RENO — Nevada Sen. Harry Reid on Saturday blasted Gov. Jim Gibbons for having one of the nation’s worst records of distributing federal stimulus money and for closing the door on federal education funds.

In an interview scheduled for airing Sunday evening on Tribune columnist Andrew Barbano’s “Barbwire” television show, the Democratic Senate majority leader expressed amazement at the Republican governor’s actions.

“This administration is stunning,” Reid said. “There are millions available for retrofitting and green jobs. We are the only state in the nation ineligible for Race to the Top school funds and it’s not on his legislative agenda,” he added.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with this guy.”

Nevada is ineligible for Race to the Top money because of an existing state law that prohibits student test scores from being used to evaluate teacher performance. The Nevada State Education Association has endorsed repeal of the law.

Gibbons said in December that he would place the change on his special session agenda. The Las Vegas Sun reported this week that the item is not on Gibbons’ preliminary agenda, but quoted a Gibbons spokesman as saying that qualifying Nevada for the $175 million in federal education money is still a priority.

The emergency legislative session to address the state’s budget begins in Carson City on Tuesday.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chair of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, sent a letter to Gov. Gibbons in October 2009 noting that Nevada “has fallen behind many other states in putting to work its Recovery Act highway formula funds.”

At the time, Gov. Gibbons had placed only 25 percent of the available federal money into the system, making Nevada 47th among 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“I strongly urge you to refocus your efforts to implement the Recovery Act and use the available funds to create and sustain family-wage jobs. These jobs are critical to Nevada’s and the nation’s long-term economic growth,” Oberstar concluded.

Gibbons was criticized for not allowing the posting of highway signs on stimulus-funded road construction projects. The governor said it was to save money, while critics said he didn’t want Democrats to get any credit for the programs.

Current data from Recovery.gov, the Web site that tracks federal stimulus funds, shows Nevada has received just under 30 percent of $1.3 billion awarded to the state.

In a press conference after the Barbano taping, Reid added that, “Sadly, a lot of our programs are through the governor.” He noted that he has been taking steps to go around the Gibbons administration to more quickly get job creation money into the hands of Nevadans.

In response to a student reporter’s question about how Reid and Gibbons have been working together, Reid minced no words.

“Tell me what he has done because I haven’t seen it,” Reid said. “I know obviously he doesn’t like unions,” he added, noting that many construction jobs go to union workers.

At the Saturday press conference, the non-partisan League of Conservation Voters Action Fund endorsed Reid for re-election.

“As Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Reid has championed efforts to bring new clean energy jobs to Nevada and reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil,” said LCV senior vice-president for political affairs Tony Massaro.

Reid told Barbano the four main points of the jobs legislation he has proposed in the Senate. If passed, small businesses could write off capital expenses of up to $250,000 immediately rather than carrying part of the cost forward to future tax years. A business hiring someone  unemployed for more than 60 days would pay no matching federal withholding tax and qualify for a $1,000 tax credit if the employee is kept working until the end of the year, Reid said. The bill would allow a one-year extension of funding for programs in the Surface Transportation Act and would also provide refinancing for existing bonds as a way to reduce costs and pressure on state and federal governments.

The $15 billion jobs bill has been criticized as far too small. The House of Representatives has already passed a $150 billion measure which itself is far below what the White House originally requested.

Barbano’s program airs tonight on local cable and over-the-air channels. See Barbano's opinion column for this week for broadcast information.