Conference Report on H.R. 1495, Water Resources Development Act of 2007

Floor Speech

CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 1495, WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - August 01, 2007)

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Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Speaker, of course I rise in very strong support of the bill tonight, and it is a very tragic irony that it is over a body of water that a tragedy occurred in Minneapolis today.

I rise tonight with every Member of that Minneapolis delegation. We stand united in our heartfelt concerns over the news of the collapse of the 35W Bridge spanning the Mississippi River in my hometown of Minneapolis, which occurred early this evening. I spoke with Mayor Rybak regarding this tragic situation, and I pledge to work with him in every possible way to recover from this disaster.

As of now, we simply do not know the magnitude of the tragedy. Early reports are that eight cars and one truck are in the river. About 50 school children very narrowly avoided falling into the river. I do not know the depth of the injured. As of now, we know there are three confirmed dead. We pray for the deceased, for those still in peril, and for the families who have not yet heard the news from their loved ones.

Our delegation stands united in marshaling the resources for our Minneapolis emergency forces in need of search and rescue efforts.

I want to express my profound thanks for the dedicated work of the responders who are on the scene risking their own lives to save others.

We are grateful for those who we know have survived this tragedy, including, miraculously, the school bus containing perhaps as many as 50 youngsters.

Again, I am very saddened by the depth of this tragedy, stand together with all eight members of the Minnesota delegation, and I intend to return home tomorrow morning to Minneapolis on the earliest possible flight to do everything I can to help the citizens of my city recover from this horrible tragedy.

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