BALTIMORE — It was a promise President Biden made the same day that the Key Bridge and six Marylanders fell into the Patapsco River - the federal government would foot the bill for rebuilding the Key Bridge. Now, nearly 8 months later, federal agencies are running out of time, and money to keep that promise.
Between severe weather events like Hurricane Helene, or catastrophes like the Key Bridge collapse, communities across the country have asked the federal government for help. Now, money for key disaster relief programs is drying up.
“With each passing day, we are growing closer to a situation where this department will not be able to provide even partial funding for eligible projects,” U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday.
The Biden administration is asking Congress for nearly $100 billion in supplemental aid before the year ends, and a new session of Congress begins. It would help communities ravaged by recent events like hurricanes Helene and Milton, and those still suffering from previous disasters like the Maui wildfires. The funding request also includes $1.34 billion for the reconstruction of the Key Bridge. The $350 million insurance payout that the state of Maryland already received from Chubb, the bridge's insurer, was deducted from the total price tag.
“Why should the federal government pay some portion of the reconstruction of this bridge? There’s at least one member of the Senate who seems to press back on the idea of having the federal government cover the cost of reconstructing the Key Bridge," Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, asked during the Senate hearing, noting that his state was impacted by the closure of the Port of Baltimore.
Buttigieg responded, “Well, certainly we regard this as the sort of disaster that is why we have an emergency relief program. […] We will recover some funding through things like the insurance but the rest of it, the President has committed to provide because again, this is what we do for any community that is hurting, and certainly when there’s an asset of national significance, like the Francis Scott Key Bridge.”
Senator Chris Van Hollen, who represents Baltimore, said during the hearing, “We’ve always supported the rest of the country. This has been ‘all for one, and one for all;' that’s been the motto of the state of Maryland and so we’re very much hoping, and we expect our colleagues from around the country to support us in our hour of need. I would point that when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed back in 2007, it took only five days for Congress to pass and for the president to sign legislation assuring that they would be reimbursed 100%, in terms of the cost of replacing the bridge.”
Approving the disaster relief funding that Biden has requested still wouldn’t guarantee that the federal government will cover the entire cost. Congress would still need to pass legislation to authorize that, which is what Senator Van Hollen and his fellow Maryland lawmakers have been fighting for since the beginning. They’re trying to get that legislation passed in an omnibus bill by the end of the year too.
They’re fighting for the feds to cover 10% of the total cost, which would otherwise be the state’s responsibility. The Federal Highway Administration is already obligated to pick up 90% of the tab as part of its emergency relief program for interstate roads and bridges. But, if there’s not simply enough money to go around, as Secretary Buttigieg warns will happen without additional funding, then even the 90% cost share could be in jeopardy.
"Consider communities in Arkansas, California and Oklahoma that have been impacted by floods, tornadoes, and wildfires, or the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland, or the Teton pass in Wyoming. We currently lack the funds to rebuild the infrastructure in these communities and many others across the country, even though they are eligible,” Buttigieg testified during the hearing.
We asked MDTA what would happen if the Federal Highway Administration did not have enough money to cover 90% of the cost, as was expected. We are waiting to hear back.
