The House Freedom Caucus is demanding that any federal funds allocated to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge be offset by cuts elsewhere and narrowly aimed at just structural repairs. They want to ensure that maximum liability is sought from foreign shipping companies and that the Port of Baltimore uses already available federal funds before additional taxpayer money is appropriated. They are also pushing for burdensome regulations to be waived and the Biden administration’s pause on LNG export permits to be lifted before any funding is considered.
The group is emphasizing the importance of ensuring that any funding for the bridge is strictly limited to physical structure repairs with a federal nexus and that it does not include unrelated projects. They are also calling for adherence to the ‘single subject’ rule to prevent the funding from becoming a pork-filled bill. The Freedom Caucus is urging House GOP leaders to push the Biden administration to lift the pause on LNG export permits to avoid any unnecessary delays and costs.
While it is unclear how much impact the Freedom Caucus’s opposition will have, early indications suggest that a funding package for the bridge is expected to receive wide bipartisan support in the House and Senate. The collapse of the bridge, caused by a Singapore-linked container ship losing power and ramming into the structure, resulted in the deaths of six construction workers. House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole anticipates that the funding package will come together in a matter of weeks and will likely need to address more than just reconstruction.
House Republicans are divided over President Biden’s pledge to have the federal government cover the entire cost of the reconstruction, which has been estimated to be as much as $2 billion. The funding package will need to address not only the rebuilding of the bridge but also potential damages related to the interruption of traffic at the port and the impact on workers who may be put out of work. The Freedom Caucus’s demand for offsets and their focus on just structural repairs may shape the final form of the funding package.
House Republicans who have spoken with Fox News Digital are split on whether the federal government should cover the entire cost of reconstructing the bridge. The funding package is expected to be more complex than usual due to the multiple factors that need to be considered, including the bridge itself, the interruption of port traffic, and the impact on workers. House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, who plays a central role in advancing the funding package, anticipates that it will address more than just the physical reconstruction of the bridge and may take several weeks to come together. The Freedom Caucus’s emphasis on offsets, liability from foreign shipping companies, and the lifting of regulatory pauses may influence the final shape of the funding package.
