FOX "Fox News Channel"-Transcript

Interview

FOX "Fox News Channel"-Transcript

FOX NEWS CHANNEL INTERVIEW WITH SENATOR AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN)
TOPIC: THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE IN MINNEAPOLIS INTERVIEWER: MARTHA MACCALLUM

MS. MACCALLUM: And this morning the mayor of Minneapolis, the two U.S. senators representing that state and the governor took a walking tour and then an aerial tour of the collapsed bridge and the area around it.

Joining me now: Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar. Good to have you with us, Senator.

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: Well, Martha, it is good to be on. And I hope the people -- all your viewers saw today how the people of Minnesota came together.

This was a mammoth disaster. To stand over and see this school bus precariously on the edge of the highway -- just probably a few inches and these kids would have perished.

We saw miracles. We saw heroes, rescue divers going in again and again. And then you go into Minnesota and you go down the highway and there's already billboards up telling people where to go to get around the scene. This was really a community effort, and I think we all learned from Katrina that there's got to be better communications. And certainly Washington is responding in a different way.

MS. MACCALLUM: Well, Senator, that school bus story is clearly one of the most heart-warming, best stories that we've heard about all of this. But there are still people who are looking for their loved ones. What are you telling them? And what's your idea of just how many people might be down there?

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: We don't know that. The safety investigation has begun.

I will tell you this: a bridge just shouldn't fall down in America. So we have to get to the bottom of what happened here. It wasn't an earthquake shattering the bridge. It wasn't a barge running into the bridge. Something went wrong here, and we have to get to the bottom of that.

And I'm going back to Washington day (sic) with Senator Coleman. We're working with leadership. I've talked to Senator Reid and Durbin and Schumer and Senator Murray, and we are working to make sure that we have adequate funds to get on this right away and start repairing this bridge.

This is at the heart of the Twin Cities. I live only six blocks away from this bridge.

MS. MACCALLUM: You know, in terms of the people who are, you know, injured in this situation, how is it in terms of everybody getting help? Do you feel confident and good about the way that everybody's being treated and how this is handled?

SEN. KLOBUCHAR: You know, you can never feel good about a tragedy like this, but I feel good about our police officers, our medical personnel, our firefighters. They were working through the night.

I'm the former prosecutor here, and I can tell you we went through these practices and these mock disasters, and we never believed it would actually happen. Well, they were ready, and they were prepared. And I know lives were saved because of the courageous work of our rescue and first responders last night.

MS. MACCALLUM: I know you're right about that, Senator. Thank you very much. And our hearts go out to you and your constituents out there as we follow this story. Our thanks to Senator Klobuchar.

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