Rj,For decades, politicians in both parties have talked about the need to invest in America’s critical infrastructure. And for decades, partisan political disagreements blocked progress. Today, that changed. I am so proud to share that theInfrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — bipartisan legislation that I negotiated, sponsored, and led through the Senate alongside my friend, Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio — has just been signed into law by President Biden.Click HERE or below to watch Senator Sinema speak at the White House signing ceremony.
Speaking at today’s White House signing ceremony, I explained that under our legislation, Arizona will see major investments and improvements to our state’s roads, bridges, water systems, electricity grids, broadband networks, and more. Strong, reliable infrastructure represents more than pipes and pavement — it represents the opportunities for Arizona families to visit loved ones, new businesses to open their doors, veterans to access tele-medicine, and children to learn in safe and effective ways. Our landmark legislation includes:
- Better roads & bridges with billions of dollars 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 billions of dollarsto deploy high-speed broadband and help families afford broadband service.
- Stronger water systems with the strongest 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 millions of dollars to conserve 100,000 acre feet of water annually for the Lower Colorado River Basin at Lake Mead.
- More reliable electricity grids with billions of dollars to strengthen power grids around the country and promote resilience of power infrastructure to extreme weather to prevent outages.
- Wildfire suppression with significant 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 billions of dollars 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:What does Arizona get out of the infrastructure bill? This historic legislation demonstrates how I work to get things done for Arizona — and that Republicans and Democrats can, in fact, work together to address issues that actually matter to everyday Arizonans. By working together, across party lines, I believe we can show Americans that our government is working for all of us and worthy of all of us. And that’s exactly what I’ll keep doing.
Sincerely,
Kyrsten