Senator was instrumental in securing over $12 billion to address record drought conditions in the American West
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema continued her focus on strengthening Arizona’s water future by meeting with the Irrigation Association to discuss long-term solutions to ongoing drought and related issues impacting the irrigation industry.
“As Arizona faces record drought conditions, we’re laser-focused on building a broad coalition to deliver real results that secure our state’s water future and give everyday Arizonans peace of mind,” said Sinema.
In addition to detailing how the more than $12 billion she secured between the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction law boosts Western drought resilience, the Senator expressed how she is having discussions with colleagues in both parties on how to make Farm Bill programs work better for Western irrigated agriculture.
Sinema also spoke about the need to address workforce challenges, expressing her support for H-2B visas that would help ease these challenges. Last year, Sinema called on the Administration to release an additional 35,000 H-2B visas for the second half of fiscal year 2022 and more than 64,000 additional visas for fiscal year 2023. This action allowed Arizona employers who depend on seasonal workers to have necessary staffing levels for their peak seasons.
Last month, Sinema announced a historic $728 million for Western drought relief from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs law, the Inflation Reduction law, and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Sinema championed these pieces of legislation into law to strengthen Arizona’s water future.
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