Catherine is always fighting for Nevada’s rural communities, working with anyone to deliver for them. She took on her own party and led the Senate fight to protect Nevada’s family farms and ranches from an unfair tax hike. She stood strong for Nevada’s mining industry, single-handedly stopping new mining taxes which would have hurt a critical rural industry and the tens of thousands of good-paying Nevada jobs it supports.
Catherine passed a bipartisan bill to ensure rural Nevadans have access to reliable high-speed internet, so students can achieve their academic potential and small businesses can grow and create jobs. And in response to a shortage of health care providers in rural Nevada, Catherine is leading the fight to increase the number of physicians in rural hospitals. She has also championed legislation to prevent insurers from leaving rural counties while stabilizing healthcare premiums.
Catherine also helped pass a bipartisan bill improving rural veterans’ access to mental health care by expanding locations where VA telehealth services are available. For nearly 10 long years, veterans waited as senators from both parties tried and failed to get a veterans cemetery built in Elko for rural Nevadans. Senator Cortez Masto worked with both parties and Nevada veterans to secure a deal with the VA to build the cemetery.