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National Highway Bridge Reconstruction and Inspection Act of 2008

Date: July 23, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Transportation


NATIONAL HIGHWAY BRIDGE RECONSTRUCTION AND INSPECTION ACT OF 2008 -- (House of Representatives - July 23, 2008)

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Ms. McCOLLUM of Minnesota. Madam Chairman, I rise in support of H.R. 3999, the National Highway Reconstruction and Inspection Act.

Nearly 1 year ago, Minnesota made the national news when the Twin Cities lost a bridge, and so much more. In the wake of heroic rescue efforts in Minneapolis, this Congress responded with an emergency Federal appropriation to rebuild the bridge.

Today, our community is healing and a new bridge is nearly complete. But August 1, 2007 must not be about one bridge in Minnesota. Our State's tragedy was evidence of America's desperate problem.

Today, the Congress is rightly and responsibly turning to the task of repairing and maintaining thousands of deficient bridges across this country. We are making a commitment to remove one unnecessary worry from the everyday lives of American families. This vote will be about investing in the public good. This vote will be about protecting public safety. And this vote is about restoring public trust that remains badly broken.

I commend Chairman Oberstar, the Dean of the Minnesota delegation, for bringing this bill to the floor and for his strong leadership on transportation policies. I look forward to continuing to work with the chairman during the reauthorization next year, when we begin to build a 21st century transportation system for America.

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