John Sarbanes: “My State has one of the Nation's great ports, the Port of Baltimore. Mr. President, the road network from that port to…”

“My State has one of the Nation's great ports, the Port of Baltimore. Mr. President, the road network from that port to the West is critical for the commerce of the Nation--not just for the commerce of Maryland, but for the commerce of the Nation. A proper system of access for the movement of goods is extremely important to the economic health of the country. So all of this needs to be taken into account. We are on a major corridor for the movement of passengers and traffic north and south, and because of the port, we have a major corridor that goes to the Midwest that is critical for the economic activity in the Midwest. In many respects it is more critical for the economic activity in the Midwest than in my own State. Those things need to be considered in this legislation. The Woodrow Wilson Bridge that we talked about--and I think the chairman is right, they have certainly done a better job than they have done in the House. But we still have to get up to a point where we can do this bridge, and this level will not allow that to happen. That is a major link on the entire interstate highway system. Every expert who has examined it says the bridge needs to be replaced within the next 5 to 6 years. We have to move on that project. Those are items that could be addressed I think in this legislation.”