‘Human infrastructure’ bill will benefit Latino families, community leaders say

Community leaders invited the Latino community of Arizona to reach out to their representatives to support the “human infrastructure” bill that, if approved, will have a great impact on Latino families in the country.

Gathered at the Chicanos Por La Causa Maryvale Service Center on Thursday afternoon, several community leaders stated that it is a priority that the people of Arizona find out about the benefits that a plan like this would bring to the general population and urged them to mobilize in search of its approval.

“This is a historic investment that would bring the priority focus for the Latino community on issues that have to do with education, childcare and healthcare, among other things. The intention is to unite to make a call to the senators of Arizona”, said Rafael Collazo, executive director of UnidosUS Action Fund, a national organization that works to expand the political power of the Latino community.

“Both Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Senator Mark Kelly should know the stories of the efforts of thousands of Latino families who struggle every day to get ahead without having the resources for the care of their children or the labor rights that allow them to be absent when they get sick,” Collazo said.

The $3.5 trillion federal bill that will be up for discussion in the United States Senate aims to build a stronger economy after the COVID-19 pandemic and is the largest social investment since President Lyndon B. Johnson’s successful programs in the 1960s.

In August, the Senate voted 50-49 along party lines to begin debate on the bill.

That process is filibuster-proof and requires a simple majority to pass. It could help pave the way for Democrats to begin shaping the centerpiece of Biden’s presidential agenda that includes expanding Medicare and caregiving for the disabled and elderly, funding universal pre-kindergarten and paying for climate change initiatives.

Sinema previously has said she would vote to advance the process of debating the legislation. She has supported many of the goals laid out in the human infrastructure framework but opposes the price tag. With Democrats controlling the Senate by just one vote, Sinema’s opposition to the price forces the party to shape the spending amount more to her liking.

Kelly has said he wants to advance the vehicle to get the process started on the budget reconciliation package. He has not committed to supporting the $3.5 trillion price tag.

Joseph García of CPLC Action Fund, highlighted that with the approval of the measure, historical levels of funding would be obtained for community colleges, child care, kindergartens, family leave, at-home health care and community services for the elderly and people with disabilities in underserved communities, among other things.

Phoenix councilmember for District 5, Betty Guardado, stated that just in the Maryvale area, the population under 18 makes up almost 50% and the vast majority do not have the necessary care or quality places available where their parents feel confident to leave them while they head off to work.

“A budget focused on those most in need and with support directed to the care of children would allow many families not to have to decide between paying housing costs or childcare costs. By necessity, many parents in our community have to leave the little ones in the care of their older children, with all the risks that this entails,” said Guardado.

For Angela Florez, a local Maryvale resident who struggles daily with obtaining at-home care for her mother, the approval of this bill would provide support in more ways than one.

She has been caring for her 76-yearold mother after she suffered a stroke last January.

“It is a difficult situation, like the one many families experience with a sick loved one. And as anyone would like it, we want my mother’s care to be of quality and to be given every opportunity. I would like to see a financial and legislative commitment from Congress to support families who find themselves in situations like ours,” said Florez.