I stand before you a fourth-generation Nevadan—mindful of the chapter being written in our state’s history and optimistic that the lesson of this challenging time will ultimately be one of resilience. It will be the story of how we launched a new era of opportunity in Nevada.

In nearly 145 years, our state has witnessed times of unprecedented economic growth and times of grave challenge. Today, we are facing difficult times that require tough choices and strong leadership, but we know from history that more plentiful times are as close as our vision allows them to be.

The thread that has always pulled us out of the difficult times has been the spirit of innovation that seems to breed in our state.

Mining has been a bed rock for our economy since the early days in Dayton and Comstock.

The construction of Hoover Dam in 1931 pumped millions of dollars into the local economy.

That year we also ended the ban on gambling—a major boost to the economy. The effects are still a major part of our economy today.

Large scale federal efforts also seemed to flock to Nevada: The Army Air Corp gunnery school that became Nellis Air Force Base was created in 1941. Stead Air Force Base near Reno in 1942. The Naval Air Station in Fallon. And in 1950, construction started on what would become the Nevada Test Site.

With these projects came thousands of civilian and military workers. And their benefits continue to pay off. Nellis Air Force Base and Creech pump hundreds of millions of dollars into the southern Nevada economy.

With the resources we have available today at our community colleges and universities and at facilities such as Desert Research Institute and the Nevada Test Site, we should be opening new doors of opportunity and leading the way in renewable energy growth and development. It’s time to make Nevada the epicenter of scientific and technological advancement.

I was excited to host a Renewable Energy Grant Workshop earlier this week in Reno. We had nearly 400 northern Nevadans come out to learn about grant and loan opportunities for renewable energy development. This is a significant sign that the people of this state are embracing our role in the future of renewable energy and are excited about the possibilities.

We are definitely witnessing a change in our landscape. The era of Yucca Mountain is by most accounts over. For years, we chipped away at funding; we screamed and shouted when the Department of Energy ignored science and was less than forthright; and we used the justice system to keep the process open and accountable. We worked together—Democrats and Republicans—to ensure that we wouldn’t be the dumping ground for the rest of the country’s nuclear waste. I’m looking forward to a time, in the very near future, when we come together—not for a ribbon cutting at Yucca Mountain—but to put the final nail in the coffin. Yucca Mountain is part of our past, and a bright new future is on the horizon. More and more solar panels are popping up across our deserts, windmills are churning across the eastern part of the state, and geothermal is surging in places like Reno, Fallon, and the Dixie Valley.

Several years ago, we changed the way that proceeds from geothermal energy leasing were distributed. They were modeled after the on-shore oil and gas leasing system which has so greatly benefited states like Alaska. Right now, Nevada gets 75% of the proceeds derived from the sale of geothermal electricity. There is no reason why we shouldn’t benefit from solar and wind projects as well.

That is why next week I will be introducing the Renewable Energy Permitting Act. States like Nevada, with tremendous renewable energy resources and an abundance of federally managed land, should be able to share the proceeds from solar and wind energy projects with the government. With the formula we will utilize, the state of Nevada and county governments could collect millions. That is a reliable, consistent revenue stream that I don’t think anyone here would turn down.

This is exactly the kind of innovation that will continue to drive our state.

My greatest concern, as we lay the groundwork for this new era of opportunity in Nevada—will we have the scientists, the engineers, and the inventors to sustain the kind of innovation we want to be capable of?

The time has come to make waves in Nevada education. We need to shake the system to its core and rebuild the fundamentals of our classrooms and schools. We have to do this so that our students have the tools they need to take this state beyond just words of ambition.

The defeatist attitude that we can’t change is not acceptable. And no longer can we put special interests in front of the education of our children. It’s time to put students first in more than just rhetoric.

We have some tremendous examples of what happens when we give first-class educators ownership of their schools.

In Las Vegas, the writing was on the chalkboard for West Middle School just a few short years ago. The school was persistently dangerous and consistently the lowest performing middle school in the district. 100% of the students come from low-income households and 92% are Hispanic or black. These children had not just been left behind. Their futures were sort of swept under the rug for someone else to deal with.

