Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and Senator Alex Padilla held a virtual town hall meeting on Feb. 24 to discuss and answer questions about how the region will benefit from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the importance of making childcare more affordable.
Jacobs said the two big issues that come up in hearing from constituents are the region’s crumbling infrastructure and the childcare crises.
She said the good news was that the bipartisan infrastructure was passed in November 2021, providing $550 billion in new funds to repair highways and bridges, expand reliable internet access, help communities recover from the devastating impacts of climate change, includes the largest investment ever for improving public transit, clean water, and passenger rails, and will create more than two million jobs nationwide.
“We will be able to see and build a positive impact of this bill right here in San Diego,” she said. “As many of you know the bipartisan infrastructure law was only half of the agenda. The other half included one of my top priorities, childcare, and while we passed the Build Better Act in November, it is stalled in the Senate. But that does not mean that the work is over…I am still fighting. I know Senator Padilla is still fighting.”
Padilla said thanks to the law, it is the largest infrastructure investment seen in nearly a century. He said the bill provides more than $55 billion for California to improve roads, reduce traffic, improve air quality. He said California has already received more than $300 million to improve its airports.
“That includes a $24 million line item specifically for San Diego International Airport,” he said. “We are an international city. We are going to see some tremendous progress and modernizations there. We have secured more than $8 billion to fund water infrastructures throughout the west and we know how in all of California how tough the drought has been in recent years. This funding will go in funding drought resiliency, water recycling programs.”
Padilla said San Diego has been a pioneer and innovator in water reclamation, but that the funds will also be used to restore critical ecosystems. He said that more than $30 million in federal funds to reduce erosion, improve safety of area beaches was announced in January. Padilla said all of this is great news, but there is still much more to be done.
“I want to advocate for modernization of the electrical grid, clean transportation technology, wildfire mitigation and prevention. But it is just the beginning,” he said. “As a parent, I do understand the need for the investment in childcare, not just for quality of life, but for our economy. It is really tough for people to go back to work when they do not have a safe place to leave our kids while we are doing so.”
Padilla said it was more than paying for babysitting, but revolutionizing childcare as early education opportunities and getting children ready to thrive when they enter kindergarten and elementary school.
