House Republicans weigh in on how to approach rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge as federal and state officials scramble to assess the deadly Port of Baltimore collapse and come up with a recovery plan. are divided.
A container ship linked to Singapore crashed into a bridge early Tuesday, causing the structure to sink into the sea. Officials have not said when the Maryland port, the busiest on the East Coast, will reopen.
President Biden vowed earlier this week that the federal government would pay for the bridge’s reconstruction, and he asked Congress to support him. Early reports indicate it could cost up to $2 billion.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who along with other members of Maryland’s congressional delegation is pushing for federal aid, also argued that the private companies involved in the incident should pay for it.
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Rep. Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina, left) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) weigh in on President Biden’s promise that the federal government will pay for the rebuilding of the Baltimore Key Bridge. He is one of the House Republicans who are divided. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images | Alex Wong/Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“It was easy for the president to promise other people’s money, American taxpayers’ money, but American taxpayers are not willing to do anything like the president’s response after the East Palestine disaster, which is to demand that responsible companies pay. “I think you’d want them to respond and seek damages,” Harris told Fox News Digital, referring to last year’s train derailment in Ohio caused by toxic chemicals.
He also pointed out that there is federal funding immediately available for situations like this. The federal government approved $60 million in emergency funding Thursday.
“We should actually try to get funding from the foreign companies that operated and chartered the ships,” Harris said.
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Fellow conservative Rep. Ralph Norman (RS.C.) criticized Biden’s pledge in a text message to Fox News Digital, calling it “ridiculous” and “ridiculous.”
Rep. Jeff Duncan (R.S.C.) called the incident a “tragedy” in which six construction workers lost their lives, but called the incident a “tragedy” that left six construction workers dead, but urged Biden to stop the $1 trillion deal he signed in 2021. He called for reallocation of aid funds from the massive infrastructure bill.
President Biden said Wednesday that the federal government will pay for the entire rebuilding of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. (AP/Evan Vucci)
“While we mourn the lives lost in Baltimore, America is $34 trillion in debt and cannot afford to spend more than $1 billion haphazardly before spending another penny on domestic infrastructure,” Duncan said. , we must build internal border walls.” “Funds used to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge should be reprogrammed from Biden’s wasteful infrastructure bill.”
This indicates that House Republican leaders may have a hard time weathering their razor-thin majority on additional relief legislation, but opposition pushback is likely to reach a breaking point and any bill could be oversubscribed. It is expected to receive broad partisan support.
Meanwhile, House Rules Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.), who also chairs the House Appropriations Committee’s transportation subcommittee, told Fox News Digital that he is open to supporting federal funding.
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“I have no animosity at all,” Kohl said of Biden’s pledge, noting that port closures would impact the nation’s economy.
“We’ve learned a lot more about the Port of Baltimore in the last 48 hours in terms of how important it is, the cars that go through it, the agriculture, both export and import in terms of goods and machinery. It’s a very important facility, and it’s going to have ripple effects around the world. national economy“I’m not going to argue with the President of the United States on this…and certainly, Baltimore has every reason to expect a full and strong federal response,” Cole explained.
Early Tuesday morning, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a container ship. (FBI Baltimore)
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told MSNBC earlier this week that she expected insurance payments would cover some of the costs.
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However, Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, who dealt with the aftermath of tornadoes as the mayor of Knox County, pointed out from experience that insurance claims can take a long time to process. He told Fox News Digital that he would be “unbiased” about the possibility that the federal government would pay the full amount of the claim if insurance payments are delayed.
“In the case of an insurance claim, it would be a long and drawn-out process, and if at some point there was an agreement that the funds would be used for; [the government]“No problem,” Burchett said. “I think it’s a federal highway. So…it’s going to have to be addressed. It’s a huge disadvantage to those people.”
