Biden Is Touring Collapsed Baltimore Bridge Where Recovery Effort Has Political Overtones

Washington — President Joe Biden is due to see firsthand attempts to remove the huge remnants of Baltimore’s fallen Francis Scott Key Bridge on Friday as cranes, ships, and dive crews strive to reopen one of the country’s main commerce lanes.

Biden will receive briefings from the United States Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers. On March 26, a sizable cargo ship struck and destroyed the bridge while eight laborers, all of whom were immigrants from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador, were patching potholes on it. Two guys were saved, but only two of the six people who perished have been found.

Biden Is Touring Collapsed Baltimore Bridge Where Recovery Effort Has Political Overtones

The president intends to meet with the families of the victims.

Officials have developed a temporary, alternate lane for debris-removal vessels. According to the White House, the Army Corps of Engineers hopes to open a limited-access route for barge cargo ships and certain vessels transporting vehicles and farm equipment by the end of this month, with normal capacity restored to Baltimore’s port by May 31.

That is significant because more delays in reopening shipping lanes could send shockwaves across the economy. Baltimore’s port handles up to $200 million daily cargo and is the primary hub for automotive imports and exports.

Covering the price of cleanup and construction of a new bridge may be a more pressing worry.

The Federal Highway Administration has allocated $60 million in “quick release” emergency relief funding to get things underway. The exact cost of the collapse is unknown, but some experts predict it will cost at least $400 million and take 18 months to recover.

Within hours of the collapse, Biden stated, “the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect Congress to support my effort.” Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Dan Meuser termed the commitment made so soon after the catastrophe “outrageous,” telling Fox News Channel, “The first reaction, in fact the only reaction, tends to be to spend.”

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell was more sympathetic to Biden’s request, comparing the bridge collapse to the help that follows natural disasters and stating that “the federal government will step up and do the lion’s share” of funding. However, obtaining authority in Congress is a challenging task.

The White House stated Friday that it would recommend that Congress authorize the federal government to bear 100% of the expenses of cleaning up and rebuilding the fallen bridge rather than requesting cash through a separate, emergency supplemental request.

In a letter to congressional leaders, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young stated that similar techniques were used for recovery and rebuilding efforts that received bipartisan congressional support in 2007, when a highway bridge in downtown Minneapolis collapsed during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.

“We are asking Congress to join us in demonstrating our commitment to aid in recovery efforts,” Young wrote, though it is unknown how much money the government will require to cover the expenditures.

Biden Is Touring Collapsed Baltimore Bridge Where Recovery Effort Has Political Overtones

However, much has changed in the last 17 years, and advocating for bipartisan support may be more difficult today.

The conservative House Freedom Caucus published a statement on Friday stating, “If it proves necessary to appropriate taxpayer money to get one of America’s busiest ports back online, Congress should ensure it is fully offset and that burdensome regulations” are waived. It referred to future government expenditure cuts and restrictions such as the Endangered Species Act.

The caucus’ letter also urged that approval for bridge rehabilitation money be contingent on the Biden administration agreeing to relax a moratorium on liquified natural gas exports.

The funding problems only heighten the collapse’s political consequences, as Biden will face former President Donald Trump in the November election.

It is the second catastrophic accident in the country’s key northeastern corridor in as many years. Last summer, an overpass on Interstate 95 near Philadelphia caught fire and collapsed after a tanker truck collided with it. Federal and state officials worked rapidly on temporary repairs, and the route reopened earlier than projected.

However, the cleanup and restorations in Baltimore will take much longer and cost much more, making the chances of it being a net electoral gain for Biden — especially in time for Election Day — far less likely.

That has kept the Biden administration from reintroducing a $1 trillion-plus public works program that passed Congress in 2021.

“Let’s not forget, infrastructure law will now deal with infrastructure in a generation,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated this week. She compared this with the Trump administration, which made the issue “into a joke” by repeatedly promising to win infrastructure funds but achieving “absolutely nothing.”

Biden Is Touring Collapsed Baltimore Bridge Where Recovery Effort Has Political Overtones

The bridge collapse has also brought Maryland’s Democratic Gov. Wes Moore, 45, to national attention as a key figure in Biden’s reelection campaign’s drive to mobilize young voters supporting the 81-year-old president.

The president has toured nationwide, demonstrating highway, bridge, and tunnel development projects. In 2022, he appeared at an event in Pittsburgh a few hours after a neighboring bridge collapsed. Promoting the public works package has also allowed the president to tap into his passion for rail travel, which he used to commute to and from Washington on Amtrak when a Delaware senator.

Last week, Biden stated that the Key Bridge was one that “I’ve been over many, many times commuting.”

SOURCE – (AP)