Francis Scott Key Bridge

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, late at night, a ship being guided by people working for the Port Authority of Baltimore lost control of a gigantic ship. Unable to propel it or guide it, they immediately called the Transportation Authority, as Mr. Harris pointed out. The good news, for we don't know how many people, but perhaps hundreds, was that the Transportation Authority acted quickly.

We had a tragedy in the loss of six lives working on that bridge to keep it in good and safe shape. Tragically, for them, that gigantic ship that had lost power and the ability to steer took down a significant portion of the Francis Scott Key Bridge and caused their deaths.

For that, we lament, and we send our thoughts to their families.

That was the immediate tragic effect, but the effect on this bridge and the sections of the bridge falling into the channel and precluding ingress and egress had international consequences, certainly consequences to the State of Maryland and certainly consequences to the United States of America.

This port is one of the busiest ports in America. As the previous speakers have said, it carries a variety of critically necessary products and creates a dynamic economy not only around the port itself and in Maryland but internationally.

I rise to join my colleagues. You might be surprised, Mr. Speaker, that this is bipartisan and nonpartisan in approach, but it is because, as Mr. Harris, again, said: This is not a partisan tragedy. This is a tragedy for those who lost their lives and for those who have lost their immediate economic means of support, whether they were owners, shippers, or longshoremen and others working for the port.

As a result, we in Maryland believe this is, as we would believe if it were another port that had been so damaged, a question that the entire country needs to address.

We have done that before. We did it when a Minnesota bridge fell on an interstate. We acted. We acted as a nation, 100 percent paying for that Minnesota repair. We hope and believe that the Congress will do the same.

We are pleased that, in a very short time after the accident occurred, President Biden said that is what the Nation would do and that is what he would recommend.

I congratulate our Governor, who has essentially set up a command center.

I think every American citizen would be extraordinarily proud not only of those people who acted within 1 minute to stop traffic upon hearing the danger from the ship itself, but also the Coast Guard.

The Army Corps of Engineers acted within literally hours of the accident, putting in the machinery to fix and open this port and to take care of the people who work for and are advantaged by the port.

They are on the job today. They will be on the job tonight. They will be on the job tomorrow morning.

Our secretary of transportation, who oversees the Port Authority, indicated to us just a few days ago when we had a hearing that they are hoping to open this port to 80 percent of the shipping that would use this port--not this big tanker; they need a deeper draft, but a 30- plus-foot draft--by the end of May.

That is government at its best.

I will close with this: In the press conference we had, the biggest tragedies in many instances bring out the best of government, the best of people in helping one another overcome that tragedy.

I thank the gentleman for taking out this Special Order. This happened in his district, but it affects 434 other districts, the Nation, and countless countries. Therefore, I thank him for his leadership, for his strong voice, and for galvanizing the Maryland delegation along with the Governor of our State, Governor Moore, to meet this challenge and make it better.

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