Francis Scott Key Bridge

Floor Speech

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Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, Mr. Mfume, for yielding me time. I am grateful to him for his extraordinary leadership through this catastrophe and for leading us through this Special Order hour this afternoon.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the devastating collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in our beloved home State of Maryland.

In times of catastrophe across the country, from earthquakes in California to hurricanes in Florida to flooding in Louisiana to wildfires in the West to terrorism in New York or Washington, D.C., we come together as a country to help our communities recover and rebuild, and we cannot allow any of the political divisions in America today to interfere with this process of coming together to help a community struck by catastrophe in this way.

Disasters befall all of our States and all of our districts, and they are not partisan in character. We have to stick together to support all of our communities, and that is what we are going to do in Maryland, and we are going to do as a Nation to rebuild the Baltimore Francis Scott Key Bridge.

I thank Governor Moore's administration, the Coast Guard, Secretary Buttigieg, the Army Corps of Engineers, first responders, the Maryland Transportation Authority, and everyone who is working overtime to address this disaster. The Unified Command convened by the Coast Guard has been hard at work in removing the bridge debris from the river and restoring access to the port, salvage and recovery operations are ongoing in a very difficult and complicated process.

The Dali vessel, weighing 213 million pounds, is the same size as the Eiffel Tower with pieces of bridge weighing as much as 4,000 tons laying on top of it. The water is frigid and murky, complicating the ongoing and heroic rescue efforts that began immediately.

I thank President Biden and his administration for their exemplary leadership in the face of this catastrophe and its characteristic commitment to help the local community rebuild.

The President has directed his administration to move heaven and Earth to rebuild the bridge and to recover the port as rapidly as possible, and within hours of receiving Maryland's request, the DOT and FHA swiftly approved $60 million in initial aid.

Mr. Speaker, I also acknowledge the devastating loss of the six construction crew workers who were killed in this nightmare when they were working what seemed like a routine nighttime shift fixing potholes. Our thoughts continue to go out to their families and all of their loved ones.

We have a long road ahead of us to rebuild the bridge in Maryland, and our bipartisan Congressional delegation stands ready to do everything which needs to be done to restore full access to the port and rebuild the bridge.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank Mr. Mfume for his extraordinary leadership and thank all of our colleagues who have expressed their support and their sympathy for the people of Maryland dealing with this crisis. Thank you for standing with us.

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