President Joe Biden’s biggest Republican foes in the House are not outright rejecting his request for federal relief as he travels to Baltimore on Friday to inspect the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse — but it won’t come for free, they say.
The House Freedom Caucus released its position on whether federal funding should be made available for reconstructing the bridge, which fell down after a cargo ship crashed into it last week. The group said its members would require a series of concessions, including the cost being fully offset and, most notably, a reversal of the president’s pause in liquefied natural gas exports.
“Before Congress considers any emergency supplemental funding for the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, it’s important that (1) we first seek maximum liability from the foreign shipping companies upfront and (2) the Port of Baltimore draws upon already available federal funds,” the group said in a statement articulating its position.
In their statement, the hard-line Republicans demanded that “burdensome regulations” such as the National Environmental Policy Act or the Endangered Species Act be waived in order to “avoid all unnecessary delays and costs.”
The group is also adamant that the funding is limited to only physical structural repairs rather than a “pork-filled bill loaded with unrelated projects.” As such, the group is pushing to follow the “single-subject rule,” which would require requests to be made individually.
The Freedom Caucus is also echoing Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) attempts to use the LNG pause as leverage in congressional negotiations.
Biden, who is under pressure to address the effects of climate change, has justified the pause as allowing the administration to evaluate the effects on the climate and environment of exporting such a “sizable” amount of gas. It also permits the administration to consider the economic and national security effects of new LNG export facilities.
Republicans have decried the decision, with Johnson floating a reversal of the policy as a deal sweetener for the approval of further Ukraine aid. Now, hard-line Republicans are seeking to use it as leverage in funding talks over bridge collapse as well.
The recent statement comes as Biden is set to visit the site of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Friday, when he is expected to call on Congress “to join us in demonstrating our commitment to aid in recovery efforts by authorizing a 100 percent Federal cost share for rebuilding the bridge,” according to a letter White House Budget Director Shalanda Young wrote to Congress. Such a request would be consistent with previous authorizations to clean up bridge collapses, including in 2007, when Congress approved funds for the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota, she said.
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“As the Administration pursues its work to clean up wreckage, clear the channel, and rebuild the bridge, all avenues to recover the costs of past, current, and future work will continue to be pursued and the Administration will ensure that any compensation for damages or insurance proceeds collected will reduce costs for the American people,” Young wrote.
The debate over funding for the bridge is expected to pick up in earnest when Congress returns from recess next week.
