[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 18]
[House]
[Page 25387]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                THE BATTLE AGAINST THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE

  (Mr. KIRK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, we have won the battle against the Bridge to 
Nowhere.
  This $320 million federally subsidized structure would have been as 
long as the Golden Gate Bridge, standing 80 feet higher than the 
Brooklyn Bridge. It would have connected the mainland to an island, 
population 50, with no roads or stores.
  Last year, the House adopted the Kirk amendment, blocking all funding 
for the Bridge to Nowhere. It was a wise move to protect taxpayers. But 
the Senate said, no, and temporarily saved the bridge. House leaders of 
this Congress surprisingly backed the Bridge to Nowhere, but our 
arguments have finally won. Alaska has decided to block all funding for 
the Bridge to Nowhere. Following the collapse of the Minneapolis 
bridge, we now have additional funds to fix bridges in need of repair, 
and maybe return some of this money that was to be wasted to the 
American taxpayers that earned it.

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