Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) called for more fiscal responsibility amid the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.
Carter appeared on Sunday Morning Futures after crews removed the first piece of the collapsed bridge from the Patapsco River on Saturday in an effort to reopen the port there. It remains to be seen how much it will cost to repair the bridge.
“Yes, it needs to be fixed immediately. There’s no question about that. It’s going to be a big impact on our economy,” Carter said. “However, when we get into this, we need to look at a number of different things. First of all, what’s the responsibility of the shipping company? What’s the responsibility of the insurance company? And what about funds that are already out there, particularly in the infrastructure bill?”
His comments were a reference to the $1.2 trillion bill passed in 2021. It included funding for roads, bridges, broadband expansion, green energy initiatives, and water projects, among other things.
“Can they be diverted and used for this instead of using new money?” Carter suggested. “I’m on the Budget Committee, and I’ll tell you it’s situations like this why we should be fiscally responsible. Emergency situations where we are going to need money, that’s why we should be fiscally responsible.”
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President Joe Biden has committed to funding the bridge’s reconstruction, but that could be a long road in a divided Congress during an election year.
There is no timeline for how long it will take for the bridge to be repaired, but experts say it could take years and cost millions.
