Congressmen To Bush: Fund NY Bridge Fixes

In the wake of the bridge collapse tragedy in Minnesota a variety of New York Democrats in Congress have issued a letter to President George W. Bush demanding that he support federal funding programs to repair New York State's crumbling bridges, more than 6,500 of which have been identified as structurally unsound.The funding is available through the FY2008 Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations bill, which Bush has threatened to veto.

"Our message to the President is that we can pay now to secure our bridges, or we can pay later in terms of lives lost and far more dollars spent to rebuild bridges," said Long Island Rep. Tim Bishop said.  "We urge the President to withdraw his veto threat and sign this bill."

Manhattan Rep. Jerrold Nadler and upstate's Rep. John Hall and Rep. Mike Arcuri also signed the letter.