Peter,
We have good news for Arizona. Working closely with Arizona health care providers, educators, small business owners, and local leaders, we secured critical priorities for our state in the coronavirus relief bill approved by the U.S. Senate.
The legislation boosts vaccinations, supports employers, provides budget support to prevent cuts to local first responders and essential services, strengthens Arizona schools and broadband access, extends unemployment insurance, supports tribal communities, and provides aid for rural Arizona hospitals and providers.
The relief package includes the following priorities we’ve championed for Arizona over the past several months:
– Investments in Arizona health care, hospitals, and providers: including support for more vaccines and vaccinators, expanded testing and infection-tracking, more personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers and first responders, $8.5 billion for rural hospitals and health care providers, $14.5 billion for veterans’ health services, and $6 billion for the Indian Health Service and tribal health.
– Resources for Arizona families, employers, and workers: including our Restaurant Rescue Plan to keep independent restaurants open, extended unemployment insurance, enhanced Child Tax Credits and Earned Income Tax Credits, $1.4 billion to support older Arizonans, resources for Arizona schools, enhanced broadband internet service, and $4.5 billion to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.
– Budget support for communities and Tribal governments across Arizona: including $110 million for border communities and non-governmental organizations, $20 billion for Tribal governments, $900 million for critical Bureau of Indian Affairs programs, and more than $1.1 billion for Native education programs.
This legislation provides Arizona with needed relief to address our ongoing public health crisis and begin a full economic recovery.
Once the bill is signed into law, we’ll continue working closely with Arizona communities to ensure these resources are distributed quickly and appropriately, and my team and I will be ready to assist Arizonans with accessing this new support.
We’ll keep updating our website regularly to provide Arizonans with more resources and support: https://www.sinema.senate.gov/corona.