Washington: President Joe Biden will visit Baltimore to inspect the site of the collapsed bridge and meet with the families of the six builders who died amid tensions in the US Congress over repairing the bridge.
On March 26, the ship ran aground on the Francis Scott Key Bridge and hit the harbor. Work continues to clear debris and restore traffic through the shipping channel.
Biden’s visit, which will include an air tour, comes as state and federal officials raise concerns about the economic toll that port closures could have on regional economies.
According to the State of Maryland, the Port of Baltimore ranks first in the US by the volume of handling cars and light trucks, and farm and construction equipment. Although some terminals outside the affected area have resumed operations, most of the traffic has been halted since the accident.
There are signs of conflict among some US lawmakers over whether to use new federal dollars to rebuild bridges.
On Friday, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a letter to Congress asking the federal government to cover the entire cost of replacing the bridge.
The incident left thousands of port workers out of work.
Top White House officials, including Jeff Zients, senior adviser Tom Peres, and economic adviser Lael Brainard, have called on large employers in the Baltimore area to encourage workers to stay.
Local employers such as United Parcel Service, Amazon.com, Home Depot, and Mercedes-Benz are committed to keeping their employees safe, according to the White House.
The Small Business Administration has also issued low-interest disaster loans, and Biden’s supply chain task force has met several times to analyze the impact “as far as it is manageable.”
The six victims of the collapse of the bridge were immigrants from Mexico and Central America who were repairing holes in the road when the bridge collapsed. The four bodies have not been found, but all are believed to be dead.
Biden’s meeting with the families of these immigrant workers turned Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump into an uptick in his anti-immigrant rhetoric as he seeks a third term in the White House.
Hours after the bridge collapsed, Biden said the federal government would “pay for everything” to rebuild it. Last week, the government announced an emergency aid of $ 60 million.
Congress must approve funding to replace the bridge. OMB Director Shalanda Young said in the letter that the administration will pursue cost recovery and “explore all avenues to ensure that damage recovery or insurance proceeds reduce costs to the American people.”
White House officials have been talking with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office in recent weeks about providing billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and Israel for the collapse of the Baltimore Bridge, the two officials said on condition of anonymity.
The spending measure, in particular, has bipartisan support, but the White House knows Johnson must meet challenges from Republicans who oppose the use of federal dollars.
Ultimately, most of these spending proposals will be combined to pass the floor.
A separate congressional source did not know for sure whether additional emergency spending legislation was needed, while another source said the additional bill could not be centered on Baltimore but would have to be a general disaster fund across the country in the coming months.
In federal court, lawyers for the company that owns and operates the container ship that collapsed on the bridge said they are not guilty but don’t believe anyone is responsible.
He asked the judge to hold him responsible for the disaster or pay him $43 million in damages, minus the value of the damage and salvage of the ship.
