FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    CONTACT:  CHRIS GALLEGOS
August 19, 1996                                    (202) 224-7082

DOMENICI JOINS LAS VEGAS, STATE LEADERS
IN FINDING NEW ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES FOR AREA

Senator Meets With "Save the Jobs" Committee in Las Vegas

Domenici, with Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley, met today with the community-driven Save the Jobs Committee in Las Vegas to help develop a plan to bring prospective new employers to the area. Among those leading the committee were Las Vegas Mayor Tony Martnez and City Manager Les Montoya.

"The closing of the Medite plant caused a lot of problems for Las Vegas. It's a sad reality, and they will not be coming back to this area. So we must look toward the future and develop new activities and businesses that will bring more jobs to the area," Domenici said. "I commend the local leaders for taking the bull by the horns and making progress toward this end."

"I will continue to work with the committee to generate a plan that shows how we can develop these projects, bring them to fruition and provide jobs for this area," Domenici said.

This spring Domenici worked with local leaders, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the New Mexico Economic Development Department and others to find a way to keep the Medite fiberboard plant open, either with existing or new owners, or to find a suitable economic equivalent for the facility. It is now apparent that this will probably not occur, and focus has changed to creating new jobs.

The Senator supports an application to designate northern New Mexico as an empowerment zone/enterprise community. The application names several projects that could generate new jobs in the Las Vegas area, including TeleVillage/Connect New Mexico, Telemedicine, MainStreet Project and New Mexico Filming Office. These projects and other ongoing work in Las Vegas were discussed at today's hearing.

Domenici, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted that this committee has approved $293.5 million for the Economic Development Administration (EDA) in 1997. The EDA provides grants to local governments and nonprofit agencies for public works, planning, and other projects aimed at facilitating economic development. The EDA funding bill will go to the Senate for consideration in September.

This bill includes $26 million for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which provides federal assistance for developing minority-owned enterprises. The funding helps finance minority business development centers (MBDCs) that provide basic management, marketing and technical assistance to minority entrepreneurs, including Native Americans. The New Mexico MBDC and the New Mexico Native American Business Development Center helped clients secure $85 million in contracts in 1994.

"It is my hope that with concentrated attention focused on the effort to bring new jobs to San Miguel County that these and other federal resources can be put to good use here," Domenici said.