Las Vegas, Nev. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today met virtually with Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to discuss her transportation and infrastructure priorities for the state of Nevada.
“I appreciated the opportunity to discuss with Secretary Buttigieg several issues affecting transportation in the Silver State, including the expansion of I-11 and my Innovation State Initiative to promote electric vehicles, clean energy infrastructure, smart cities, and good-paying jobs in the transportation sector. I look forward to opportunities to work with the Department of Transportation in ways that can promote Nevada’s economy and the well-being of its residents.”
BACKGROUND:
Senator Cortez Masto has been a strong proponent of forward-thinking transportation policies as part of her Innovation State Initiative. She led her colleagues, Senators Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Kyrsten Sinema (D.-Ariz.), in a letter to the Biden administration and Secretary Buttigieg to advocate for prioritizing the expansion of Interstate-11 so that it connects Las Vegas and Phoenix, then onto Northern Nevada.
Under her Innovation State Initiative, she has introduced a suite of legislation to promote electric vehicles and improve clean energy infrastructure. Additionally, she has introduced the TOPS Act, legislation aimed at developing a 21st-century transportation workforce through federal training and educational programs. She is also the author of the bipartisan Moving FIRST Act to create greater federal funding investments in smart city transportation opportunities. Senator Cortez Masto has consistently advocated for funding and legislation to create new and creative transportation solutions in Nevada. In 2020 alone, she helped secure $50 million for improvements to I-15 in Las Vegas, $23 million for Pyramid Highway in Washoe County, and over $160 million in funding under the CARES Act to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on public transportation.
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