natural disasters. Finally, I will continue to defend wild horses and burros which are too often threatened despite their importance to so many of us in the West.
Las Vegas is an international city that thrives on tourism from all around the world. I am committed to using my position on the Foreign Affairs Committee to build strong relationships between Southern Nevada and foreign nations, which helps create jobs in our community.
I strongly believe that diplomacy must be the foundation of U.S. foreign policy. The United States has a stronger position on the world stage when we stand with our allies to confront global challenges. On urgent issues ranging from counterterrorism to nuclear proliferation, and climate change to human rights advocacy, the United States must mobilize our international partners to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
I strongly believe that the symbol of the United States must always remain the Statue of Liberty, not an ineffective border wall. The diversity of Las Vegas is part of what makes our community unique. I am committed to reforming our broken immigration system and I believe strongly that law-abiding immigrants should have a pathway to citizenship.
DREAMers and TPS holders are teachers, nurses, and entrepreneurs. More importantly, they are our neighbors, friends, and colleagues. They are asking for nothing more than a shot at the American Dream. I will continue to support legislation that would keep families together, allow undocumented immigrants to come out of the shadows, protect DREAMers, and preserve the temporary protected status of immigrants fleeing violence and persecution in their native countries.
It is long past time for Congress to take substantive action to prevent gun violence. After the nation’s worst mass shooting in modern American history occurred at an October 2017 music festival in Las Vegas, I introduced legislation banning bump stocks, which allowed the gunman to convert his assault rifle into a machine gun that ended 58 lives. This is a key first step toward ending the senseless gun violence that plagues our nation.
Additionally, I have co-sponsored bills to ban assault weapons and require comprehensive background checks for all gun purchases. Parents shouldn’t have to fear that their children won’t come home from school or a concert. We pass gun violence prevention legislation to keep our communities safe.
Due to decades of inaction and the denial of science, we are running out of time to address the climate crisis. Continuing on that path would have unacceptable and irreversible consequences on the planet and our people. I support a transition to a clean energy economy that could create millions of good-paying jobs while significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Additionally, I am leading the fight in Congress to prevent Nevada from becoming the dumping ground for the nation’s nuclear waste. As part of my efforts to block any effort to revitalize Yucca Mountain, I have introduced the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act which would prohibit the U.S. Department of Energy from establishing a nuclear waste dump without the consent of locally impacted communities, governments, and tribes. The attempts to move forward with the unsafe, unsound storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain are based on dirty politics, not sound science. Nevada doesn’t use nuclear power, we don’t produce nuclear waste, and we shouldn’t be forced to store it.