By WILL WEISSERT (Associated Press)
BALTIMORE (AP) — President Joe Biden saw firsthand on Friday the ongoing efforts to remove the “twisted mess” of remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, as cranes, ships, and diving teams work to reopen one of the main shipping lanes in the country.
Aboard Marine One, flying above the bent metal debris and the array of construction and salvage equipment working to clear the aftermath of last week’s collapse, Biden had his first close-up look at the destruction. On the ground, he was briefed by local officials, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Army Corps of Engineers on the situation in the water and its effects on the region.
Biden also met with police officers who helped block traffic to the bridge just before it was hit by the ship, preventing an even greater loss of life.
“I’m here to assure you that your nation supports you, and I mean it,” Biden stated from the shore, looking out at the fallen bridge. “Your nation supports you.”
Eight workers — immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador — were repairing potholes on the bridge when it was struck by a large cargo ship and collapsed in the middle of the night on March 26. Two men were rescued, but the bodies of only two of the six who died have been found. The president met on Friday with the families of the victims near the bridge, according to the White House.
“The damage is catastrophic, and our hearts are still hurting,” Biden remarked.
Officials have set up a temporary alternative channel for vessels involved in clearing debris. The Army Corps of Engineers aims to open a restricted-access channel for barge container ships and some car and farm equipment-carrying vessels by the end of this month and to restore full capacity to Baltimore’s port by May 31, as per the White House.
This is crucial since longer delays in reopening shipping lanes could have a significant impact on the economy. Baltimore’s port normally handles about $200 million in cargo per day and is the primary hub for importing and exporting vehicles.
Over 50 salvage divers and 12 cranes are on-site to assist in removing sections of the bridge and clearing them from the vital waterway. Officials informed Biden that they have all the necessary resources to meet the goals for opening the channel into the Baltimore port.
Biden also announced that some of the largest employers affected by the collapse, including Amazon, Home Depot, and Domino Sugar, have pledged to keep their employees on payroll until the port is reopened. This announcement came after several days of effort by state and federal officials to minimize the economic impact of the incident.
“From the air, I saw the bridge that has been torn apart,” Biden commented, “but here on the ground, I see a community that has come together.”
However, it is still uncertain how the costs of cleanup and building a new bridge will be financed.
The Federal Highway Administration has allocated $60 million in “quick release” emergency relief funds to get things started. The exact cost of the collapse is unknown, though some experts estimate that recovery will require at least $400 million and 18 months.
Biden said shortly after the bridge fell down that the federal government will pay for the whole cost of building that bridge again, and I hope the Congress will support my plan.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell compared the bridge collapse to help that comes after natural disasters and stated that the federal government will mainly fund it. But approval in Congress is likely not guaranteed.
The White House announced on Friday that it is requesting Congress to allow the federal government to pay for 100% of the cleanup and rebuilding costs of the collapsed bridge, instead of asking for funding through a separate, emergency supplemental funding request.
In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young pointed out that similar methods were used for recovery and rebuilding efforts after a highway bridge collapsed in downtown Minneapolis in 2007. This effort received bipartisan congressional support and killed 13 people.
“We are asking the Congress to join us in showing our commitment to help in recovery efforts,” Young wrote, but it's still uncertain how much money the administration will need to cover the costs.
But some uncompromising congressional Republicans are already demanding politically contentious offsets for the funding. The conservative House Freedom Caucus stated on Friday that if taxpayer money is needed to get one of America’s busiest ports back online, Congress should ensure it is fully offset and that burdensome regulations are lifted.
The caucus’s letter also suggested that approval for bridge recovery funds be linked to the Biden administration agreeing to lift a pause it has imposed on exportation of liquified natural gas.
The funding questions only add to the collapse’s political consequences as Biden faces off with former President Donald Trump in November’s election.
It’s the second major disaster along the country’s busy northeastern hub in as many years. Last summer, an overpass along Interstate 95 in Philadelphia caught fire and collapsed after a tanker truck slammed into it. Federal and state officials acted quickly on temporary repairs and eventually reopened that section of the highway sooner than expected.
But the cleanup and repairs in Baltimore will take much longer and be much more expensive, making it uncertain if it will be a net political positive for Biden — especially in time for Election Day.
That hasn’t stopped the Biden administration from promoting again a $1 trillion-plus public works package that cleared Congress in 2021.
The bridge collapse has also brought Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, 45, into the national spotlight. He is a leading voice in Biden’s reelection campaign’s effort to energize young voters on the 81-year-old president’s behalf. He accompanied Biden on the helicopter tour and during his briefings, and introduced the president before his speech.
The president himself has journeyed around the country displaying construction projects on roads, bridges, and tunnels. In 2022, he showed up for an event in Pittsburgh shortly after a bridge nearby fell down. Promoting the public works package has also given the president an opportunity to emphasize his love of train travel and his many years commuting to and from Washington on Amtrak as a Delaware senator.
Biden himself mentioned he’d traveled over the bridge “about a thousand times” going from Washington to his home in Delaware, leading the state Department of Transportation chief to joke, “thank you for the tolls, sir.”
