Sen. Sinema visits Yuma to talk infrastructure improvements
CBS 13's April Hettinger and News 11's Cody Lee sat down with the senator to address local impacts
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema made a stop in Yuma today to discuss her multi-billion dollar bipartisan infrastructure bill. The bill has everything from water rights to expanding U.S. 95 toward Yuma Proving Ground.
It's been a couple of years since Sen. Sinema made a trip to Yuma County.
The Senator says this bill is the largest infrastructure investment in over 100 years. One thing she made clear is the bill will not raise taxes, something she fought for in Arizona.
She highlighted several key components of her bill. It includes $250 million going towards creating and conserving water at Lake Mead. It will significantly help Colorado River water levels.
"Arizona has been in a drought for over 20 years, and so we included additional funds for western water storage. We also included funding to make sure that we have funding for water recycling, and we also included funding to address drought issues and to ensure we're protecting water sources like Lake Mead for the future," Sen. Sinema explained. "Now, we know how important this is in Yuma County because of the reliance of agriculture."
Other funding will go to the airport and MCAS Yuma to revitalize runways, expand the terminal and update air traffic control systems.
Yuma Rep. Tim Dunn also brought up the near completion of U.S. 95 which is something Dunn says we’ve been waiting on for almost five years now. ADOT will need another $70 to $80 million to complete the widening project. The bill will have over $five billion going towards Arizona's roads and bridges.
Sen. Sinema remains confident in the bill.
“Over 76% of Americans believe that this infrastructure bill is important for the future of our country. So I feel confident that when put up for a vote in the house will receive the same level of bipartisan support, that we enjoyed in the Senate, just a few weeks ago.”
Sinema also says broadband is important to invest in for the Yuma community.
“This is I think important to the Yuma community, we're investing in faster internet so that more people in more places will get high-speed broadband, and it will also help families afford internet service if they don't, and that's a $65 billion investment across the nation.”
This bill has the support of both senate majority and minority leaders which Sinema says is rare to have both leaders support a bill.
She then traveled to the San Luis port of entry to find out what needs to be done for the port modernization project.
