The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is organizing a public policy think tank on tourism, hospitality and gambling and has recruited former congressional rivals Harry Reid and John Boehner to co-chair it.
The institute, backed by MGM Resorts International, is expected to focus on a broad range of national and international issues that affect the three industries and the communities in which they operate.
Reid and Boehner served in Congress a combined 50 years. Reid, a Nevadan, was the longtime head of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate. Boehner, from Ohio, was the top Republican in the House of Representatives for 10 years, five of them as speaker.
“While our public opposition on issues may be more storied than our private friendship, we have successfully collaborated on complex problems and signature ideas and look forward to doing so again,” the two said in a joint statement.
MGM has committed more than $950,000 for three years to the institute?the MGM Resorts Public Policy Institute, as it will be called?which will be part of UNLV’s School of Public Policy and Leadership and the Greenspun College of Urban Affairs.
