Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said the federal government would pay for the “vast majority” of repairs to Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed last week after being hit by a cargo ship.
Experts say repairs to the bridge, which spans outside the Port of Baltimore and connects Hawkins Point in Baltimore to Dundalk, Maryland, and provides a hazardous materials route for trucks banned from tunnels in the area, require , estimates it could cost between $400 million and $2 billion.
McConnell said Monday that it is the federal government's responsibility to pay for repairs, although some Republicans have questioned whether the rest of the country needs to chip in to pay for the cleanup.
“Whether it's a hurricane in Florida or an accident like this, the federal government steps up and plays the biggest role in those situations,” McConnell said in an interview with Louisville radio host Terry Meiners. I guess so,” he said.
McConnell's comments came after Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pennsylvania) said the idea of the federal government stepping in to pay for the disaster was “outrageous.”
“It was outrageous right away.” [President] Mr. Biden needs to commit to fully federally funding this tragedy,” Muser told FOX Business. “You know, he doesn't say it's American taxpayer money to anything. The first reaction, really the only reaction, is to be inclined to spend.”
Biden is scheduled to visit Baltimore on Friday to assess the damage.
A significant portion of the project's rebuilding costs could come from the federal Highway Trust Fund and the $1 trillion bipartisan Infrastructure Investment Act that Congress passed in 2021, but Congress has decided to build a complex and expensive Additional funding may need to be approved for the project.
The bridge collapse disrupted traffic to one of the country's busiest ports, which will handle more than 50 million tons of foreign cargo in 2023, including more than 750,000 cars and trucks.
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