Maryland lawmakers meet to discuss future of Port of Baltimore, modernization investments

BALTIMORE, Md. — Members of Maryland's congressional delegation met in Washington to discuss the future of the Port of Baltimore, hearing from stakeholders about modernization projects and investments in the port.

Though the House of Representatives was not in session, lawmakers gathered to talk about what comes next for one of the state's most significant economic engines.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen said the stakes are high.

"The port of Baltimore generates about $70 billion annually in economic impacts to our state and has 20,000 direct jobs with 273,000 total jobs," Van Hollen said.

Van Hollen pointed to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge as a recent example of how vulnerable the port — and the broader economy — can be to disruption.

"When we had the tragedy of the collapse of the Key Bridge, which choked off that channel because of debris from the bridge, we immediately saw the harmful economic impacts, the slowdown and stoppage of work at the port, and that had a harmful ripple effect throughout — not just Baltimore City in the state, but the entire region and in some cases the whole country," Van Hollen said.

"The port of Baltimore is vital for our country, for our state, and of course for Baltimore City," Van Hollen said.

Rep. Steny Hoyer echoed that sentiment.

"I recognize and we continue to recognize as a delegation the critical importance of the port of Baltimore and Baltimore itself to the economic health and well-being of the entire state," Hoyer said.

Rep. Sarah Elfreth said the port's future may draw on its past, pointing to the region's history of shipbuilding and planned investments tied to the Coast Guard.

"I think part of the future of the port, the future of this region is going to be taking inspiration from what it once was — the former Bethlehem Steel plant where we built hundreds of liberty ships during World War II. We have a history of shipbuilding in the Baltimore region," Elfreth said. "I think that's going to be a part of the future of Baltimore for many reasons, including because of the Coast Guard yard, because we're going to make those half a billion dollars of improvements and investments to make sure we can house the latest Coast Guard cutters that are coming online."

Elfreth added that the delegation intends to develop a comprehensive strategy for the port.

"Team Maryland is going to make sure that we have a plan, a strategy, and a commitment to execute that on behalf of the Port of Baltimore and the entire state of Maryland," Elfreth said.

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