Maryland's congressional delegation is scheduled to meet with Gov. Wes Moore and the Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on Tuesday to discuss emergency funding for the city and response to the city's emergency. Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapsepeople familiar with the plan told CBS News.
The meeting, scheduled to be held Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol, comes amid internal disagreements among Maryland's legislative leaders over the size and scope of what they should seek immediate funding from Congress. CBS News reported.
The U.S. Department of Transportation last month approved $60 million in initial emergency funding shortly after the bridge collapsed. Cargo ship “Dari” operated by a Singapore-based ship owner. But the scope of work needed to remove the giant bridge from the Patapsco River, reopen shipping lanes, assist idle longshoremen, and create an initial infrastructure plan to rebuild the bridge is enormous. It is opaque at the same time.
Maryland lawmakers acknowledge it's unclear how much money they'll need from Washington in the short term.
“The total could be well over $1 billion,” said Rep. David Tron, a Maryland Democrat who serves on the important House Appropriations Committee. “But at this point, no one can give a very hard guess as to what that (total cost) will be. There are a lot of design questions and the payback cost is an unknown. We need to get some big numbers out of it, and we need to get it approved.”
Rep. Andy Harris, a Maryland Republican who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, said the initial emergency funding should be limited to urgent and time-sensitive projects.
“I would be cautious about diverting funds all at once,” Harris told CBS News. “We need to give you something to make sure you have enough funds to clear the channel.”
Harris said Congress' first emergency aid package would require the Justice Department to file civil lawsuits and “recover funds” from companies found responsible for failures that led to bridge crashes and collapses. He said that the text should be included.
“It's probably going to cost less than $100 million to take down the channel, and that's the only major expense that we're going to incur in the coming months,” Harris said. “Obviously, the cost of building a bridge is years away.”
But the Maryland Democratic Party told CBS News it will also seek funding to help workers facing hardship because of the crisis. And they fear Republicans may deny funding to Baltimore in the future.
Trone told CBS News that even if Donald Trump wins the White House in November, he urgently needs language to ensure continued funding for construction and repairs for years to come. He said he would work to include it in the funding bill.
“We need a commitment in the spending bill from the federal government to pay for the full cost of rebuilding this bridge,” Tron said. “We don't say it's a 'red state' or a 'blue state.' This is an American state. A natural disaster has occurred.”
“We shouldn't play politics with this,” Tron said. “We have to write that into the spending bill in case the scariest thing ever happens – if President Biden is not re-elected.”
A spokesperson for Governor Moore told CBS News that Governor Moore is working with the Congressional delegation to “ensure Maryland has the resources it needs to rebuild Key Bridge, reopen Maryland's ports, and assist affected families.” He said he would cooperate with
Four of Maryland's members of Congress hold seats on the Appropriations Committee, which will play some role in developing and drafting legislation to fund recovery efforts.
Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said he would meet this week with longshore workers affected by the collapse.
“Debris removal is essential to the reopening of the Port of Baltimore, a huge economic hub for MD and the nation. We are grateful to the Army Corps of Engineers and MDOT for their 24-hour removal efforts,” he wrote on social media this week. he posted. Open the first part of the channel as soon as possible. ”
Sen. Ben Cardin appeared in Baltimore Thursday with federal small business officials and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott to discuss efforts to help workers.
