Peter,For decades, politicians in both parties have talked about the need to make major investments in America’s critical infrastructure – our roads, bridges, water systems, electricity grids, high-speed broadband networks, and more. And for decades, partisan political disagreements blocked progress on those goals.
This week, that changed. Under legislation I led that the Senate has approved, Arizona will see big investments in our state’s physical infrastructure.
Alongside my friend, Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, I was honored to lead a group of 10 Senators – 5 from each party – who negotiated with our Senate colleagues and President Biden over the past several months. We put together a historic proposal to make the strongest investment in America’s infrastructure in a generation without raising taxes on everyday Americans.
Our bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was approved by the Senate on Tuesday in a strong bipartisan vote of 69-30. Our landmark legislation includes:
- Better roads & bridges with a historic $110 billion investment for transportation projects – including the largest investment in bridge construction and upgrades since the interstate highway system was created.
- Faster internet in more places with $65 billion to deploy high-speed broadband and help families afford broadband service.
- Stronger water systems with the most significant investment in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in U.S. history, delivering clean water to millions of American families – and billions of dollars to strengthen water infrastructure throughout the American West, such as water storage, water recycling, and drought contingency plans. Specifically, this funding includes $250 million to conserve 100,000 acre feet of water annually for the Lower Colorado River Basin at Lake Mead.
- More reliable electricity grids with $65 billion to strengthen power grids around the country and promote resilience of power infrastructure to extreme weather to prevent outages.
- Wildfire suppression with major investments to protect communities against wildfires and support wildfire recovery efforts.
- Healthier Tribal communities with investments in Tribal water and sanitation infrastructure and resiliency, and full funding for all currently-authorized Indian Water Rights Settlements — including settlements with the Tohono O’odham Nation, the Gila River Indian Community, and the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
- Safer, better airports with $25 billion to make America’s airports safer and more convenient by repairing and upgrading airport terminals, runways, taxiways, and air traffic control towers.
And more.
Read more here:
The Arizona Republic: Senate passes $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill in win for Sen. Kyrsten Sinema
In the weeks ahead, my team and I will update you on what this historic legislation will mean for Arizona’s everyday families and employers. In the meantime, please know that I will continue to uphold my promise to Arizona – that I will work hard, and partner with anyone, to deliver lasting results for our state.
More to come,
Kyrsten