Fortunately, there are educators who will never settle for that. Associate Superintendent Dr. Ed Goldman asked to take the school under his belt. He hired a young and hungry principal, Dr. Mike Barton, and made sure the school had empowerment level funding. He also gave Dr. Barton tremendous reign over the school.

That was in April of 2006. Today, the campus now known as West Prep is a study in educational innovation. They extended the school day and provide a third semester as summer school. The students wear uniforms. There is a newcomer track for students new to the United States. Science and math classes are divided by gender. There is a law enforcement class that collaborates with the FBI and a “Men Mentoring Men” program—both are keeping kids out of the dean’s office. Students feel safe to go to school. Most importantly, they are finally learning.

When I visited the school, I asked one of the students, a young African-American girl who had also attended the school before Dr. Barton, what the biggest difference was. What was it that was happening now as opposed to before these innovative educators took over? She replied very simply, “Learning.”

And the test results reflect that. The school has seen phenomenal test score growth. There is still work to do, but there is a “can do” feeling that has spread throughout the community. The school has expanded to eleventh grade and will graduate its first senior class next year.

Dr. Barton was given the freedom to lead that school. He isn’t tied down by bureaucracy—he spends most of his time in the school as opposed to school district meetings, and he can fire teachers who are not performing. In fact, when he came on board, he replaced a majority of the teachers. Now he has a team in place that he knows will motivate his students and help them reach their potential.

We are fortunate to have many talented educators leading our schools and classrooms, such as Carrie Larson of C.T. Sewell Elementary School in Las Vegas and Gayle Magee of Empire Elementary School right here in Carson who were recognized last year with the prestigious Milken Educator Award. Unfortunately, not enough of them are given the freedom to make a real difference in our children’s lives.

Some of the most proven methods of improving education are to give schools more freedom, give parents more choice, and inspire students to learn. One way to do that is to encourage competition in our education system.

Less than a decade ago in New York City two out of three public schools were underperforming and graduation rates were unmoved. Under a mayor-controlled system, charter schools have expanded from 20 to 100. With increased competition, test scores have improved and 10,000 additional students are graduating. In addition, the gap between African-American and Hispanic students and White and Asian students is decreasing.

Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education, recently visited New York City. Based on data on charter schools, he said, “Graduation rates are up. Test scores are up. Teacher salaries are up. Social promotion was eliminated. Dramatically increasing parental choice. That’s real progress.”

New York City is just one example of many communities that are shaking up education in order to improve opportunities for their students. Washington, D.C., was another. I led an effort last month to reinstate funding for the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program which had provided vouchers for about 1,700 low-income children to attend private schools. The students in the five-year-old pilot program are thriving. The average income of the recipients’ families is $23,000 a year, and the overwhelming majority are underserved minorities.

For these students, the program is a lifeline. They are able to escape dangerous and failing schools and start planning for a future that they otherwise could not dream of. Unfortunately, politics has derailed those dreams. An effort to extend that program was killed in the U.S. Senate, and those 1,700 students who dared to think beyond their situation may be forced to return to their failing schools.

But the lessons of that program and those children’s experiences prevail. We cannot afford to let politics or egos or special interests dictate our children’s futures. And there is not just one good answer to the problems facing education—we need comprehensive reform that takes teacher merit pay, vouchers, and charter schools into consideration. There is not one model that is the right fit for every student. We know that. That is why we have to make different models available so that all our students can excel.

My son, Michael, is currently enrolled in a private school in Las Vegas for learning different children. We are fortunate to be able to send him to this school. While there are public schools that serve this student population, they may not be the right fit for every student with a learning disability. That is why I will soon introduce legislation to provide scholarships for students enrolled in special education to attend a private or public school of their choice willing to accept them.

These would be federally-funded vouchers available to all students with disabilities. Each voucher would be paid entirely from a portion of the federal pool of IDEA grant money provided to each state. Parents could supplement the voucher with their own funds if they wish. This could be especially helpful for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders who often struggle to find the right educational situation. A voucher program for disabled students in Florida has proven to be incredibly successful.

