[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          FRACTURE-CRITICAL BRIDGES AND THE AMERICAN JOBS ACT

  (Ms. HOCHUL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. HOCHUL. Our Nation is facing a crisis with respect to public 
safety. Over 1,100 bridges in New York State alone, my State, are 
considered fracture-critical. Fracture-critical bridges could collapse 
if a single one of their key support functions fails, and there are 82 
such bridges in my district alone. Every day, 21 million cars in my 
State cross structurally deficient bridges, creating an intolerable 
situation.
  As the former county clerk, responsible for putting vehicles and 
people on the roads, this is personal to me. I feel compelled to fight 
for money from Washington to fix our bridges and our roads and bring 
them up to par.
  There is a solution, Mr. Speaker, and that is the American Jobs Act, 
which includes money for critically necessary infrastructure to repair 
these bridges so our driving public can travel safely. Therefore, I 
urge all my colleagues to support me in supporting the American Jobs 
Act and in getting our country back to work while making the public 
safer.

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