Emergency summit on Baltimore bridge collapse set as tensions rise over federal funding
Credit: CBS News
Maryland’s congressional delegation will meet with Gov. Wes Moore and the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Tuesday to discuss emergency funding for Baltimore and its response to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, multiple sources familiar with the planning told CBS News.
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“The total number could be very well north of a billion dollars,” said Rep. David Trone, a Maryland Democrat who has a seat on the pivotal House Appropriations Committee. “But nobody can give you a super close guess (about) what that (total cost) is going to be right now. There are a lot of design questions and unknown costs for salvage. But we need to get a big number out there and get it approved.”
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Trone told CBS News he’ll try to include language in an emergency funding bill that ensures work and restoration is funded continuously over the next several years, even if Donald Trump wins the White House in November.
“We need some commitment by the federal government, in the appropriations bill, that we’re going to be there for the full cost of rebuilding this bridge,” said Trone. “We don’t say it’s a ‘red state’ or a ‘blue state.’ It’s an American state. We’ve had a natural calamity.”
“We shouldn’t be playing politics with this,” Trone said. “We’ve got to get that down in writing in the appropriations bill, just in case the most horrible thing ever happened — President Biden is not reelected.”
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