[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 22825-22827]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 AUTHORIZING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR EMERGENCY REPAIRS AND RECONSTRUCTION 
                     OF THE INTERSTATE I-35 BRIDGE

  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to the immediate consideration of H.R. 3311, which was received 
from the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A bill (H.R. 3311) to authorize additional funds for 
     emergency repairs and reconstruction of the Interstate I-35 
     bridge located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that collapsed on 
     August 1, 2007, to waive the $100,000,000 limitation on 
     emergency relief funds for those emergency repairs and 
     reconstruction, and for other purposes.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendment that is at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be 
read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, and that any statements relating to the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment (No. 2654) was agreed to, as follows:

   (Purpose: To improve expanded eligibility for transit and travel 
                         information services)

       In section 1112(b)(1) of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, 
     Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (as 
     added by section 3), strike subparagraph (B) and insert the 
     following:
       ``(B) use not to exceed $5,000,000 of the funds made 
     available for fiscal year 2007 for Federal Transit 
     Administration Discretionary Programs, Bus and Bus Facilities 
     (without any local matching funds requirement) for operating 
     expenses of the Minnesota State department of transportation 
     for actual and necessary costs of maintenance and operation, 
     less the amount of fares earned, which are provided by the 
     Metropolitan Council (of Minnesota) as a temporary substitute 
     for highway traffic service

[[Page 22826]]

     following the collapse of the Interstate I-35W bridge in 
     Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 1, 2007, until highway 
     traffic service is restored on such bridge.

  The amendment was ordered to be engrossed, and the bill to be read a 
third time.
  The bill (H.R. 3311) was read the third time and passed.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, my colleague from Minnesota is here. I 
will yield to her if she wishes to proceed first.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Minnesota.
  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I think everyone in this Chamber and 
the country and the world is aware of the tragedy that befell our State 
a few days ago. This is a bridge that is not just in my backyard, it is 
actually in my front yard. It is only 8 blocks away. It is one of the 
most well-traveled bridges in our State.
  Senator Coleman and I were on the ground and saw the great damage 
yesterday. When I looked down and saw that miracle bus on the precipice 
and I thought about the fear in the eyes of those little children as 
they watched as the concrete and the road basically fell down below 
them, I couldn't even imagine what they went through.
  But then I met the heroes, the people who dove in the water over and 
over again looking for survivors. The death toll would have been so 
much worse if our community had not come together--the police, fire 
personnel, emergency personnel, and ordinary citizens--to save the 
lives of our people.
  Today we thank our colleagues because it is good news that they stood 
by us in a bipartisan way to help the people of our State. The vote is 
good news at the close of a week that has brought so much heartbreak to 
our State. This was, as I said, the most heavily traveled bridge in our 
State, and our people and our businesses depend on it.
  Today in the Senate, as well as in the House of Representatives, the 
Congress voted to give us the opportunity to access the funds we are 
going to need to repair this bridge.
  There was also a focus on transit money, which is so important. The 
day we got into Minnesota, only 12 hours after this happened, our State 
had already put on 25 extra buses. They had billboards showing people 
the routes to go. It was an absolutely extraordinary effort. They were 
prepared. But I don't think anyone, in any State, can ever be prepared 
for a tragedy such as this.
  I thank all my colleagues at the close of a very long week for their 
words of support. Our thoughts and our prayers are with the victims and 
with their families. Today, the Congress stood tall and proud and came 
immediately to their aid.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor to my colleague from Minnesota.
  Mr. COLEMAN. Mr. President, my colleague from Minnesota has described 
the spirit of a people confronted with great tragedy. It was horrible 
to be there by that bridge and see those cars, some in the water, 
others that had burst on fire--a tractor trailer--to see a school bus 
on the precipice. I think it had dropped 20 feet. Had it gone a little 
further to the side, it would gone over the edge. Had it gone a little 
further forward, it would have been caught between crashing portions of 
steel and concrete. Had it gone another distance, it would have been in 
the water. Yet every one of those 60 kids walked away.
  We saw tragedy. There are those who have lost their lives and 
suffered great pain, but we also saw miracles. We saw the reaction of a 
community that came together at every level--the first responders, the 
citizens who came together to jump in the water to try and help folks 
who were in situations that were hard to understand.
  In addition to that, when Senator Klobuchar and I got there early in 
the morning, we sat in on a briefing with the Governor and the mayor 
and the first responders, the county commissioners, city council 
members--some Democrats, some Republicans. It didn't matter.
  I sat there as a former mayor remembering what it was like on 9/11, 
remembering how unprepared we were on 9/11. And after 9/11, as a city, 
we tried to take stock and recognize that our first responders weren't 
tied into what was going on at hospitals, and various police and fire 
from different communities could not communicate. What we did is we 
went about the process of training and training and training, preparing 
and preparing and preparing, and it came together. I watched in the 
city of Minneapolis, and as a former mayor I took pride in the way the 
people responded.
  I think the Nation saw it, I think the world saw it, and it made me 
proud to represent Minnesota.
  I say that because I saw the same spirit in the Senate tonight. The 
people in Minneapolis have some great needs. My colleague in the House, 
Congressman Oberstar, put forth a plan that would provide authorization 
to rebuild the bridge. There was also provided some extra money on the 
table to deal with some very immediate needs.
  I was there when the Secretary of Transportation made the pledge that 
``we are going to be there to help,'' and we had some challenges then 
in moving that forward. There were some technical issues. But what I 
found along the way was my colleagues on both sides of the aisle simply 
said, how can we help? How can we get this done? The chairman of the 
Budget Committee a little while ago discovered there was one minor 
technical issue. He said, we are going to take care of this.
  I got a call today from the director of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, the Administrator. I got a call yesterday from the head of the 
SBA. At the scene yesterday we had the head of the Transportation 
Safety Board. We had the Secretary of Transportation, the highway 
administrator. They were all there. Everyone had come together. And on 
the floor of the Senate I saw that tonight, that spirit, and I simply 
say thank you to my colleagues. On behalf of the people of Minnesota 
and the people of Minneapolis, I say thank you for the support you have 
shown and the spirit in which you have come together.
  At times, there is so much rancor in our Nation today--this partisan 
divide. It is so uplifting to be in this Chamber to see my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle come together, and so I say thank you.
  Let me end by asking that we not forget there has been a great 
tragedy; that lives have been lost. Let us keep the families of those 
who have lost loved ones in our prayers. Let us make sure we continue 
in the effort to ensure that the resources are there to rebuild, and 
let us do it quickly. Let us do those things to expedite the process. 
This is a major thoroughfare, a major piece of the transportation 
system in the State of Minnesota. We need to get the money back to 
Minnesota and get the people on the ground who can get the work done.
  We can do it, and we can do it quickly. We will rebuild this bridge, 
we will rebuild quickly, we will find out what caused this terrible, 
terrible tragedy, and we will keep those who have suffered loss in our 
prayers.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Rhode Island is 
recognized.


