Political Quotes

“5 weeks ago Dan and Sally Sligh packed up their camper and headed out on Interstate 5 on the way to their favorite campsite in northwest Washington State. While crossing a bridge over the Skagit River that they'd safely crossed many times before, a large truck ahead of them clipped the bridge's frame above. Without warning, and without time to react, the pavement under Dan's pickup fell out from underneath them. Next, Dan said, ``It was just a white flash and cold water.'' Like thousands of my constituents, I myself have driven over that bridge many times. But now, today, no cars are crossing it. Recovery workers have been hard at work pulling pieces of that bridge, along with Dan's pickup, from the flowing waters of the Skagit River and quickly building a replacement span. The fact that no one died in this collapse is a blessing, but not all have been so lucky. My colleagues will remember in 2007 when a bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis crashed during rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring another 145. Today I want to ask my colleagues a simple question: Shouldn't Americans be able to drive across a highway bridge with the reasonable expectation that it will not crumble away from underneath them? On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the Skagit River bridge collapse. I spoke this morning to the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board about its investigation.…”