Charles Rangel: “Let me thank Congressman Engel for the compassion which he has demonstrated for the families of those that survived…”

“Let me thank Congressman Engel for the compassion which he has demonstrated for the families of those that survived, those that are injured, and those that have been lost. While all of us are anxious to see the results of the investigation, we all have to ask ourselves, could this be avoided and did these people die in vain, and what are we going to do about it? It would appear to me that the first thing everyone thinks of is the infrastructure: Could this have happened in Japan, in China, or in some other industrialized country? It just stresses how important infrastructure is. It is not just the question of looking modern and developing commerce. It is human lives we are talking about. Let's not let the people who died die in vain. Let us all collectively look at our bridges, our roads, our tunnels, and our airports all over our great Nation so that we can avoid these types of tragedies. ____________________”