Stalled federal spending bill includes full cost of Key Bridge rebuilding in Baltimore
BALTIMORE -- A second deal on a federal spending package that would include the full cost of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild and avert a government shutdown has once again stalled in Congress Thursday.
Congress has until Friday, Dec. 20, to approve the bill before the deadline for a government shutdown. House Republicans say an agreement has been reached to keep the government funded through the spring.
The bill failed in a House vote Thursday night which required a two-thirds majority to pass. The failure came after a bipartisan deal also fell apart following opposition from President-elect Donald Trump and some hardline Republicans.
The spending measure would allot $110 billion for disaster relief, including the entire cost of a new Key Bridge. The new Key Bridge is estimated to cost nearly $2 billion and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2028.
"The Federal share for Emergency Relief funds made available under section 125 of such title to respond to damage caused by the cargo ship Dali to the Francis Scott Key Bridge located in Baltimore City and Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties, Maryland, including reconstruction of that bridge and its approaches, shall be 100 percent," the bill says.
The new agreement would also extend government funding for three months and suspend the debt ceiling until January 2027.
The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) approved a $73 million contract in August for Kiewit Infrastructure Company to design and construct a new Key Bridge.
U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, both from Maryland, first confirmed on Tuesday that the funding for the Key Bridge rebuild was wrapped into the federal spending bill, known as a continuing resolution.
"With the inclusion in the Continuing Resolution of our Baltimore BRIDGE Relief Act, Congress is now committed to covering the full cost of replacing the bridge," Sens. Van Hollen and Cardin said in a joint statement. "This will allow the bridge to be built as quickly as possible. Our provision also ensures that the federal taxpayers will be reimbursed through proceeds from insurance payments and litigation taken on by the Department of Justice, the Maryland Attorney General and others."
But after opposition from President-elect Donald Trump, that version of the bill was scrapped and the path forward was unclear.
The new 116-page version of the federal spending bill released on Thursday was edited down from the original 1,547 pages, and still included the disaster relief funding, including the Key Bridge project.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said the task ahead is to complete the work on a new Key Bridge "on time and on budget."
"The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a national crisis, and meeting the moment would require an act of national unity," Moore said. "Now, we must bring our work to completion by rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge. At the same time, we continue pursuing litigation against the owner and operator of the DALI, to ensure taxpayers aren't bearing the burden of recovering from this tragedy. And together, we will, once again, prove what it means to be Maryland Tough and Baltimore Strong."
Biden's funding request
In November, President Biden requested full funding for the Key Bridge rebuild to be included in a $100 billion disaster fund request he sent to Congress.
Biden also asked for funds for the Department of Transportation to help rebuild roads and bridges across 40 states, including in Maryland.
Key Bridge collapse
The cargo ship Dali crashed into Baltimore's iconic bridge after losing electrical power around 1:30 a.m. on March 26, 2024, knocking eight roadworkers, six of whom died, into the Patapsco River.
The workers who died in the bridge collapse were identified as 35-year-old Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, 26-year-old Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 38-year-old Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 24-year-old Carlos Hernandez, 49-year-old Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez and 35-year-old Jose Mynor Lopez.
The collapse blocked the main passageway for ships headed to the Port of Baltimore, closing one of the country's largest ports for weeks.
Biden's commitment to Baltimore
President Biden pushed early for the federal government to pay for the cost of the reconstruction of the Key Bridge.
Mr. 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.
"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.