At the Arizona Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Update from Capitol Hill, Sinema called on business leaders to put Arizona first
Click HERE to watch a tribute video from U.S. Ambassador Cindy McCain, GRIC Governor Stephen Roe Lewis, ASU President Michael Crow, Mesa Mayor John Giles, and APS CEO Jeff Guldner
PHOENIX – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema urged business leaders to speak out and act against partisan rhetoric and extreme policies during the Arizona Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Update from Capitol Hill. The Senator spoke about her historic bipartisan laws and how her bipartisan approach delivers real results for Arizona.
“Arizona’s success is at risk if businesses don’t step up and help solve problems. The leaders in this room must look to the future and ensure commonsense legislation is passed to protect it,” said Sinema.
Sinema urged Arizona businesses, both big and small, to step up and help solve problems. She encouraged the business community to be active participants in the legislative process, speak out and act against extreme policies and rhetoric, and follow her example of delivering durable results for Arizona.
The Senator highlighted how the historic bipartisan laws she’s led through Congress – such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Law, and more – invest in Arizona’s greatest priorities and position the state to be a national hub for research, innovation, and economic freedom. These legislative wins that Sinema secured for Arizona were only possible thanks to her approach of putting Arizona first and ignoring the repeated partisan noise that drives today’s Washington.
Arizona’s future success, the Senator highlighted, requires leaders who are willing to step up and speak out and act against partisanship and extreme policies. That is why Sinema urged all Arizona business leaders to support people who show independent thought and think outside of what the party machine tells them to do because those are the leaders looking for real solutions for Arizona.
Below is Sinema’s speech as prepared for delivery:
Hello, everyone. I’m honored to be with you today.
As Arizona’s senior Senator, I’ve had the pleasure of working with you all to deliver results for our state.
When I first came to the Senate, I promised Arizonans I’d be an independent voice for our state, willing to work with anyone to get things done.
Our state has a long tradition of electing leaders who rise above the daily partisan noise and bring people together to move our country forward.
At a time in which our democracy has been weakened by government dysfunction and the constant pull to the extremes by political parties, we need leaders — both in elected office and in business — to have the courage to stand up and do what is right.
We need leaders who believe in compromise, consensus, and comity — leaders who don’t bend to political pressure or pay too much attention to the controversy of the day.
We need leaders that focus on the work, ignore the drama, and deliver results — not leaders who spend their time on Twitter wars, pointing fingers, or stirring the pot on TV.
Arizonans want leaders to work hard – just like they do.
Over my career, I’ve shown how government can work for everyday people.
Partnering with Senator Rob Portman, and eight other bipartisan Senators, our historic infrastructure law gave Arizonans better broadband, new roads and bridges, cleaner air and water, and more job opportunities.
I was proud to deliver from our law over 1.5 billion dollars for accessible and affordable high-speed internet in Arizona, and over 1 billion dollars for clean and safe drinking water and infrastructure improvements in our state.
Teaming up with Senator Todd Young, we saved the CHIPS and Science law from partisan collapse – delivering over 15 billion dollars for TSMC and Intel to build semiconductor facilities in Arizona, creating strong Arizona careers.
Working with Senators Mitt Romney, Tammy Baldwin and others, we gave Americans of all backgrounds peace of mind, protecting marriage and religious freedoms.
Bringing Senators John Cornyn, Chris Murphy, and Thom Tillis together to tackle the intractable issue of gun violence, we saved lives and improved our country’s mental health care.
By standing up to short-sighted partisan ideas, I protected our country’s economic growth and competitiveness, and kept taxes low during a time of rampant inflation.
And I ensured Arizona had a voice in Washington, delivering unprecedented resources for Arizona and the West’s historic drought.
These solutions matter.
They make an impact in the lives of everyday Americans.
And this is how government should work.
But government can’t do it alone.
Arizona’s success is at risk if businesses don’t step up and help solve problems.
The leaders in this room must look to the future and ensure commonsense legislation is passed to protect it.
You must engage directly and early with candidates to educate them on the challenges and needs of Arizona businesses and ensure reasonable people who want to get things done get elected.
You must also be willing to push back against dangerous candidates and elected officials who charge to the extremes and engage in partisan warfare for its own sake.
The business community has a responsibility to support those candidates and elected officials who take risks to speak and act against partisan rhetoric and extreme policies.
I’ve long said that if you ever meet someone with whom you agree 100 percent, either they are lying or you’re not thinking for yourself.
That is why I encourage you to support people with whom you agree 60 percent of the time because that means they are thinking for themselves — and they are doing something a little bit outside of what the party machine is telling them to do because they are looking for real solutions.
Businesses — both big and small — must be willing to step out of their comfort zones, ignore the political pressure, and demand more from their elected leaders.
By putting Arizona first, businesses can thrive for the long term.
Our business community must continue to work tirelessly to secure our water future, ensure our energy production keeps pace with our growth, and continue fueling our economy so it can evolve.
I’ve often asked my colleagues, in the interest of our nation, to step out of partisan boxes and work with me to find real solutions to real problems.
We’ve done it time and time again — and it has worked.
I know this is hard work. But it’s the type of work that delivers durable results for our state.
That is why I encourage you all to follow this approach and insist to our political leaders that we put Arizona first.
Thank you.