Al Franken: “I come to the floor today to talk about my amendment to the transportation reauthorization bill that I have introduced…”

“I come to the floor today to talk about my amendment to the transportation reauthorization bill that I have introduced with Senator Blunt. I am grateful this amendment has been included in the base bill of Leader Reid's substitute amendment. I will take a couple of minutes to explain this amendment. It is a simple commonsense amendment. I am glad it has been accepted. It is also particularly significant to my home State of Minnesota. On August 1 of this year, we will mark the fifth anniversary of the tragedy in my home State of the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. The collapse killed 13 people and injured 145. That tragedy should have been a wake-up call in America and in this body. Bridges should not collapse in the United States of America. Unfortunately, the state of many of our bridges today is still extremely concerning. According to the most recent data compiled by the Federal Highway Administration, one in nine highway bridges in this country is classified as ``structurally deficient.'' Let me say it another way. One of nine bridges in our country needs significant rehabilitation or replacement and requires yearly inspection. In Minnesota alone, more than 1,100 bridges were listed as being structurally deficient. The bill we are debating today consolidates many varied surface transportation programs into five main pots of money.…”