WASHINGTON — Maryland leaders are meeting with Biden-Harris administration representatives Tuesday morning to figure out how to fund a Key Bridge rebuild.
Governor Wes Moore will join Maryland congressional leaders, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Transportation, the Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, and other Biden-Harris administration officials in a closed door meeting, according to a release sent by Senator Ben Cardin's team Monday afternoon.
Then, they will hold a press conference at the Capitol at 11:35 a.m. to discuss their plans.
President Biden already pledged $60 million in emergency funding days after the bridge collapsed, but Maryland leaders have said it will cost far more to rebuild.
So far, they have not been able to specify what that cost will be.
"We don’t yet know what the price tag is going to be," Governor Wes Moore told Margaret Brennan on Sunday's Face the Nation. "The thing that we know is that the Port of Baltimore is responsible for $70 billion of economic activity to the American economy. We know that the Key Bridge had over 36,000 people who traveled over it every single day -- people getting from where they live to where they work, to where they worship, to where they go to school. And so the importance of knowing that this is not just a tragedy that has regional implications, but a tragedy that has national implications is incredibly important.”
There has also been a question of who will foot the bill.
"This is going to be a national response to something that is a national tragedy. And at the same time, if people need to be held to account for what happened, they must be held to account," Gov. Moore said Sunday. "There’s an independent NTSB investigation taking place right now. I can tell you, I want that investigation to be speedy. I want that investigation to be thorough, and if people need to be held to account for it, there needs to be accountability for what happened that night.”
The company in charge of the cargo ship that crashed into the Key Bridge has already filed a lawsuit to limit their liability.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it could take years for them to release a final report, so questions remain over who will cover the project in the meantime.
When it comes to removing the rubble, Gov. Moore said crews have made a lot of headway.
By weekend's end, he said they had already removed more than 250 tons of debris, which is equivalent to the weight of the Statue of Liberty.
When it comes to the families impacted by the collapse, crews are still searching for three men who were filling potholes for the Maryland Department of Transportation when the bridge collapsed.
Monday night, a local church held a vigil to honor the six men who died. The community followed that with a walk through nearby neighborhoods.
Gov. Moore recently introduced legislation that proposes creating a new, permanent scholarship program for families of transportation workers who die on the job in an effort to help the families.
Baltimore city and Baltimore and Anne Arundel counties have set up support services for the families as well.
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