WATCH: Rep. Kirkpatrick On House Floor Lists Jobs Priorities In Rural Arizona - Grand Canyon Pipeline, 4-FRI

Arizona Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-CD1) took a minute on the House of Representatives' floor this morning to urge her colleagues to focus on jobs, listing a couple of projects in rural Arizona that would help.  Kirkpatrick cited the "desperate need (for) repair(ing)" the water pipeline in the Grand Canyon, and the need to "shift the Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4-FRI) into high gear."

The Transcanyon Pipeline continues to break, causing drinking water issues inside the canyon.  The U.S. Forest Service last month transferred the 4-FRI  contract to Earth Power AZ.

(The transcript below was provided by Rep. Kirkpatrick's office.)

TRANSCRIPT of floor speech: Mr. Speaker, folks in my Arizona district have seen enough of the partisan nonsense in Washington. The distractions here don’t help anyone. But jobs do. That’s why we need to stay focused on economic development. In my district, those opportunities include strengthening our infrastructure. At the Grand Canyon, the transcanyon pipeline is in desperate need of repair. The Canyon’s maintenance backlog continues to grow. We can also work to revive the timber industry in the White Mountains. Let’s build on the momentum of the Eagar Sawmill and the Fort Apache Timber Company. And with a new contractor on board, it’s time to shift the Four Forest Restoration Initiative into high gear -- and help Arizona’s forests. Projects like these create jobs and improve the quality of life for folks in rural Arizona. I urge my colleagues to work together on common sense efforts to create jobs. Thank you.

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