Bob Dole: “A year ago yesterday, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale wreaked havoc on the southern California counties…”

“A year ago yesterday, an earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale wreaked havoc on the southern California counties of Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura. The Northridge temblor brought about the collapse of apartment buildings, hospitals, and schools, and destroyed major portions of that area's transportation infrastructure. Within hours of the earthquake, our former Senate colleague Gov. Pete Wilson proclaimed a state of emergency in those counties, and set in motion the implementation of what is now widely viewed as an extraordinary recovery from the earthquake's crippling impact on the movement of people and goods in one of the most populous areas of the country. In addition to executing the necessary recovery measures to protect public safety and ensure for the food and housing of earthquake victims, Governor Wilson signed a series of innovative Executive orders that cut through the redtape of State bureaucracy and either streamlined or eliminated statutes and regulations governing everything from highway contracts to mobile schools. As a result, California's recovery from the Northridge earthquake has proceeded at a record pace.”