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Last week’s standoff between Southern Nevada rancher Clive Bundy and the Bureau of Land Management “is not over,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a gathering of students, professors and political candidates Monday at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Reid, speaking at an event hosted by The Young Democrats, declined to go into detail about the controversy that has emerged from Bundy’s long-standing refusal to pay federal grazing fees for his cattle. Reid also gave short answers on the subject before the students and faced questioning from a non-student who was highly critical.
“I have been very clear in saying this thing is not over, OK?” Reid said as he was walking out the door of the meeting room at the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. “It’s not over. You can’t have someone violate the law. I have said that many times.”
Saturday, the Federal land managers abruptly ended a roundup of cattle on public land in southern Nevada owned by Bundy, citing a “serious concern” for the safety of employees and the public.
Federal authorizes have said Bundy owes more than $1 million in grazing fees he has not paid for 20 years. Yet Bundy, 67, has reportedly said he does not recognize federal authority on land he insists belongs to Nevada. His Mormon family has operated a ranch since the 1870s near the tiny town of Bunkerville and the Utah and Arizona lines.
“There is no question that there were a lot of things going on down there with breaking the law,” Reid said. “And that is not over yet. We can’t let that continue. So I’m sure it is not the end of it.”
Kim Kollman, who later identified himself as a former teacher at Truckee Meadows Community College, confronted Reid during a question-and-answer session over the issue.
Citing Reuters News Service, the Drudge Report and another Web site, Kollman asked Reid if, possibly he was in collusion with his son and the “Communist Chinese” to forcibly remove Bundy from his property to help bring more solar energy to Southern Nevada. Kollman did not specify what son of Reid’s he was speaking about and said Reid was “papering over” the question of possible collusion.
Reid replied, “That is an easy question to paper over. Do you know what you just said? Please read something else. And that is how I’m going to respond to that question.”
The crowd applauded Reid. Kollman then asked Reid, “What are you afraid of, sir?” before Kollman was asked by an organizer to sit down, which he did.
In 2012, Reuters reported that Reid and his oldest son, Rory were both involved in an effort by a Chinese energy giant, ENN Energy Group, to build a $5 billion solar farm and panel manufacturing plant in the southern Nevada desert.
That plan is no longer viable but would have been located near Laughlin, about 200 miles from Bundy's ranch, Reid's office said.
Kollman left the room shortly after sitting down.
“He stonewalled it, rather sloppily, I might add,” Kollman said of Reid. “It was an embarrassment, first of all, to this gathering of fine young students in an institution of higher learning. It was an embarrassment to them that he would not go, shall we say, toe-to-toe with someone who necessarily does not support his opinion but is certainly willing to give him the opportunity to explain himself on a very salient issue that is concerning the residents of the state of Nevada.”
Kollman, visibly nervous, also tried to ask Reid about any current or former BLM members on his or his son’s staff but Reid shot back, cutting him off by asking, “What about my son?”
The new head of the Bureau of Land Management, Neil Kornze of Elko, was named to his new post just days before the Bundy-BLM standoff. Before moving to the BLM, Kornze served as senior policy adviser for Reid, working on public lands issues.
Some Republicans balked at Kornze’s age of 35 during hearings, according to the Washington Post. Yet Kornze earned Senate confirmation with a 71-28 vote on April 8. Reid referred to Kornze as “ somebody that is just perfect for the job,” after he received Senate confirmation as BLM director.
Immigration reform
Reid was also asked about comprehensive immigration reform and he blamed the House of Representatives for not taking a vote on this issue, even though the Senate approved an immigration-reform package more than a year ago.
“We have to get the Republicans in the House to hold a vote over there,” Reid said. “We have 11 million people in America who are undocumented. We do not have the ability, fiscally or physically to deport 11 million people.
“They (House members) should do what we did in the Senate, and that is to pass a law that says if you are here and your papers are not in order, you will have to go to the back of the line, pay taxes, pay penalties and fines and stay out of trouble. It would take about 10 to 12 years (to complete process) but at least you would not be subject to deportation. It is important because it is a fair thing to do to keep families together.”
Reid mentioned the lack of an immigration vote in the House twice.
“It passed the Senate,” Reid said. “It would pass the House if the speaker of the House, John Boehner, would allow a vote. It would pass overwhelmingly.”