U.S. Rep. Tom O’Halleran [D-District 1] said that if all goes as planned, the Sedona area could benefit from a national infrastructure bill that’s being proposed by President Joe Biden.
“You are so important to all of Northern Arizona’s economy,” O’Halleran said during the Tuesday, June 8, Sedona Lodging Council meeting. “So thank you for what you do. It’s appreciated. Part of the core of that is making sure visitors to this area have a place to stay.”
The congressman then discussed the president’s infrastructure bill that’s before Congress to help repair roads, highways and bridges nationwide. He said the bill will benefit all Americans and locally those traveling Interstates 17 and 40.
If passed, states would receive federal funding and then distribute it from there for various projects.
While the city of Sedona would have to apply for funding through the state of Arizona, O’Halleran said potential improvements to the intersection of State Routes 89A and 179 could occur, but he did not elaborate.
“It will make a dramatic change, hopefully,” he said, if passed. “I know both sides are trying to stay together on this and work with it. A group of us are sending out today a bipartisan recommendation in order to get things moving along and to show a little more bipartisanship than we’ve seen.”
He then touched upon the budget, and noted that a tremendous amount of money has already been spent as part of ongoing COVID-19 relief. He said politicians on both sides have said they want to come out of the pandemic and have the economy be as strong as possible.
“The only way to ensure that is to make sure our businesses stay as relatively stable as possible, that our citizens are not thrown out of their homes and that we have food for people and all the other health care issues, which have been many,” he said. “And, obviously, getting the research, development and finally the vaccine out to the American people. For a lot of people, they’re doing very well but we’re not sure we’re over the hump as far as the virus goes.”
He then added, “The bottom line is that we have to work together as a country and have people believe in their government. Right now there are a lot of people who do believe and a number of people who don’t.”
Lodging Council President Steve Segner asked how Sedona could benefit directly from the infrastructure bill, aside from the two interstates. O’Halleran said high-speed internet is included in the package and could benefit the more rural parts of the state like the Verde Valley.
“Towns like this and even areas like Flagstaff have troubles with high-speed internet,” O’Halleran said, noting this could be a five-year process. “We know what it means to attract businesses, health care, good education for our children and workforce development.”
