Spending Bill Passes Senate with Kelly-backed Measures, Arizona Economic Priorities
Press Release
Last night, Senator Kelly voted for a bipartisan agreement that sets federal spending for the fiscal year with investments in Arizona priorities, including solar energy, research at Arizona universities, and defense and water infrastructure. The legislation includes several Kelly-backed measures and also addresses the issue of surprise medical billing. The spending bill is part of a bipartisan agreement that included emergency COVID-19 relief and passed the Senate last night.
"This bipartisan budget agreement provides for our national defense and advances Arizona priorities. And while not perfect, it will expand solar power, improve water infrastructure, and invest in new research at Arizona universities and manufacturing for the Arizona defense community -- helping to create jobs and take steps to rebuild our economy for the future," said Senator Kelly.
Kelly continued, "Surprise billing has financially wrecked too many families in Arizona and across the country. This bill will protect Arizonans from the huge out-of-network costs that can bankrupt families in their time of greatest need."
Key Provisions in Omnibus Spending Bill
Arizona Universities: invests in research at Arizona universities including the Pathogen and Microbiome Institute at NAU; further DOD investments in university partnerships for hypersonics research like those with the University of Arizona; $90m for NASA's Near Earth Object Surveyor Mission led by the University of Arizona; and $187m for NASA's Psyche Mission led by Arizona State University
Surprise Medical Billing: protects patients against surprise medical bills and establishes a process for resolving out-of-network bill disputes between providers and patients
Water Infrastructure Funding: provides tens of millions in funding for Army Corps of Engineers and Reclamation projects including the Central Arizona Project, the San Carlos Apache Tribe Water Settlement Act Projects, Alamo Lake, Ak Chin Indian Water Rights Settlement, and projects in the Yuma Area
Water Resources Development Act: includes the full legislation with the following Arizona water priorities:
Includes Arizona in the Army Corps of Engineers' Section 595 Western Rural Water and authorizes $150 million for water and wastewater infrastructure projects in Arizona
$54.2m to begin construction on the Little Colorado River Flood Control project in Winslow;
Directs the Army Corps to expedite completion of a flood control plan to mitigate the risk of flooding in Pinal County, near the City of Eloy, the Gila River Indian Community, and the Ak-Chin Indian Community.
Directs the Army Corps to expedite completion of the Rio de Flag flood control project
Similar to legislation co-sponsored by Kelly, directs the Fish and Wildlife Service to fund a $10m grant program to help localities replace invasive species in riparian areas, which will help communities along the Gila River to remove invasive saltcedar trees
Solar Energy: extends the Solar Investment Tax Credit until 2022; includes the Solar Energy Research and Development Act sponsored by Senator Sinema and co-sponsored by Senator Kelly that will reauthorize a number of solar energy research programs within the Department of Energy and authorize new research into next generation solar panels and energy storage technology
Defense Infrastructure: appropriates funding for the following projects at Arizona military bases:
$33.7m for Defense Information Systems Agency Laboratory Building at Ft. Huachuca
$18.1m for Arizona National Guard Tucson Readiness Center
$49.5 million for a Special Operations Forces Hangar and $14 million for a Free Fall School Ready Building at Yuma Proving Grounds
F-35: enables the procurement of an additional 91 F-35As, flown at Luke AFB, for the Air Force and 10 F-35Bs, flown at MCAS Yuma, for the Marine Corps
Border Sewage Infrastructure: $14.8 million for EPA Border Water Infrastructure Grant Program; ensures that the International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC) has sufficient funding to meet its obligations under the settlement agreement reached with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality to repair the International Outfall Interceptor, a failing sewage pipeline in Nogales
Federal Judgeship: extends the authority for a federal judgeship in Arizona, which allows federal courts to sit in Flagstaff and Yuma
Tribal Infrastructure: directs the Bureau of Indian Affairs to prioritize the repair of courts, police stations, and detention facilities for the Hopi Tribe, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and the San Carlos Apache Tribe and directs them to release a list of all projects in need of additional funding
Education: $10.7 billion for Head Start; $1.5 billion for Impact Aid, of which Arizona is one of the top recipients
Tourism: includes legislation co-sponsored by Kelly that would increase tourism to central and northern Arizona by encouraging Customs and Border Patrol to implement a five-year pilot program to extend the travel zone for the Border Crossing Card to cover the entire state of Arizona
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