Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Sunday the federal government would provide more financial assistance to assist with the recovery after the deadly bridge collapse in Baltimore last week.
The Cabinet official made the comments on CBS News after the Transportation Department announced $60 million in “Emergency Relief” funds to help Maryland rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge, which was hit by a cargo ship.
“We’re using an authority called the Emergency Relief. This is through our Federal Highway Administration. That’s how we got those first 60 million out and there will be more where that came from,” Buttigieg said during an interview on “Face the Nation.”
“Now it is possible we may need to turn to Congress to supplement that fund. That has happened in the past, if you remember the 2007 bridge collapse in Minnesota, ultimately about $260 million put together, including funds that were put through Congress on a bipartisan basis,” Buttigieg said.
He added, “I hope and expect this too will be a bipartisan priority. It’s not just the right thing to do for the people of Baltimore. But really important, again, for our whole supply system to make sure that that port and that bridge are operating just the way they were supposed to.”
Although GOP hardliners have pushed for reining in federal spending, they appeared to be open to federal aid under the right conditions. But not everyone seemed happy after President Joe Biden said he wanted the federal government to cover the “entire” cost of the reconstruction project.
CBS News correspondent Ed O’Keefe asked Buttigieg what he would say to any “skeptical” lawmaker who might say they oppose providing federal taxpayer dollars to help repair the bridge.
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“The pitch is your district could be next,” Buttigieg said. “And also this has historically been bipartisan, and I’m not just reaching back to bygone eras. Remember, the infrastructure package itself — President Biden’s infrastructure plan went through on a bipartisan basis. A lot of people didn’t think that was possible when we got here in 2021.”
“But the president never gave up on the idea,” he added. “And sure enough, a lot of Republicans were willing to cross the aisle, work with President Biden, work with Democrats to get this done. If there’s anything left in this country that is more bipartisan than infrastructure, it should be emergency response. This is both and I hope that Congress will be willing if and when we turn to them.”