LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), one of the co-authors of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and Chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion, joined Clark County Commissioner James Gibson, and Rosemary Vassiliadis, Clark County Director of Aviation for a press conference at Harry Reid International Airport to discuss the Senate-passed infrastructure package, Senator Rosen’s role as one of the bill’s co-authors and negotiators on airport infrastructure, and the legislation’s direct impact on Nevada and its economy.
“Today, I visited Harry Reid International Airport to discuss investments I helped secure for our airports as part of the Senate passed bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act,” said Senator Rosen. “Before the pandemic, this was one of the most active airports in the world. However, as COVID-19 hit our state, we saw air travel brought to an abrupt halt, creating steep declines in passenger traffic and related revenues.”
“The infrastructure bill invests in upgrades and maintenance for airport infrastructure, supporting our travel and tourism economy. The section of the bill – which I co-wrote – would provide an unprecedented $25 billion for investments for key construction, expansion, upgrade, and repair projects at Harry Reid International Airport, at airports in Nevada, and airports all across the country,” Senator Rosen continued. “These infrastructure investments will create jobs and allow us to bring in business and leisure travelers in even greater numbers than before, lifting up our communities, boosting our economy, and allowing Nevada’s travel and tourism industry to soar once more.”
BACKGROUND: Last month, Senator Rosen voted to pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act through the United States Senate. As part of the bipartisan group that drafted the Senate-passed landmark legislation, Rosen played a leading role in writing the section on airports and ensuring support for travel and tourism.
The section of the infrastructure bill focused on investments in our nation’s airports was co-written by Rosen. It includes $25 billion in overall investment for airport infrastructure.
- $15 billion in flexible spending to allow airports to fund their key construction, expansion, upgrade, and repair projects;
- $5 billion for Airport Terminal Program to allow bigger airports to access larger amounts of money in order to build their higher cost terminal projects; and
- $5 billion for upgrades to Air Traffic Control facilities.
The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act also includes the text of Senator Rosen’s bipartisan Travel Optimization by Updating and Revitalizing Infrastructure to Support Mobilization (TOURISM) Act, which requires the Department of Transportation to update its National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan to develop an immediate-term and long-term strategy for using infrastructure investments to revive the travel and tourism economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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