Francis Scott Key Bridge

Floor Speech

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Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Mfume for organizing this very important and special tribute. It is a tribute, as you have already heard, to the six hardworking men who lost their lives during this collapse of the bridge on March 26. They got up that morning-- early, early in the morning--because they were out there in the middle of the night on this shift not knowing, obviously, what was going to happen. Their families could have no inkling of what was going to happen on that tragic day, but they were just out there doing their job.

I thank the gentleman, in particular, because in every setting now, every public statement he has made, he has led with concern and focus on those six workers that were lost. They were husbands, they were dads, brothers, friends, and our deepest condolences go out to their families who are feeling that incredibly profound loss.

This is also a tribute to the first responders who sprang into action, and, as a result, were able to save other lives on the day of that collapse, and they continue, these first responders, to search for the remaining bodies of those that were lost under very dangerous conditions because they want to reunite them with their families and their loved ones. They will be remembered as heroes, and they deserve today's tribute.

We also want to pay tribute to the response, the immediate response. Within minutes of this disaster, President Biden made clear that the Nation was going to step in and step up. He put his team, led by Secretary Buttigieg and others, on the task. In Baltimore, we could feel that embrace and that support right out of the gate.

This is a tribute to the executive branch response. It is a tribute to President Biden and his team. It is also a tribute to Governor Moore, who also stepped up that day, and, frankly, every day since, to show the solidarity of this response and this unified command.

We are going to push through this. Baltimore gets knocked down sometimes, but we always stand back up. That is the grit of Baltimore. In this case, we know we can't stand up by ourselves. We need President Biden, we need Governor Moore, and we need the United States Congress to be part of a national response for a national project to restore the channel and the Port of Baltimore, which is so critical to the economy of our city, our State, our region, and the Nation, and then, ultimately, as we know, to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

That is why we are here paying tribute in the way we are today. Again, I thank my colleague Congressman Mfume for organizing this opportunity for us today.

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