Just as we need new models for students with disabilities, we also need a new focus on the extremely gifted kids in our own state.

Most of you are aware of the fabulous work being done at the Davidson Academy on the UNR campus. They’ve brought together some of the very brightest young people and given them the tools to learn at whatever pace they can handle. They and many others believe that it makes no sense to keep a 10-year-old student in a class learning basic math when he can already handle college-level calculus.

Unfortunately, too many of our gifted students aren’t challenged and end up being made fun of. They are teased and called names instead of encouraged to reach their potential. It is often assumed that because they are gifted they will be resourceful enough to get by. Is that what we want for them—to just get by? Instead, imagine a school system where children are allowed to lean at whatever level their brains allow. Imagine more Davidson-type academies. Imagine Nevada becoming the state that is known for encouraging gifted students to reach their potential. It wouldn’t take more money to achieve this, but we will have to rethink how we treat highly gifted students. A few states have programs that are working but no state has a comprehensive program to deal with the gifted. You have the opportunity to do that. I hope you will consider it for the future of our state.

The ultimate goal for all of our children needs to be focused on teaching and preparing them to be productive and contributing members of society.

That means that we also need to ramp up efforts so that our students can compete with their peers around the world in math, science, technology, and engineering. There is no question that these are the fields of the future. As we look to make Nevada the epicenter of renewable energy, technology, and medicine, we will desperately need people to fill these fields. There have been some wonderful efforts across the state, most often taken on by teachers who have inspired their students. Programs like the Nevada Regional Science Bowl and the FIRST Robotics Competition are also igniting a passion for science and engineering that we need to continue to fan.

These all seem like lofty ambitions at a time of such economic uncertainty, but we can look for innovative ways to make changes that don’t deplete already strapped budgets.

There is no getting around the fact that this Legislature is facing excruciating decisions. I know that some of you may have been frustrated by my opposition to the recent Stimulus bill. I believe that the Stimulus bill was riddled with problems—there was wasteful spending, very little job creation, and barely a mention of the housing crisis.

I believe that the housing crisis is at the heart of this deep recession. I believe it should have been the very first thing we addressed in Congress this year. The Stimulus bill that passed did not address the most serious problem we face. That is why I introduced an alternative to the Stimulus bill which would have provided for a 4% government-backed 30-year fixed mortgage rate for refinancing and new home purchases. This would have allowed countless families to stay in their homes because they could have afforded their new monthly payments. It also contained a $15,000 tax credit to those wanting to buy a home, and it would have provided help to those faced with losing their home. What if we had 4% mortgages and $15,000 incentives in Nevada? How much would that jumpstart our economy? How much would that improve neighborhoods overrun by foreclosures? And how much would that boost consumer confidence?

Instead, the Stimulus bill that passed, and the spending bills that are lining up after it, will cost future generations of Americans dearly. We’re spending money that we don’t have, and our children and grandchildren will be stuck with the bill. Although your job is difficult, I respect the fact that you must balance the state budget. That makes your job even more challenging, because you don’t get to pass the bill on to our children. In D.C., the answer always seems to be just to print more money, but you have to deal with the reality of today.

The reality is that Nevadans are struggling and hurting. Foreclosures, bankruptcies, and unemployment are the buzzwords of a deep and painful recession. But they don’t have to be defining words. Instead, we can turn to the innovation that has always been our answer to difficult times.

During the Fourth of July celebration of 1915, Nevada pioneer Judge C.C. Goodwin made this observation about Nevada’s founders: “They found some obstacles in their way which it seemed impossible to surmount, but they surmounted them. They found some problems that it seemed impossible to solve, but they solved them.”

I look forward to working with all of you to solve the impossible problems of the day and overcome the obstacles that seem insurmountable.

I want to leave you with a challenge. Just as the pioneers throughout Nevada’s history turned adversity into opportunity, let’s see this day of hardship and difficulty as the greatest opportunity of all. We can all agree on the importance of coming together for the future of this state and blazing a new trail forward. Nevadans deserve nothing less. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless Nevada and the United States.