Shelley Berkley

Rochelle "Shelley" Berkley has been a Democratic member of the  House of Representatives since 1999, representing the First Congressional District of Nevada which includes most of the city of Las Vegas, including the Las Vegas Strip.

Iraq War
Berkley voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 that started the Iraq War.

Shelly Berkley has voted against leglislation favoring the war in Iraq many times. In June of 2008, she voted YES for investigating Bush impeachment for lying about Iraq. She has voted no on redeploying troops to Iraq whom had already served in Iraq for 90 under Bush's executive order. She has voted YES on ousting Saddam Hussein in 2004. 

One may deduce that Shelley Berkley adheres to a liberal agenda. Interest groups such as Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America have given her a high grade. In 2008, her grade went from an A- to an A.

Shelley Berkley has been criticizing the Bush Administration, and has been against the war in Iraq. Representative Berkley has also called for an exit strategy in Iraq, claiming that the current plans are not adequate. 

Abortion
In December of 2003, NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) rated Representative Berkley 100%. This indicates that she favors the pro-choice option in an abortion. This opinion manifests itself ubiquitously throughout her voting record; In april of 2000, she voted NO on banning partial-birth abortions, and voted no making it a fedral crime to harm a fetus while comitting other crimes. The NRLC (National Right to Life Committee) rated Representative Berkley at 0%, due to their contrasting opinions about the legality of abortion. 

Environmental record
Representative Berkley is endeavoring to increase efficiency of fuel consumption and decrease our carbon footprint by voting in favor of legislation that promotes mass-transit and optimal living conditions.

In June of 2008, she voted yes on a bill that would funnel $9.7B towards Amtrak to improve their operations through 2013. In June of 2006, she voted yes on increasing the funding for AMTRAK from $214M to $900M.

She voted YES on speeding up approval of forest thinning projects in 2003. The idea behind a forest thinning project is to optimize benifits for the wildlife in the area. In this kind of project, the underbrush is cleared, leaving an open fertile ground for the trees to benefit from; they would not have to compete with the virally spreading underbrush.

In 2001, Representative Berkley stated she supported the platform of the American Coalition for Ethanol completely. 

Bio
Born Rochelle Levine January 20, 1951 in New York City, she attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of San Diego, graduating with a degree in Law. She served in the Nevada State Assembly from 1982 to 1984 and was involved in civic affairs locally. Elected to the House in 1998.

2006 elections
In 2006, the Republicans nominated Ken Wegner to face Berkley in her November 2006 bid for reelection. (See U.S. congressional elections in 2006) Berkley retained her seat.

Money in politics
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Committees and Affiliations

 * Congressional Advisory Board, Humpty Dumpty Institute

Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * House Committee on Ways and Means
 * Subcommittee on Trade
 * Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support
 * House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Subcommitee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs
 * Subcommitee on Health

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * House Committee on International Relations
 * Subcommittee on Europe and Emerging Threats
 * Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia
 * House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
 * Subcommittee on Aviation
 * Subcommittee on Highways Transit and Pipelines
 * House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs - Ranking Minority Member

Resources

 * Official website
 * Campaign website

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Las Vegas Gleaner
 * Reno Discontent
 * Vote Gibbons Out

Articles

 * Berkley's Office: Las Vegas State of Mind by Josh Patashnik, The Hill, 7/26/05.