Paul Tonko: “Sure. And, Representative Garamendi, thank you for bringing us together for an hour of discussion on what is very…”

“Sure. And, Representative Garamendi, thank you for bringing us together for an hour of discussion on what is very important: growing jobs, strengthening our economy and strengthening the fabric of our communities by addressing public safety via investment in infrastructure, a very sound investment. It is always a pleasure to join you. It is an honor to serve in the New York delegation with Representative Higgins, Brian Higgins, who served with me, or I with him, perhaps better stated, in the New York State Assembly where I sat on the Transportation Committee. And I was seated on that committee right in 1987, in the shadow of the collapse of a New York State thruway bridge where 10 people perished. We recently commemorated the 25th anniversary of that event. It was very tragic, and it was in the heart of my home county, a small county of 50,000 people, Montgomery County, New York. And the impact economically that that devastating occurrence brought to bear was incalculable. So when you talk about, and I listened with interest to the exchange that you and Representative Higgins had about how do you pay for it, one way you don't want to pay for it is through an impact on the economy of your local region. The commerce hit that was taken was severe. The loss of dollars to the community was just incomprehensible, and of course the loss of lives which surpasses anything in importance. And interestingly, many of the individuals who were on that victims list were not from the region.…”