President Joe Biden reiterated in Baltimore on Friday that the federal government would support the town in its complete recovery from the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The government’s journey on Friday comes less than two days after the March 26 decline and about a fortnight after he visited East Palestine, Ohio, the page of the 2023 Norfolk Southern train disaster. The Biden White House faced harsh criticism for putting off travel to East Palestine for an entire season, where residents and local authorities are still dealing with the effects of the Norfolk Southern accident’s financial and possible health effects.
The president noted that his father was born and raised in Baltimore before describing his personal relationship with pain to the people of the gathered subjects in his opening remarks on Friday.
” I’m here to tell you that your country has your back, and I mean it. Your state has your back”, he stated. ” The injury is devastating. and our emotions are also breaking”.
We are not the same, but I do know a lot about losing something, Biden continued. The day is coming when the memory of your loved one as you stroll by that garden, church, or something else you shared will bring a smile to your teeth before it will bring a tear to your attention,” I can tell you then from personal experience. It’s going to occur. It’s going to take a while, but I promise you it does happen, and that’s where you know you’re gonna be able to create it”.
Before speaking, the senator received an underwater journey of the aircraft. The Dali, the Taiwanese container ship responsible for the collapse, is still on site with its full crew however ashore, as the investigation into the incident progresses.
Prior to the 2024 general election, Biden has made investments that are directly related to his financial communications, including the bipartisan infrastructure law, the American Rescue Plan, and the CHIPS and Science Act, and the president has pledged to support Baltimore for the duration of the gate rebuilding process.
He declared,” My oath is that we will never rest until the plaster has dried and the entire height of a new bridge has been raised.” ” We’re going to move heaven and earth to move as quickly as humanly possible, and we’re going to do so with American steel and coalition work,” he said.
Challenges remain, but, getting an support deal approved through the GOP- led House where the House Freedom Caucus Friday listed demands, including a , inversion of the government’s pause in liquefied natural gas exports, to secure funding for the repair of the bridge.
In the days immediately following the collision, the president previously visited Baltimore with several high-level administration officials, including Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman.
Biden and Governor joined Buttigieg. Friday is Wes Moore (D-MD)’s Friday operational briefing on the Army Corps of Engineers cleanup.
” I am particularly appreciative of the leadership of the President of the United States, President Biden, who from day one set us up in a way that worked seamlessly with state and local authorities, labor, and the private sector, all with the same objectives,” Buttigieg said on Friday, noting that” Baltimore will come back stronger than ever before.
Biden met with the families of the six people killed in the collapse after making his remarks.
During Thursday’s press briefing, White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre praised those workers, claiming they were “laboring, in the middle of the night, on a bridge that tens of thousands of travelers crossed every day.”
” The president, as he does, and he understands what it means for people to have loss, will be there for those families”, she added. ” Just like he’ll undoubtedly be there for the victims of that night.”
In order to prevent significant supply chain disruptions, the Biden administration is also addressing economic concerns in Baltimore and the Eastern seaboard. The Port of Baltimore is losing about$ 15 million for every day that normal operations are halted, with more than 20, 000 workers directly affected, despite the fact that the river is anticipated to be cleared by the end of the month.
In response to the collapse, the Department of Labor and senior White House officials, including Jeff Zients, have reached out to Amazon, Home Depot, Port of Baltimore operator, Port America, and other regional employers to demand that they refrain from cutting payrolls.
Working with ports and railroad operators to divert vessels and establish new service lines to move cargo along the coast, Biden’s supply chain task force is working with them. Baltimore businesses and operating recovery centers are also eligible for low-interest disaster loan assistance, thanks to the SBA.
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You can watch Biden’s remarks in full below.