         Extension of Temporary Protective Status for Liberians

  Mr. REED. Mr. President, let me first begin by commending Senators 
Coleman and Klobuchar for their very aggressive and appropriate 
response to a crisis in their home State of Minnesota. We were proud, 
all of us, to join with the Senators in helping their people in the 
face of great need.
  This is interesting, because I rise for the moment to speak about 
another measure which both Senator Coleman and Senator Klobuchar have 
joined with me as cosponsors of, and that is the temporary protective 
status for Liberians. The Presiding Officer, Senator Whitehouse, is 
also a cosponsor, along with Senators Kerry and Leahy. It is a 
bipartisan measure. It is in response to a situation where there are 
thousands of Liberians here legally, but they are in danger of being 
deported because their status could change by October 1.

[[Page 22827]]

  The House of Representatives earlier this week passed unanimously by 
voice vote H.R. 3123, which would extend for 1 year their temporary 
protected status. In fact, the minority leader, Mr. Blunt, was the key 
leader in this effort, along with our colleague from Rhode Island, 
Congressman Patrick Kennedy, and I again thank Senators Coleman and 
Klobuchar, and all the cosponsors.
  The Liberian individuals we are talking about were in the United 
States in the late 1980s and early 1990s when a brutal civil war broke 
out in Liberia. They could not go home, and this country granted them 
protective status. That status, in one form or another, has been 
continued for now almost 15, 16 years. There are many families of 
Liberians in this country whose children are American citizens--in 
fact, who are about on the verge of college or even older.
  Today, Liberia has made some progress. It has a democratically 
elected president. She is a remarkable woman, leading her nation. But, 
still, it is not a country that is ready to accept individuals who are 
in the United States, who are part of our community, who have American 
children, and who are contributing to our communities. We should, I 
think, give them the opportunity to make a choice of whether they 
should stay here or go back to their homeland of Liberia.
  Every year they face a precipice that comes on October 1, when they 
worry whether their status will be extended; when they worry whether 
they will have to leave children behind, give up their jobs, leave 
their community and be lifted up, literally, to go back to a country 
which is, quite frankly, not ready to accept them and to use their 
talents. So each year we have been able to, either through 
administrative decision or through our efforts here, extend their stay. 
I urge that my colleagues consider taking up H.R. 3123, and I requested 
on behalf of my cosponsors a unanimous consent to do that. I am told 
that on the Democratic side there were no objections, but, apparently, 
there are some objections on the other side. I want to make it clear to 
all my colleagues I will renew this request time and time again when we 
return in September.
  We have to act before October 1. It would be unfair, unjust, and 
unwise not to grant this exemption. It was accepted on a bipartisan 
basis overwhelmingly in the other body, and I think we should do the 
same here in the Senate. I urge any of my colleagues who have 
questions--and I think at this juncture there are many who might have 
legitimate questions--please, I would be happy to answer them. I would 
be happy to respond. I believe I can make a compelling case that in 
terms of fairness, in terms of equity, in terms of recognizing what 
these individuals have done to contribute to communities all across 
this country, they should be granted at least 1 more year. This is not 
a permanent adjustment, this is an additional year.
  Let me stress one thing also. We have had a great deal of discussion 
in this Congress about immigration. These individuals are legally here 
in the United States, and they have been given the opportunity to work, 
they pay taxes, and they are not qualified for any social benefits. I 
am very proud of Rhode Island because we have a large community, 
relatively speaking, and they have become extraordinarily productive 
members of our community. So I feel very strongly, and I know my 
colleague, the Presiding Officer, does, that we are going to do all we 
can over the several weeks before October 1 to make sure this is 
adopted; that we follow the other body in doing so. I don't want anyone 
to mistake my objection to other provisions that are going forward. I 
am sincerely committed to getting this done. I hope we get it done, and 
I thank the Presiding Officer for his cosponsorship and leadership.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, the Senator from Rhode Island has been so 
persuasive in his argument, I ask that he add me as a cosponsor to the 
bill.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senator be 
added as a cosponsor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The Senator from Connecticut is recognized.

                          ____________________