Bill stumps for Hillary in Fallon, Fernley

Former President Bill Clinton gave a campaign speech in Fallon and toured flood-damaged homes in Fernley Sunday afternoon, drawing crowds in both communities as he sought support for his wife in Saturday's upcoming Nevada Democratic caucus.

Sporting a suit jacket, jeans and cowboy boots, the former president stumped for his wife, presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., before an enthusiastic crowd of about 500 at the Churchill County High School gym in Fallon.

Clinton stressed his wife's economic policy early, touting a plan to stimulate the economy through creation of jobs in green industry such as biomass and biofuels. Funding for the initiative would be paid for by using funds created by eliminating tax breaks to oil companies.

"Nevada as a whole could be completely energy independent of the rest of the country," he said.

The country's mortgage crisis also needs further attention, Clinton said, and his wife has a plan to freeze foreclosures for 90 days and limit mortgage increases for five years for those in danger of losing their homes.

Regarding the No Child Left Behind educational policy, Clinton said the initiative's testing requirements forces teachers to limit their students to the test material and discourages higher achievement.

He said his wife would seek to recruit teachers for subject areas in which shortages exist, replicate successful techniques from other U.S. schools and preserve funding for the arts.

Regarding his wife's proposed national health care plan, Clinton said a "just society" should provide affordable health care to its citizens, citing the efficiency of health care systems in countries like Germany and Japan.

Under Hillary Clinton's plan, Americans could elect to keep their current coverage or join a national program for which they could not be turned down for a pre-existing condition. Per capita costs of Sen. Clinton's plan would be lower because the pool of participants would number in the millions, he said.

"We're in the fire we're in because we let the financing tail wag the health care dog," he said.

Clinton described his wife as resilient, referencing her recent victory in the New Hampshire Democratic primary following a third-place finish in the Iowa caucus, as well as the passing of the State Children's Health Insurance Program after her failed effort at a national health care system during his presidency.

"In my lifetime, she's the best candidate for president I've ever had the chance to support," Clinton said of his wife.

The former president later took several questions from the audience on education, homelessness, methamphetamine and immigration before departing for an event in Minden.

Natalie Lane, a Fallon teacher, said she agreed with Clinton's responses regarding the No Child Left Behind educational policy, alternative energy and the military.

"As a Republican who's not very happy right now, I wanted to hear what he had to say," she said.

Fallon resident Joseph Cadorette, a Democrat, said Clinton's responses to audience questions were fair.

"He's one of my favorite presidents," Cadorette said, and would be an effective international diplomat if his wife was elected president.

Earlier in the afternoon, Clinton toured two flooded homes in Fernley, meeting with affected homeowners, cleanup volunteers and Fernley Mayor Todd Cutler.

Workers labored in Fernley resident Bradley Camp's house on Shadow Mountain Drive prior to Clinton's visit. The bottom 4 feet of drywall had been removed in Camp's house due to flood damage, along with the floor coverings.

Clinton asked Mayor Cutler if many of the residents had flood insurance, to which Cutler replied no.

"In places like this, it's impractical to ask people to buy flood insurance," Clinton said. He suggested the creation of a regional insurance screen for areas where flooding isn't likely but still possible.