Lawmakers in Maryland are preparing an “emergency bill” to provide income replacement for workers affected by the partial bridge collapse in Baltimore early Tuesday morning.
On X, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson said he is working with state Del. Luke Clippinger, a fellow Democrat hailing from Baltimore County, and others from the area to draft the legislation.
“Over 15,000 in the Balt region rely on daily operations at Port of Baltimore to put food on the table,” Ferguson said. “Today, with [Clippinger] and colleagues representing Port, we are drafting an emergency bill to provide for income replacement for workers impacted by this travesty.”
The incident involved a container ship named Dali ramming into the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing the bridge to break apart. Six people, identified as construction workers who were filling potholes on the bridge, are presumed dead,
With the bridge in shambles, the Port of Baltimore has been closed “until further notice,” leading experts to tell Business Insider the closure may obstruct $15 million in daily economic activity.
“The human cost of lives lost yesterday is overwhelming and tragic. The economic and stability loss to the thousands impacted in the days ahead cannot be understated,” Ferguson said.
“Yesterday I spent hours talking to labor leaders, dock workers, small business owners, and large port industry leaders who all had the exact same message: ‘We must unlock the channel to the Port of Baltimore.’ They’re right. And until we do, there is enormous cost to families,” he added.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which is tasked with determining the probable causes of transportation accidents and issuing safety recommendations, is investigating the collapse.
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President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he wants the federal government to cover costs to rebuild the bridge that stretched over the Patapsco River and was used by roughly 30,000 vehicles a day.
“It is my intention that the federal government will pay for the entire cost of reconstructing that bridge, and I expect Congress to support my effort,” Biden said.
“This is going to take some time, and the people of Baltimore can count on us though to stick with them at every step of the way until the port is reopened and the bridge is rebuilt,” he added.
Biden also said he has “directed [his] team to move heaven and earth to open the port and rebuild the bridge as soon as humanly possible.”
Maryland Governor Wes Moore, a Democrat, said on Wednesday the state flag has been lowered to half staff in recognition of the bridge incident.
“The hearts of every Marylander are with the families of those affected by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” he said on X. “We have spoken to the families, prayed with them, and assured them that our state will mobilize every resource to bring them closure.”
