Maryland senator: “Federal government will pay 90% of bridge reconstruction costs''

Maryland lawmakers expect the federal government to pay for most of the cost of the collapse and subsequent reconstruction of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, but debate grows over emergency supplementary legislation However, Congress may only be responsible for a small portion of the total cost.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters that roughly 90% of the cost of rebuilding the bridge will be paid for through the Federal Highway Administration's emergency fund. The fund has approximately $950 million and is replenished by $100 million annually. The province sent a letter to the federal government on Wednesday saying it would consider using money from the fund to pay for the process.

It remains unclear what work Congress needs to do on this matter, as Van Hollen and other Maryland lawmakers are waiting for a full recovery cost assessment before asking questions to their colleagues. It is.

“They're currently doing that evaluation,” Van Hollen told reporters at the Capitol. “I don't know the exact time, but I think it will be within a few days. This is a rough estimate.”

“When we put money into permanent bridge replacement, we're going to pay for it, and it's 90 percent federal funding and 10 percent state funding,” he continued, adding that he and Sen. Ben Cardin ( Democratic Party of Maryland). We plan to prepare a bill to cover the 10% portion.

Van Hollen said he was preparing to call House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) about working on the pending bill, which could be difficult for some congressional Republicans. Stated. He also pushed back against Republican demands to offset that funding.

“My message is: We are all Americans. We should all come together to help cities in need,” he said. “This is an emergency, and we have always responded to emergencies through supplements.”

Incumbent senators also indicated they were unsure whether the bill could be passed during the upcoming Senate session.

His remarks came two days after a cargo ship bound for Sri Lanka lost power and crashed into a bridge early Tuesday morning, causing it to collapse. It is estimated that six people died in the incident.