Van Hollen Praises Buttigieg And Biden For Response To Baltimore Bridge Collapse
During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) praised the Biden Administration for its response to the Baltimore bridge collapse.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Senator Van Hollen. Well, thank you. Thank you, Mr Chairman, Senator shots. And I know that we're working together on emergency relief to various forms of disaster. And I do want to start by thanking you, Mr Secretary and President Biden for your immediate and continued support for the city of Baltimore in the state of Maryland.
00:23 In the aftermath of the awful tragedy, the collapse of the key bridge, you were there that day. You called folks at three a.m. in the morning. And I do want to just thank you for being there time and time again and not just delivering important words of support, but delivering real help and results.
00:49 And that is true of you and the president United States. So thank you for that. This morning, we just heard news that we have recovered a fifth body. Six individuals lost their lives in that collapse. And as you know, our priority has been to support their families, and we continue to do so.
01:11 The other priority, and you've spoken to this eloquently, is opening the port of Baltimore fully on again. Thank you for all your efforts there. The Army Corps of Engineers has done amazing work. We already cleared 135 foot channel that allows 80% of the ports business to be restored on.
01:35 We were hoping by the end of this month to be able to clear the 50 foot channel and resume all operations at the port of Baltimore. And as you said, and the chairman recognized, this is a disaster that had national implications.
01:51 And that is why we also appreciate the fact that the president has said from day one that we will, we the federal government, will help Maryland and Baltimore in rebuilding the bridge and support 100% of the costs, recognizing that any funds recovered from lawsuits for wrongdoing will be recouped by federal taxpayers.
02:17 So I want to thank you and the president for working quickly to make sure that Maryland entered the emergency relief program, which covers 90% of the costs.
02:29 Also for your emergency help through immediate funds to deal with traffic mitigation.
02:37 But as you know, because we worked with you and the administration, Senator Card and I and our whole delegation on a bipartisan basis have introduced legislation to meet the president's pledge to provide 100% of funding in the wake of this disaster.
02:55 And I just want to get your understanding as to your full support for that, that legislation.
03:02 Thank you.
03:03 Yes, as you know, the president committed both in person and in public to making sure that the federal government fully supports the costs of rebuilding.
03:14 That means 100%.
03:15 And we welcome your leadership and that of Maryland delegation in working to get the statutory authorities that would be necessary to take us from that 90% to that 100%.
03:25 Thank you.
03:27 Let me just turn to, I want to touch on two other issues.
03:31 Well, before I go there, I do want to say to the chairman, you know, our hope, the hope of the Maryland delegation is to expedite the passage of that legislation just as soon as possible.
03:41 And if it, if it's not on the FAA bill, it's got to be the next, you know, matter of business and including some of the things the chairman and I have worked on.
03:53 So another issue that is immediately before us with respect to the FAA or these five additional slots that some members have pushed for, for DCA.
04:03 I just want to reaffirm what you stated the other day, which is you visited DCA.
04:09 You understand that that one runway is the hardest working runway in the national airspace.
04:17 You went on to say we would be concerned about the pressure that could be put on the system from those additional slots.
04:25 Mr. Secretary, are you still concerned today about the additional pressure that would put on?
04:30 Yes.
04:31 As I said the other day, we have to prioritize safety, obviously, in every decision that is made.
04:38 Which means that if there is any kind of condition where the tower is overburdened, the only alternative to allowing an unsafe condition, which the FAA will never do, is a likelihood of delays or some kind of flow process that could impact travelers.
04:59 Well, I appreciate that.
05:00 And we do, safety has to be paramount.
05:03 Most, a lot of the FAA bill is focused on safety.
05:06 So it would be unacceptable to have a bill designed to focus on safety that compromises safety at DCA.
05:15 Mr. Chairman, if I could just in closing, again, I want to thank the Secretary for all the work in rebuilding after the bridge collapse.
05:24 Thank you also for your work as we look to the future of Baltimore City, both with the red line, as well as our reconnecting communities in West Baltimore, which is the reason the reconnecting communities provision was in the infrastructure and modernization bills to deal with the highway to nowhere, which divided a black community in West Baltimore.
05:52 You've been there.
05:53 You've seen it yourself.
05:54 And so we just look forward to our continued work together on that.
05:57 Likewise.
05:57 Thank you.