Las Vegas Sun: Rep. Susie Lee: Commonsense leadership matters in unprecedented times

As 2025 comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on my seventh year representing our community in Congress. I came to Washington to find bipartisan, commonsense solutions to our biggest challenges and deliver for Nevada families. I’m ready to work with anyone — Republican or Democrat — to get results. That focus hasn’t changed, and I’ve been at the table every day fighting for Southern Nevada.

It’s been a difficult year. We’re living in unprecedented times, and many people are worried about what they’re seeing in Washington. First, we faced illegal funding freezes, the world’s richest person and his DOGE team illegally dismantling crucial programs, a partisan spending bill causing health care costs to soar, the longest government shutdown in American history, and so much more.

These are trying times for our country, particularly the terrifying rise in political violence, attacks on the Constitution, and villainizing specific groups in our community based on the color of their skin. On top of that, tariffs, fewer international visitors, and rollbacks of clean-energy investments have already taken a sledgehammer to Las Vegas’ economy.

None of that has stopped me from working hard in Washington, at home, and across the aisle to get real results for Nevadans. This year, I led 13 bills, 12 of which were bipartisan.

I’m glad my bipartisan Treatment, Recovery, Education, Awareness and Training for Youth Act was signed into law. This lifesaving legislation will support youth at risk of drug addiction and overdose. And I was excited to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, which included important provisions for Southern Nevada — including designating Creech Air Force Base as a remote or isolated installation. This hasn’t been done in 30 years, and it will give service members and their families increased access to support services like child care and fitness centers.

I also hosted hundreds of outreach events and heard from thousands of Nevadans, from veteran pinning ceremonies to roundtables and town halls, because I can’t do my job without you.

No matter what’s going on, my work does not stop and neither does my team’s. Even through the shutdown, my offices were open and ready to help constituents navigate federal agencies. Whether you need help with delayed visas, missing Social Security benefits, or accessing Veterans Affairs health care, my office stands ready to assist.

For example, my team helped Jimena, who was facing a misleading and unclear immigration procedure. We submitted a congressional inquiry to the U.S. Embassies in her and her husband’s home countries, and now she and her husband, Guillermo, are finally living together and working on their American dream.

We also helped a member of our community reach out experiencing tax return delays with the IRS. After my team got involved, she received a direct deposit for over $31,000.

In fact, just this year, we helped over 1,400 Nevadans and small businesses get the federal benefits and services they need. Additionally, my office returned $6 million in federal funding to Nevada families, veterans, seniors and small businesses through casework, and brought home over $200 million in grants and federal investments for Southern Nevada.

The only way we move forward in this country is in a bipartisan way. It’s how we get real results for Southern Nevada.

I’m not afraid to speak up when I disagree with my Republican colleagues — at the same time, I’m also not afraid to work with them on areas where we do agree. I’ll always fight to find common ground to deliver for Nevada families.

After the government shutdown, we came back with an extremely busy floor schedule to close out the year and make up for lost time.

Now, it’s the end of 2025, and unfortunately, many Americans are still worried about affordable health care. What did Republicans choose to do? Go home for the holidays without extending the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies that help millions of Americans afford their health insurance.

We’ll return in January, this time, hopefully, with a compromise bill to address the expired enhanced ACA premium tax credits and make health care more affordable. In the meantime, please know I’m always here to help, and I’m always fighting for you.

Susie Lee represents Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives.