3 weeks ago

GOP Hard-Liners Balk At New Government Money For Baltimore Bridge Replacement

A small but influential group of House Republicans said Friday they would put strings on new federal funding to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed after a support was hit by a massive container ship March 26.

In a statement early Friday, the House Freedom Caucus said that before Congress approves new money to replace the bridge, “it’s important that (1) we first seek maximum liability from the foreign shipping companies upfront and (2) the Port of Baltimore draws upon already available federal funds.”

The statement from the group, which is composed of conservative and libertarian House Republicans, puts it directly at odds with President Joe Biden, who has proposed that Congress approve new funds to pay for all of the replacement costs.

It’s unclear how big the bill will be to replace the bridge, but estimates have ranged from $400 million to as much as $1 billion. While large, those totals would barely be a rounding error for the federal government, which spent $6.13 trillion in 2023.

The contrast between Biden’s stance and that of the Freedom Caucus may be highlighted Friday afternoon, as Biden was slated to visit the site of the bridge collapse, which killed six highway workers who were on the structure at the time.

The Freedom Caucus statement also noted other conditions should new federal money be needed, if insurance and existing dollars are unable to pay for the bridge’s replacement.

Those conditions included that any new money be offset by savings elsewhere in the government; that federal regulations that could slow down reconstruction be loosened; and that the Biden administration roll back its pause on the approval of new liquified natural gas export terminals. Reversing the LNG facility pause has also been considered by Republicans as a proposed condition for approving new aid to Ukraine as it fends off a brutal Russian invasion.

“Furthermore, this funding must be limited to physical structure repairs with a federal nexus — this must not become a pork-filled bill loaded with unrelated projects and the House of Representatives must adhere to the ‘single subject’ rule,” the group said, referring to a requirement that bills be limited in the scope of their subject matter.