Departments of Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008--Continued -- (Senate - September 11, 2007)

Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I rise in support of an amendment offered by my colleague from Minnesota, Senator Klobuchar, and myself. The amendment is only a few lines long, but it truly embodies the Minnesota spirit of perseverance and rebuilding in light of enormous tragedy.

Most of us in the North Star State won't ever forget the tragic event that befell our largest city on ``eight one'' of this year. Just after 6 p.m. on that day, the main transportation artery in the heart of Minneapolis, the Interstate 35W bridge, fell into the Mississippi River, killing 13 people and wounding more than 100 others. The images that began to appear on national news within minutes of the collapse are still too difficult to describe with words, and the view behind me only begins to outline the magnitude this disaster has had on the Twin Cities and our entire region. The pictures hardly describe the extent of the tragedy.

As I mentioned on the floor of this body when Senator Klobuchar and I returned from surveying the damage of the bridge collapse firsthand within hours of the tragedy, this area of the Mississippi River is one of Minnesota's most historic. It was here that Father Louis Hennepin named the falls of St. Anthony, pictured behind me upstream from the wreckage. You can also see Cadwallader Washburn's and Charles Pillsbury's flour mills that sprang up along these falls, defining an era of growth in our State and earning Minneapolis the title of ``The mill city.'' These structures, these falls, and this river include so much of our State's history and identity, sitting on the headwaters of North America's greatest waterway. This is truly the heart of the heartland.

As I said on August 2, when this bridge fell, part of our Minnesota identity fell with it. Within 60 hours of the bridge's collapse, we in the U.S. Senate took action and committed the necessary Federal resources to rebuild this structure and to rebuild it quickly. I thank my colleagues once again, as I thanked them before we adjourned for the August recess, for their commitment to the people of Minnesota and to reacting decisively when an emergency strikes in our Nation.

The actions we took in this body before recess set out a blueprint for the future of the I-35W bridge and the entire Twin Cities region. We provided authorization for emergency funding, $55 million of which was sent to the Minnesota Department of Transportation almost immediately to begin reconstruction of the bridge. We provided immediate assistance in transit funding, including $5 million to assist the Twin Cities in their most immediate transportation needs including detours and temporary busing, and other Federal resources, such as Navy dive teams used to recover bodies under conditions in which there was no visibility, with current, twisted metal, steel, and concrete.

Without these resources, we would not have been able to move so quickly to bring some measure of closure to families who have suffered so much.

Regional transportation administrators descended upon the Twin Cities. Across the board, we reacted in a way that showed we were there to help and assist in recovery and in rebuilding. That was a good thing. But while these efforts were an important start, the bridge rebuilding process is steaming ahead with bid letting for the bridge this week. I received a letter today from Assistant Transportation Commissioner Bob McFarlin from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COLEMAN. At the impressive pace the Minnesota Department of Transportation is moving toward rebuilding this essential structure, this letter states the funding we have already appropriated for reconstruction will likely run out by the middle of October, thwarting the otherwise amazing progress we are making in recovery from this horrible tragedy.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will in all likelihood receive funding someday from the Federal Government to complete reconstruction of this bridge. That is not at question. We authorized that funding before we adjourned. What the amendment before us would do is simply expedite receipt of this funding so the State can continue its reconstruction process on this critical project. We all know it is not easy to pass a bill around here. The people of Minneapolis and the Twin Cities are still dealing with an emergency, and they need emergency funding now. The reconstruction of the bridge stops when the money runs out. Who knows when we will have another chance to provide funding for this horrible tragedy.

The time is now. We have a Transportation appropriations bill before us with a transportation emergency in our backyard. I ask my colleagues to help us rebuild, to help us recover, and to do so today for a brighter future and a brighter tomorrow for the people of Minneapolis and the people of Minnesota, and, in fact, the people of the entire region.

I urge support for the Klobuchar-Coleman amendment.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source