Battle heats up over proposed federal funding for Baltimore bridge

[ProudMNDemocrat]

Where was the Conservative outrage when the Biden Administration told Gov. DeSantis and Republican Congressional delegation that the Federal Government would do all it could to help Floridians rebuild after Hurricane Ian a few years ago? Oh yeah! There was no outrage! I wonder why?

Now we have the same Conservatives with their panties in a bunch over a bridge destroyed in an accident that is vital to exporting and importing of goods, as well as the Economy. What is the difference here?

The battle over Congress’s role in repairing a landmark bridge in Baltimore is already heating up on Capitol Hill, just days after it collapsed.

President Biden vowed Tuesday that the federal government would cover the massive cost of rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a major artery feeding the Port of Baltimore, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the country. The bridge was struck by a cargo ship, almost 1,000 feet long, that lost power as it was leaving Baltimore Harbor and drifted into a support pile in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Biden’s proposal is already winning praise from a number of Democrats, especially those in Maryland, who say the port’s value transcends the state, making the repairs an issue of national importance.

Only the federal government, they argue, has the resources to accomplish the task.

Yet the idea has sparked an immediate backlash from conservative spending hawks, who are already up in arms over Congress’s recent approval of a massive 2024 spending package and maintain that Washington simply can’t afford to pile more money onto the national debt.

More at....https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4562537-battle-heats-up-over-proposed-federal-funding-for-baltimore-bridge/

[Emile]

1. Republicans idea of making America great again?

[jimfields33]

9. Get the bill written and see a vote.

It will pass the house if all democratic house members vote and they need 3 or 4 repugs to vote for it. That’s doable. But get a vote done.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

2. Yet these same people will approve TRILLIONS added to the National Debt....

in the form of TAX CUTS for the Billionaire/Millionaire class because they are paying way too much in taxes as it is and the rest of us are NOT paying enough! With the same breath, they are screaming Democratic SOCIALISM is EVIL!

Give me a fucking break!

[Wonder Why]

3. We can't afford it. Cruz wants us to pay to have Homeland Security protect repugs

from embarrassment when they travel to Cancun during a crisis.

[Emile]

7. He wants us to pay for his airport escorts too.

[617Blue]

4. We never hear any squawking when tornados rip thru some red state

The hypocrisy never ends.

[Prairie Gates]

5. Don't GOPers have a likely GOP add on the Senate side coming out of Maryland?

Do they want to write the Dem ads themselves?

[ProudMNDemocrat]

8. The other night on Alex Wagner's show, she pointed that out about....

Larry Hogan, former Governor of Maryland...

Wagner pointed out that this could be a sticking point for Hogan if he is running on deficit reduction and Tax Cuts for the very rich at a time when the total economic and transportation impact of Maryland is at stake. He can say he stood up to Trump, but can he say he will NOT stand up for the people of Maryland and do what McConnell tells him to do?

I would rather be the Democrat running for the US Senate than Larry Hogan.

[dalton99a]

6. Don't forget to send the ship owner a bill

The ship caused the accident

[GregariousGroundhog]

10. The shipping company and their insurance company should pay

I don't mind if the federal goverment stands up an infrastructure project to organize the reconstruction, but they need to subrogate the costs to the parties at fault for bringing the original bridge down.

[Ontheboundry]

11. Insurance company

For the ship owner, would they not be on the hook for most of this? I know it has to get paid by someone, but they did it, so let's see if we can get a rich company to pay for it instead of hard-working Americans who didn't ram the boat into the bridge (again). This wasn't this boats first collision

[Biophilic]

12. Hey, replacing this bridge would be good for America.

No wonder the republicans are against it. They have their values and standards to maintain.

[Groundhawg]

13. Why wouldn't the shipping company pay for it?

[Ritabert]

14. This is a matter of timing

The channel needs to be cleared ASAP. The shipping company, Maersk (who chartered the ship) and the insurance company will end up paying but it will take time. The US has plenty of leverage as in banning Maersk ships from US ports until the bill is paid.

[gladium et scutum]

21. Don't see where Maersk

has any responsibility for the incident. They were not the owners of the ship, they were not the operators of the ship. No Maersk employee was aboard the ship at the time. They chartered the Dali to carry containers. Is the owners of the ship and their insurers that have the responsibility to pay for the damages and costs.

[Ritabert]

15. ###

[maxsolomon]

16. There are fights over funding highway bridges every Congress.

It isn't the 60s & 70s when these things got thrown up right and left to spur suburban growth.

How long has it taken to agree on funding for the I-5 Columbia crossing? A decade?

NOT rebuilding this bridge should be an option. There are other freeways in Baltimore - and rail lines. Freight isn't going to be paralyzed without this circle freeway link.

[RobinA]

17. Pre-Key Bridge,

Baltimore was a major Northeast choke point for North/South through road travel. And that was in the '70's. We're talking people crawling through tunnels and traffic at a standstill well before the portals. I have a feeling that not replacing it will not be an option.

[maxsolomon]

18. No, not in America.

Freeways are a God-given right in this country.

But vehicle traffic WILL adapt until the replacement is available.

[Earth-shine]

20. What's a "freeway"? On the East coast, we have these roads called "highways" ...

on which we pay ever-increasing tolls.

The tolls are supposed to pay for things like repairing bridges and roads, but those funds are often taken into the larger government budget.

"Freeway" sounds so anti-capitalist.

[EleanorR]

19. Spending hawks? Are they really going to continue propping up this myth?

Republicans don't care about spending or deficits, unless of course there's a Democrat in the white house.