Senate, House Pass $250 Million in Emergency Funding
Saturday, August 04, 2007 at 1:27 am
- 12 Comments
The U.S. Senate passed a bill Friday night authorizing emergency funding to help deal with the Interstate 35W bridge disaster, just hours after the U.S. House of Representatives took similar action.
The measure will authorize $250 million in federal funds to help Minnesota recover and rebuild after the collapse of the bridge over the Mississippi River.
The measure was authored in the house by Rep. James Oberstar, DFL-Minn., who chairs the House Transportation Committee. It was co-sponsored by the other seven members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation. In the Senate, the measure was backed by both of Minnesota’s senators, Norm Coleman and Amy Klobuchar.
“The state of Minnesota has 13,000 bridges; 1,135 are structurally deficient, and 451 are functionally obsolescent. That is 12.2 percent; it is one of the lowest percentages in the country, but it underscores a serious problem with the state of Minnesota’s and with the nation’s bridges,” said Oberstar in a statement.
The measure passed unanimously in the House, and was agreed to without objection in the Senate.
“This Senate vote is good news for Minnesota at the close of a week that has brought so much heartbreak to our state,” said Klobuchar in a statement. “Senator Coleman and I were able to impress upon our colleagues the importance and urgency of this funding. This was the most-heavily traveled bridge in the state and our people and businesses absolutely depend on it.”
Coleman agreed, saying in a statement, “We must take immediate steps to rebuild this important artery in the heart of the Mill City. By authorizing the reconstruction of the bridge, authorizing the project for emergency relief funding, and providing transit assistance to ease congestion in the interim, we can begin this long but necessary process. We are going to rebuild this bridge as a community and we are going to rebuild it quickly.”
The measures passed by the House and Senate were slightly different; the House is expected to approve the changes today, and send the bill to President Bush for approval.
12 Comments
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 1:53 pm
Klobuchar’s “Help” In Making Illegal Wiretapping Legal This will be a good litmus test to see if you folks are more than just Democratic Party shills. Amy Klobuchar was one of 16 Democratic Senators today who caved in to President Bush’s demand that Congress rewrite and expand FISA to broaden his power of surveillance. This comes in the wake of revelations showing that Bush disobeyed the constitution by illegally spying on citizens for years, and other revelations showing that these activities (or perhaps a similar program; Bush has refused to release the documents so we don’t know) prompted nearly all of the top officials in the Justice Department, Bush’s own Republican appointees, to threaten to resign.
Now, if the House goes along with Klobuchar and her crew, Bush’s unconstitutional encroachment on our civil liberties will be given the imprimatur of law and bipartisan support. Wiretaps without court orders, which couldn’t pass the Senate without some Democratic support, just happened. Unbelievable.
I don’t have the stomach for a full description of why this is wrong. Here are links to a couple of renditions:
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 3:18 pm
Bachmann and Kline voted to adjourn before this vote Putting loyalty to their party ahead of loyalty to their state, Michele Bachmann and John Kline voted to adjourn the House for the session before voting on the $250 million for the bridge. But you had to read the St. Cloud Times to find out.
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 4:57 pm
Hold all of them accountable It is time to hold ALL politicians (whether democratic or repub lican) accountable for enabling this administration to shred our Constitution. Can’t the Democrats stand up for anything? Can’t Republicans just admit that they know Bush and Cheney are destroying our country?
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 6:23 pm
Well, I can’t speak for others… But I’m profoundly disappointed in Klobuchar. I don’t know why there was a need to rush this bill through.
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 7:43 pm
the need is our security because we need to catch the evil doers before they act….
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 8:19 pm
I agree with Jeff Bad move by Klobuchar. I’d have followed that particular bill, if a bridge hadn’t just fallen. And as Klobuchar said, “Bridges shouldn’t just fall in America.”
Throwing out the label “Democratic Party shills,” because some stories aren’t getting certain level of coverage that is probably unrealistic, given the current events of the last few days is a bit unfair in my personal opinion.
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 8:53 am
Klobuchar's “Help” In Making Illegal Wiretapping Legal This will be a good litmus test to see if you folks are more than just Democratic Party shills. Amy Klobuchar was one of 16 Democratic Senators today who caved in to President Bush's demand that Congress rewrite and expand FISA to broaden his power of surveillance. This comes in the wake of revelations showing that Bush disobeyed the constitution by illegally spying on citizens for years, and other revelations showing that these activities (or perhaps a similar program; Bush has refused to release the documents so we don't know) prompted nearly all of the top officials in the Justice Department, Bush's own Republican appointees, to threaten to resign.
Now, if the House goes along with Klobuchar and her crew, Bush's unconstitutional encroachment on our civil liberties will be given the imprimatur of law and bipartisan support. Wiretaps without court orders, which couldn't pass the Senate without some Democratic support, just happened. Unbelievable.
I don't have the stomach for a full description of why this is wrong. Here are links to a couple of renditions:
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 10:18 am
Bachmann and Kline voted to adjourn before this vote Putting loyalty to their party ahead of loyalty to their state, Michele Bachmann and John Kline voted to adjourn the House for the session before voting on the $250 million for the bridge. But you had to read the St. Cloud Times to find out.
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 11:57 am
Hold all of them accountable It is time to hold ALL politicians (whether democratic or repub lican) accountable for enabling this administration to shred our Constitution. Can't the Democrats stand up for anything? Can't Republicans just admit that they know Bush and Cheney are destroying our country?
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 1:23 pm
Well, I can't speak for others… But I'm profoundly disappointed in Klobuchar. I don't know why there was a need to rush this bill through.
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 2:43 pm
the need is our security because we need to catch the evil doers before they act….
Comment posted August 4, 2007 @ 3:19 pm
I agree with Jeff Bad move by Klobuchar. I'd have followed that particular bill, if a bridge hadn't just fallen. And as Klobuchar said, “Bridges shouldn't just fall in America.”
Throwing out the label “Democratic Party shills,” because some stories aren't getting certain level of coverage that is probably unrealistic, given the current events of the last few days is a bit unfair in my personal opinion.
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