In a broad show of support from both parties, the U.S. Senate voted 69-30 to approve the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — sweeping legislation led by Senator Kyrsten Sinema to make historic investments in repairing and upgrading America’s critical infrastructure. Arizona’s roads, bridges, broadband networks, water systems, transit, power grids, airports, and other infrastructure would see significant upgrades and expansions through the bipartisan proposal—which is supported by President Biden, and now moves to the U.S. House of Representatives for consideration.
Sinema partnered with Republican Senator Rob Portman of Ohio to co-lead Senate negotiations with eight other Senators—four from each party—and the White House to craft the legislation. The bill, which does not raise taxes on everyday Americans, was debated on the Senate floor this past week with more than 20 amendments from both parties considered, and several adopted.
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“From better roads and more reliable power grids, to faster internet in more corners of our state, to safer airports and cleaner water – everyday families in Arizona and across the country will see big benefits from our bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. How many times have we heard in recent months that bipartisanship isn’t possible anymore? It’s easy for politicians to stay in their partisan corners. I promised Arizonans something different – that I would work with anyone to get lasting results for our state. I’m incredibly proud to have co-led this bill to create jobs and expand economic opportunity in communities across America,” said Sinema.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes:
Better roads & bridges: A historic $110 billion investment to repair and upgrade America’s roads, bridges, and other major transportation projects — including the largest investment in bridge construction and upgrades since the construction of the interstate highway system.
Expanded broadband: $65 billion to deploy high-speed broadband, expand broadband internet access, and help families afford broadband service.
Water systems: The strongest investment in clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in U.S. history, delivering clean water to millions of American families—and more than $8 billion to strengthen water infrastructure throughout the American West, such as aging infrastructure, water storage, water recycling, drought contingency plans, and dam safety.
• Specifically, this funding includes $300 million for water reclamation operations under the Colorado River Drought Contingency Plan. Of this funding, $250 million is for the Bureau of Reclamation to create or conserve 100,000 acre feet of water annually for the Lower Colorado River Basin at Lake Mead.
Power grids: $65 billion to strengthen electricity grids around the country and promote resilience of power infrastructure to prevent outages.
Wildfire suppression: $8.25 billion to protect communities against wildfires, support wildfire recovery efforts, and reduce hazardous fuels on federal, state, and tribal lands.
Tribal communities: $3.5 billion for Tribal water and sanitation infrastructure and resiliency, $2 billion to expand high-speed broadband in Tribal communities, and $2.5 billion in funding to complete all currently-authorized Indian Water Rights Settlements — including building out the infrastructure needed for the Southern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement with the Tohono O’odham Nation, completing the Gila River Indian Community Water Rights Settlement, and funding the White Mountain Apache Tribe’s Water Rights Settlement.
Airports: $25 billion to make America’s airports safer by repairing and upgrading airport terminals, runways, taxiways, and air traffic control towers.
Public transit & Rail: The strongest investment ever in American public transit with $39.2 billion to expand transit systems, increase accessibility, and fund the nation’s transit system repair backlog, estimated at more than 24,000 buses, 5,000 rail cars, 200 stations, and thousands of miles of track, signals, and power systems—and the biggest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak.
Clean energy: The largest investment in clean energy transmission and electric vehicle infrastructure in U.S. history, electrifying thousands of school and transit buses across the country, bolstering critical materials supply chains, creating a new Grid Development Authority to build a clean energy 21st century electric grid, and building out a national network of electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
Sinema and Portman began conversations early this spring on possible areas of bipartisan agreement on infrastructure investment—negotiations that eventually expanded to also include Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.), as well as President Biden and his White House team. A broader group of 12 additional Senators from both parties—including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly—signed on to the proposal ahead of its formal introduction.
The legislation is supported by groups including The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, The National Association of Manufacturers, The AFL-CIO, The National Retail Federation, The Bipartisan Policy Center, North America’s Building Trades Unions, the Outdoor Industry Association, The American Hotel and Lodging Association, The National Education Association, as well as hundreds of mayors across all 50 states.
Click HERE to learn more about how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts Tribal communities
Click HERE to learn more about how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts wildfire mitigation
Click HERE to learn more about how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts water systems and drought resilience
Click HERE to learn more about how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts airports
Click HERE to learn more about how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act impacts electricity and power grids
Click HERE to see the full text of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
