Francis Scott Key Bridge

Floor Speech

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Mr. IVEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank him for organizing this Special Order hour.

I also join with the comments that have already been made with respect to condolences to the families of the six lives that were lost. I remember, when I heard about it that morning, there were eight, I think, missing initially. I remember praying at that time that they would survive. Even though the emergency services made immediate efforts to try and save them and blocked off the road so that no other people were going to meet that fate, I know that we have lost six at this point.

It is a sad moment, a tragic evening, and we certainly want to extend our condolences to their families and their communities. Gustavo Torres and some of the other leaders and officials in those communities recognize the impact that was had, and we certainly want to tell them that we support them and we are going to work hard to help them make it through this tragedy in every way that we can.

I also want to commend Governor Moore who has been outstanding in the way he has handled this event. The leadership he has provided has been quite impressive. He has really risen to the occasion. I knew he was a talented leader, but he has demonstrated that repeatedly during this time.

I thank the Biden administration, too, for taking immediate steps. The President himself came out I think that same day and made the commitment to make sure that the bridge got rebuilt, that the Federal Government was going to make 100 percent efforts to cover those costs, and that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that that happened quickly, that we weren't going to wait for the litigation to take place. I think the last time there was a bridge collapse, the litigation took 10 years to resolve. Thank goodness he has decided to move it forward immediately because we need that money now. We need to rebuild it. You have heard about the economic impact on the region. I think that is certainly the case, so making initial and quick steps to make that recovery happen, I think, is critical.

I did want to say this, too. That morning, I got calls from reporters about the tragedy, and some were asking for initial responses. Some also asked me about comments that people had made with respect to the collapse of the bridge.

One candidate for Congress said DEI did this, and he called Mayor Brandon Scott ``the DEI mayor.''

One rightwing provocateur said foreign agents of the United States attacked digital infrastructures.

Another individual said: Looks deliberate to me. A cyberattack is probable. World war III has already started.

Lastly, a Utah State Representative said: This is what happens when you have Governors who prioritize diversity over the well-being and security of our citizens.

I told that reporter then, and I want to say it on the House floor now, that I thought those comments were disgusting and irresponsible. I thought it was a sad moment. I know we are having very partisan times here in the United States, and certainly here in the House, but I think this is a moment where we need to rise above that.

I thank my Republican colleagues who just did that and are doing that just now. Andy Harris stood with us. Congressman Andy Harris stood with us yesterday. We had a press conference where we had the Biden administration present, the Governor present, and the House and Senate delegation from Maryland were all present. He was there, too, and voiced his support for full recovery of the bridge.

I say this just to end. The voices that I just mentioned a moment ago, those were not the representative voices of my colleagues here in Congress. I think they understand that this is not about red States or blue States. This is a moment where this is about the United States of America. It is times like this where we have to turn to each other and not on each other so we can rise above the tragedy and move forward together.

I know we can do better. I know we will continue to do better, and I want to commend all of those who have done better so far with this effort.

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