Buttigieg praises infrastructure act
Transportation secretary makes visit to Phoenix
With the giant concrete beams of what will become the newest light rail station in Phoenix behind him, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said the federal government now has more money than ever to help communities with public transit projects.
Buttigieg was in Phoenix on Friday to promote the signing of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will provide billions in funding to states including Arizona for highways, roads, bridges, public transit, airports, broadband internet, wildfire protection and cybersecurity.
Buttigieg, along with U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Valley Metro CEO Scott Smith and others, spoke at a morning event held at the shuttered Metrocenter Mall property near Interstate 17 and Dunlap Avenue, which will be the end of the future northwest extension of the light rail line that’s slated to open in 2024.
With the act now law, Buttigieg said the federal government is better prepared than ever to support local projects such as the light rail line.
Gallego said the city will announce significant news on the redevelopment of the mall “very soon,” and Smith said that the light rail extension was crucial to making that happen.
Later, across the Valley at Mesa Community College, Kelly and U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema joined Buttigieg to tout the infrastructure bill and listen to community leaders involved with various parts of the supply chain, as the country tackles the international supply chain crisis.
Before leaving Phoenix, Buttigieg — joined by Kelly, Sinema, Gallego and Phoenix Councilmembers Carlos Garcia and Betty Guardado — toured a concourse under construction at Sky Harbor International Airport, and spoke of the opportunity that the infrastructure act creates for the airport.
Billions for Arizona in ‘historic investment’
The infrastructure bill was brokered by Sinema and negotiated in part by
Kelly. Early estimates from their offices and the Maricopa Association of Governments show the state will get more than $6 billion for various projects such as roads, bridges, light rail, electric vehicles, high-speed internet and drinking and wastewater systems.
At the airport on Friday, Sinema called the law a “historic investment” for everyday Americans.
Buttigieg said with the creation of the act, China no longer outpaced the U.S. for infrastructure investment.
Much of the money will be distributed through the state, but local governments can apply for grants and local leaders are dreaming up how their communities could use the funding.
Mesa leaders want to increase the number of gates at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport. Expanding internet access for residents is also high on the list for Phoenix and Mesa.
Goodyear Mayor Georgia Lord has said the funding could help Interstate 11.
Many local leaders are hoping the funding can jumpstart a plan to bring passenger rail service between Phoenix and Tucson. The funding package includes $66 billion for passenger and freight rail improvements, including funding for intercity rail service.
Phoenix expects to land $222 million over five years for Sky Harbor.
Buttigieg talks supply chain crisis
At the Mesa roundtable event, the senators acknowledged the financial pain caused, in part, by the global supply chain crisis and emphasized that the effectiveness of the infrastructure bill is tied to the passage of another bill that would help relieve the microchip shortage and address problems along its supply chain.
The surging demand for goods after pandemic-induced lockdowns, coupled with problems along the supply chain, including a lack of shipping containers, a shortage of truck drivers and congested ports, have led to soaring prices and shortages of items ranging from computers to meat.
Both senators urged the passage of the microchips bill, which they said would address some of the supply chain problems along with the infrastructure bill.
Buttigieg also urged the Senate to pass the Build Back Better Act, Biden’s spending bill on social programs, which the House approved Friday morning. As infrastructure takes time to complete, the secretary said that the act would provide faster relief to families struggling from the pandemic and the global supply chain crisis.
“One of the reasons why the Build Back Better Act is so important is that while people are facing price ... increases on the one hand on things like gas and food, some of their biggest expenses — housing, child care. prescription drugs — will go down when this bill passes the Senate and is signed by the president,” Buttigieg told The Arizona Republic in an interview.
However, the act faces a very uncertain future in the Senate, especially given a Congressional Budget Office assessment that the bill would increase the deficit.
Moderate Democrats now have an obvious out after their nonbinding pledge to vote in favor of the spending bill on the condition that the Congressional Budget Office scores it as revenue-neutral to the deficit.
In his interview with The Republic, Buttigieg also addressed some of the criticism he has faced for taking four weeks off on paid family leave during the supply chain crisis after becoming a parent to premature twins.
“If I were a senior federal career employee, I would be able to count on 12 weeks of family leave. It’s one of the things that happened in the last administration that I strongly agree with,” he said. “Obviously with a job like mine, it’s a little bit different. Even during the time that I was officially on leave, I might be clearing decision memos at four in the morning or taking a phone call or a meeting from a hospital room ...”
Buttigieg added that it was important to “walk the walk” in the belief that family leave should be available to all and that people should be encouraged to use it.
However, the ability for all Americans to get family leave is at risk of getting stripped from the Senate version of the bill. The House passed a version of the bill that included four weeks of paid family leave, down from the originally proposed 12 weeks.
The House version of the bill did not include many of the initial policies originally proposed by the administration. including free tuition at community colleges, like Mesa Community College where the roundtable was held.
Northwest light rail line featured
The federal funding for the light rail line the officials celebrated Friday came from a different pot of money than the new infrastructure law.
The total project cost is $401.3 million with $158.1 million in funding provided through the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program. The federal funding was approved earlier this year and officially signed off by FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez just before Friday’s event.
The Phoenix area’s light rail system currently runs 28 miles. The already-developed northwest line stretches north from downtown Phoenix alongside Interstate 17. The new extension will run from 19th Avenue and Dunlap across I-17 to the empty mall property.
Valley Metro CEO Smith said the 1.6 mile extension may seem short but has a huge impact because of where it goes. It connects the west and east side of Interstate 17 and has helped boost the prospect of the mall being redeveloped.
Buttigieg said the people of metro Phoenix were the “biggest heroes” of the light rail line and the federal investment that followed, because they prioritized public transit.
Voters in August 2019 blocked a ballot measure that would have halted all future funding for light rail projects.
“Transportation is not always considered the most glamorous or exciting or sexy subject and yet I can tell how passionate the people here are about it,” Buttigieg said.