FILE - In this Dec. 8, 2016 file photo Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., speaks during a ceremony on Capitol Hill in Washington. Reid and John Boehner are going to co-chair a new public policy think tank at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. MGM Resorts International and UNLV plan to bring plans for the institute headed by the retired U.S. Senate Democratic majority leader from Nevada and the former House Republican speaker from Ohio before Nevada university regents on Thursday, March 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
LAS VEGAS — Former congressional rivals Harry Reid and John Boehner plan to co-chair a public policy think tank being proposed at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
The institute is expected to focus on wide-ranging national and international policy issues that affect the tourism, hospitality and gambling industries, as well as the communities in which they operate.
The university and MGM Resorts International on Wednesday announced the think tank, which is pending approval by the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents.
“While our public opposition on issues may be more storied than our private friendship, we have successfully collaborated on complex problems and signature ideas and look forward to doing so again,” Reid and Boehner said in a joint statement.
Between them, Reid, the former Senate Democratic party leader from Nevada, and Boehner, former House Republican leader from Ohio, spent more than 50 years in Congress.
The casino company has committed more than $950,000 for three years to the institute that would bear its name. The MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute would be part of the UNLV School of Public Policy and Leadership and the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs.
“I’m excited about the possibilities the Institute offers to proactively explore issues and develop bipartisan policy solutions,” said Jim Murren, the company’s chairman and CEO.