WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday called for an all-out federal effort to respond to the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, including paying to get it rebuilt.
“It’s my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect Congress to support my effort,” he said at a White House media briefing. “This is going to take some time; we’re not leaving until this job is done.”
Asked if companies affiliated with the ship that caused the collapse — the Singapore-flagged Dali — should be responsible for the repairs, Biden responded, “That could be, but we’re not going to wait for that — we’re going to pay to get the bridge rebuilt and opened.” The containership is managed by Synergy Marine Group and chartered by Maersk.
The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the response effort alongside officials from the Federal Highway Administration, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Transportation and Maryland state agencies. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will help lead the effort to clear the channel.
“Search-and-rescue operations are our top priority, and ship traffic has been suspended until further notice,” Biden said. “We’ll need to clear that channel before that ship traffic can resume.”
Biden, who said he had been on the bridge “many times” while commuting from Delaware while a member of Congress, stressed the economic significance of the disaster. He pointed out that Baltimore is one of the nation’s largest shipping hubs, handling a record amount of cargo last year as the top port for U.S. imports and exports of autos and light trucks.
“Around 850,000 vehicles [are handled] every year, and 15,000 jobs depend on that port. “We’re going to do everything we can to protect those jobs and help those workers.”
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., said in a statement that his committee is in touch with federal agencies responding to and investigating the incident, including the National Transportation Safety Board.
“At this stage, we need to make sure we’re not getting ahead of the facts, but as we continue to learn more, we will ensure that members of Congress have all available information,” he said.
Related:
Baltimore bridge collapse disrupts traffic, port operations after ship collision
Stacie
I think Congress should Pay for it. Biden says that Congress will, however, we all know it will not come out of their pockets. It will come out of the middle working class.
Stan
I expect the ship line and their insurance company to step up and fully pay for the rebuild , it’s not the taxpayers place to do it again, we already paid for it once
Stephen Webster
We need to rebuild the bridge and make it better
Insurance Company will delay for 10 years after my house was hit by windstorm
The 2 nd biggest reason people are homeless in Canada after drugs is the Insurance industry. We the taxpayers must rebuild then try to recover part of the cost
CARLOS 🇺🇸💯
🤬🤬 WHY ARE US TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR THIS COMPANIES CRASH INTO OUR BRIDGE🤬🤬
Shrek
This could end up being a general average claim.
Andrew Bayuk
The government does not pay to rebuild anything. The tax payers do.
john
Synergy marine group should pay for bridge damage with their insurance coverage.