[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 28 (Monday, February 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S2535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   BUTTE'S GLOBAL TRANSPORTATION LINK

  Mr. BAUCUS. Mr. President, as I have often said in the Chamber, 
particularly quite recently in the last couple of weeks, Micron, a 
semiconductor manufacturing company in Idaho, is selecting a site to 
build a computer chip manufacturing facility. One of the thirteen 
locations under consideration around the country is the city of Butte; 
that is, Butte, MT.
  Access to affordable, efficient transportation is vital to the 
economic viability of any business. We all know that. American 
semiconductors in particular are the world's best. They need access. 
Micron sells chips all over the United States, also in countries like 
Singapore and Taiwan in East Asia and to the United Kingdom and Germany 
in Europe.
  To reach all of these places, a modern company needs top quality 
transportation. And it may be surprising, but few places in America are 
better connected to world markets than Butte. Butte is sited at the 
juncture of two interstates, I-90 and I-15, interstates which 
respectively tie the east coast and the Great Lakes to the ports in 
California and Seattle.
  This map shows, if you can see it, the two interstates, again I-90 
east-west, I-15 north-south, the juncture in Butte, the only place in 
Montana where interstates cross like that.
  Butte also is at the site of the interstates which connect Canada and 
Denver, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and ultimately Mexico City, 
that is, north-south. It has a top quality, modern airport. It is 
served by two continental railroads. In this era of consolidation, that 
is unusual, Mr. President, but two continental railroads join in Butte; 
that is, the Union Pacific and the Burlington Northern.
  And then we have the port of Montana, obviously, located in Butte. It 
is one of the Nation's first inland ports. Director of Marketing Bill 
Fogarty has made the port one of the finest intermodal facilities. Its 
access to transportation expands the markets for Montana's businesses 
and products.


                    Montana's Transportation History

  Mr. President, all of this is no accident. It is no coincidence. 
Montanans have always known how important transportation is to a 
competitive business. As far back as Butte's mining boom and beyond, 
Montana has a long history of providing transportation options--options 
such as well-maintained highways, railroads, and airports.
  As a testament of Montana's ``can do'' attitude, get this, camels--
yes, camels--were brought to Montana in the summer of 1865 in an 
attempt to secure an economic and reliable source of transportation--
camels back in 1865. And while camels did not prove the best solution 
to our transportation challenges, we in Montana have managed to 
integrate virtually all other kinds of transportation into our economy.
  Historians cite 1841 as the date the first wagons were driven into 
Montana from the Southwest. Not long afterward, mule trains were 
bringing goods into and out of Montana. The mule trains needed roads to 
cross the rugged frontier, and one of the first routes in the State was 
authorized by U.S. Secretary of War John Floyd in 1858. The Mullan 
Military Wagon Road from Fort Walla in Washington to Fort Benton in 
Montana was constructed to transport troops and was completed in 1860.
  I might add, Mr. President, my great grandfather, Henry Sieben, drove 
wagon trains on that Fort Mullan Trail. In fact, that was his line of 
business and that is how he got his start in the State of Montana.
  By the time the wagon road was finished, the gold mining boom had 
begun. Discovery of mines in Idaho and Montana meant that we needed a 
shortcut from the Oregon Trail to the mines.
  Well, in the spring of 1863, John Bozeman, a Georgian who migrated to 
Montana, teamed with a man named John Jacobs to build such a short road 
that is called the Bozeman Road.
  Mr. President, these early roads were nothing like the blacktops we 
drive on today. In fact, one road was even described by travelers as 
``50 miles long and 1 inch deep, according to the corroborative 
evidence of lungs and linen.''
  But travel by land was not limited to roads. The first railroad to 
reach Montana Territory was the Utah & Northern, later known as the 
Union Pacific. This railroad was constructed to link business interests 
with the rich mineral and agricultural areas in Montana. The Utah & 
Northern built its first railroad bed in March of 1880. It continued 
building until it reached Silver Bow, a few miles west of Butte, on 
December 21, 1881.
  Aviation secured an early place in the transportation system of 
Montana. Montana's first airline was the National Parks Airlines, which 
was founded in 1927 and offered service to Butte, Helena, Great Falls, 
and Salt Lake City.
  And I might add there, my grandfather, Fred Sheriff, had a Ford 
trimotor and founded airports in Montana and worked very hard to get 
high quality aviation to Montana. Amelia Earhart spent much time in 
Montana, and I very much remember a photograph of my grandfather and 
Amelia Earhart when she was in Montana helping us to establish the 
highest quality aviation in our State.


                   Micron and Montana Transportation

  Mr. President, Montana has a long, proud history of efficient and 
productive transportation, and that history continues today in Butte.
  We operate in a global economy these days, however, and the 
intermodal transportation partnership found in Butte will increase the 
productivity of Micron and lower the transportation costs to ship their 
products. This will improve the marketability of Micron's products and 
make it more competitive throughout the world.
  Mr. President, I have been in the Chamber several times now 
describing the unique virtues of Montana and of Butte. Montana is a 
vast State. It is a beautiful State. As Micron prepares to make a final 
decision on the location of its new facility, I would like to end with 
a quote from an essay by Glenn Law, entitled ``More Than Skin Deep.'' 
And I quote:

       Montana's special gift is space, landscape made personal; 
     space that reaches out to horizons and comes back and gets 
     under your skin. It reaches inward, wraps itself around your 
     soul, incubates and grows. When you finally begin to 
     understand just what it is about Montana that is important to 
     you, it has already taken root in your heart and you'll never 
     be the same.

  Mr. President, when Micron comes to Montana, they will understand the 
meaning of these words. They will never be the same. They will be 
better. There is no place in the world like Butte, and we look forward 
to opening our arms, welcoming Micron to Butte.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of 
a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Thomas). The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  

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