Exactly two weeks after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spent a busy day in the nation’s capital and the state capital getting aid for those affected.
Moore spent the morning on Capitol Hill lobbying Congress to follow up on promises of federal aid to rebuild the bridge. He was joined by Maryland’s entire congressional delegation, including its lone Republican, Eastern Shore Congressman Andy Harris.
President Joe Biden pledged the federal government would pay to rebuild the bridge when he visited the site last week, but House Republicans have not fully embraced that. The Freedom Caucus has called for aid to be tied to cuts elsewhere in the federal budget, as well as other conditions such as the lifting of a pause on liquefied natural gas exports.
Shipping at the Port of Baltimore is still almost entirely suspended, as crews try to clear the wreckage of the Dali, which struck the 1.6-mile Key Bridge on March 26 caused a significant portion to collapse in a matter of seconds. Six construction workers who were patching potholes on the bridge when it collapsed died. The bodies of three have not yet been found.
Following his trip to Washington, Moore headed back to the State House in Annapolis, where he signed the first batch of bills passed by the General Assembly. But before he did, Moore called on Congress to follow through on the President’s pledge to fully fund the reconstruction of the bridge.
“Maryland is going to do its part, but we have to understand that what happened two weeks ago was not a Maryland catastrophe,” Moore said. “This was a national catastrophe.”
Among the bills Moore signed into law Tuesday is the PORT Act, which stands for Protecting Opportunity and Regional Trade. The bill allows the governor to use money from Maryland’s Rainy Day Fund for financial aid for affected workers and businesses at the port. The measure passed with unanimous bipartisan support — something the governor noted with pride.
Another bill signed Tuesday renames the port for Helen Delich Bentley, who served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Maryland’s 2nd District after a long career reporting on the port for the Baltimore Sun and WMAR-TV. She died in 2016. Among those honoring her at the bill signing was the man who succeeded her in Congress, former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich.
