LAS VEGAS " Nevada Sen. Harry Reid said Friday that a provision restricting casinos from using stimulus money is "overly broad" and discourages nonprofit groups from applying for the federal funds.
In a letter sent to President Barack Obama, Reid asked for clarification on the provision's effect on community groups seeking grants. Nonprofit organizations in Nevada had interpreted the rule to mean they could not seek federal funding if the money might be spent in a casino, he said.
"The overly broad language hurts nonprofits in Nevada, especially," Reid wrote, citing the state's "long history of community integration with hotel-casino complexes."
The Democratic majority leader argued that casinos are often the only suitable space for conferences and workshops held by community organizations.
He also pointed to a women's group that uses casino hotel rooms in rural Nevada as transitional housing for victims of violence.
The casino provision also bars stimulus money from being used for recreation projects, including museums, golf courses, aquariums, zoos or swimming pools. It was passed by lawmakers concerned the $787 billion bill might be used on frivolous projects.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who introduced the provision, cited a proposed mob museum in Las Vegas as an example of how the money might be used for "low priority" projects if the restrictions weren't enacted.
Coburn spokesman John Hart said in an e-mail that Reid's letter was "a thinly veiled attempt to intimidate the White House into using stimulus funds to bail out Las Vegas casinos."
"In a democracy, the only 'clarification' the Majority Leader needs is a 73-24 Senate vote in favor of Dr. Coburn's amendment," Hart said. "Being the majority leader doesn't give Reid the right to reshuffle the deck when he doesn't like the cards he's been dealt."
Reid spokesman Jon Summers said the senator was not seeking stimulus funding for casinos.
He said the issue was drawn to Reid's attention by the Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence.
"We're seeking language providing that clarification so these agencies can keep doing their work and so the companies where these agencies do their business can get paid," Summers said.
Reid voted against the casino restriction, while Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign supported it.
Nevada lawmakers have called the provision symbolic since gambling industry lobbyists did not request money from the bill. Nevada casinos remained eligible for tax breaks and other benefits of the bill.