By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
On April 5, U.S. President Joe Biden (D) pledged to ensure the federal government takes on 100 percent of the costs related to rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge. That promise may soon come true, as legislators were able to secure a place for the funding in a continuing resolution currently being hashed out to avoid a government shutdown.
The continuing resolution, a short-term bill aimed at funding the government through March 2025, must come to a vote by Dec. 20, to prevent the shutdown and secure the funds.
Mfume worked alongside members of the Maryland Congressional Delegation, which includes Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), on this extensively throughout the year.
The Key Bridge collapsed in the early morning hours of March 26 after being struck by the Dali, a massive cargo ship, in Baltimore.
“This has been a nine-month fight to make sure that Baltimore City and Baltimore County are made whole again. And now, we are able to secure the full funding of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rebuild which the Congress will vote on in the next 48 hours,” said U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07) in a statement on Dec. 17. “This means so much to all of us throughout the state and in particular the residents of Dundalk and Turner Station, our hardworking longshoremen, commuters and small businesses throughout Maryland that rely on the bridge and the waterway.”
Turner Station is a historically Black neighborhood in Dundalk, Md. where 17.8 percent of residents are Black, according to U.S. Census Data. Thousands of locals were impacted by the collapse of the bridge, which supported jobs throughout the area.
Cardin and Van Hollen highlighted that the resolution “includes critical funding for the Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief Fund to provide this project and others around the country with the resources they need.”
“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. This will allow the bridge to be built as quickly as possible,” said Cardin and Van Hollen in a joint statement. “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 (DOJ), the Maryland Attorney General and others.”
As of October 24, the owner and operator of the Dali cargo ship agreed to pay over $100 million to settle the civil claim brought against them by the U.S. on Sept. 18. These funds are intended to compensate the U.S. for money spent cleaning up the waterways after the collapse, not for rebuilding the bridge.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) also played a significant role in making this funding possible.
“Over the last several months, I have spoken with over 150 members of Congress on this issue. Winning this moment required a unified front, from the Maryland State House to the White House,“ said Moore in a statement. “Now, we must bring our work to completion by rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, on time and on budget. Together, we will, once again, prove what it means to be Maryland Tough and Baltimore Strong.”
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