Funds to rebuild Baltimore's Key Bridge included in Biden's $100B request to Congress
BALTIMORE -- President Joe Biden included money to rebuild Baltimore's collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in a $100 billion disaster fund request he sent to Congress on Monday, taking an important step in his effort to secure federal funding.
A newly built Key Bridge is estimated to cost nearly $2 billion, and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2028.
"I'm confident that we will have this bridge up in 2028, but in order to do that we've got to get working now," Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said. "I believe in doing things on time and on budget, and that means let's start the process now."
In a letter sent to Congress Monday, President Biden requested money that he said is "urgently needed" to replenish disaster response programs, especially after Hurricanes Helene and Milton and other natural disasters that have impacted the U.S.
He also requested funds for the Department of Transportation to help rebuild roads and bridges across 40 states, including in Maryland.
The letter was addressed by both Democrat and Republican leaders in Congress on Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer encouraged House Republicans to look at this proposal now and fund it before the year ends.
"States cannot be left to fend for themselves, communities cannot be left in the lurch, infrastructure, cannot remain damaged," Sen. Schumer said.
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said this is something his party is looking at closely, as they promised to do when the session resumed.
"These communities can be rebuilt responsibly. And Congress has. a role to play, we'll be looking at all that," Speaker Johnson said.
President Biden's Commitment to Baltimore
After a container ship crashed into the Key Bridge, causing it to collapse in March, President Biden said he believed the federal government should pay for the cost of reconstruction.
A few days later, President Biden approved a request for funding from Maryland Governor Wes Moore, allowing the state to receive an initial $60 million in emergency relief funding to recover debris from the Patapsco River.
Congress has yet to approve funds to rebuild the bridge, but Gov. Moore said he feels a deal is imminent.
"We continue to stress this is bigger than politics, this is bigger than an election cycle, this is bigger than partisan differences. This is about America's economy," Moore said after meeting with members of Congress in September.
Key Bridge Settlements & Lawsuits
In September, the Justice Department filed a $100 million lawsuit against Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited, the owner and operator of the container ship that hit the Key Bridge.
Justice Department officials said the company was "well aware" of issues on the ship that caused a power outage before the collision.
Officials said the U.S. government spent over $100 million to respond to the bridge collapse, remove debris and reopen the Port of Baltimore.
Grace Ocean and Synergy agreed to pay more than $102 million in cleanup costs to settle a claim from the Department of Justice, however, a spokesperson for the companies said it was not an admission of responsibility or wrongdoing.
The payment will reimburse the government for the money it spent to clear debris from the shipping channel.
In October, attorneys for Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Private Limited argued that Maryland officials should have better protected the Key Bridge against ship strikes and questioned whether the shipbuilder installed faulty equipment.
They further argued that the court should consider holding state officials and others liable in an effort to deflect responsibility for the bridge collapse.
Disaster Relief Funding
In his letter to Congress, President Biden requests disaster relief funds for the Small Business Administration's (SBA) loan program which the president said has completely exhausted its funding.
According to President Biden SBA has received over 100,000 loan applications from people impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.
The president also requested money for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund which could face a shortfall without more funding.
President Biden requested funding for several programs impacted by Hurricane Helene, including for the Department of Health and Human Services to build their supply of IV fluids and medical products and for the National Flood Insurance Program.
The Business Impact
The collapse of the Key Bridge has come at a cost for Hard Yacht Cafe in Dundalk, and other businesses.
Alex DelSordo, the owner of Anchor Bay Marina and Hard Yacht Cafe, says they have lost 9% of their revenue and some employees have been forced to quit their jobs because their commute is upwards of 90 minutes per day.
"That bridge is a connector of commerce for small businesses like in Dundalk, Sparrows Point, the east side of Baltimore," DelSordo said. "And now that we're 10 months after the fact, we're seeing it every single day, the impact it makes on the employees and also the customer."
Timeline for Funding
A congressional source familiar with the letter tells WJZ that Congress will need to decide if the disaster supplement can be included in the budget negotiations that are ongoing right now.
Some leaders say the timeline for this is short with the hope to get this plan approved before a new Congress convenes at the beginning of 2025 and the Trump Administration takes office at the end of January.