Biden vows to help Baltimore recover rapidly
By Bernd Debusmann Jr
US President Joe Biden vowed to “move heaven and earth” to help Baltimore recover from a deadly bridge collapse that blocked the city’s port.
He added the government will “help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that’s here now”.
Along with killing six workers, the collapse trapped a massive ship in one of the busiest ports on the East Coast, used by companies such as Amazon.
So far, $60m (£47.4m) has been earmarked for the clean-up effort.
The final cost of clearing the waterway and rebuilding the bridge is likely to be far higher, with some lawmakers estimating it could rise to hundreds of millions of dollars. One, Maryland Democrat David Trone, told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that he believes the cost could be as high as $1bn.
On Friday, Mr Biden re-iterated a previous commitment to help Baltimore fund the recovery process and rebuilding effort.
“I fully intend…that the federal government [will] cover the cost of building this entire bridge. All of it,” he said, calling on Congress to authorize funding “as soon as possible”.
