LIVE: Biden Delivers Remarks on the Francis Scott Key Bridge and Reopening the Port of Baltimore 2024-04-05 19:22

Good afternoon, Mr. President, on behalf of 6.3 million Marylanders, welcome back to Baltimore. I want to thank the mayor, county leaders, our federal delegation, Marylanders from all walks of life, Team Maryland. We are here together in partnership, and today, and every day, we are thinking of the six victims of the Key Bridge Collapse and their families. They are in our hearts, they are in our thoughts, and they are in our prayers. Ten days ago, a piece of the Baltimore skyline and a piece of the Baltimore spirit plunged into the river, but the people of Maryland, we rallied, and I tell you, Mr. President, the city of Baltimore is stronger today than ever before, but our strength is not preordained. Marylanders have spent weeks, months, and years focusing on what unites us. Baltimore came together to improve public safety, and last year, we brought down homicides to the lowest rates that they have been in almost a decade. Baltimore came together to drive growth, and this year, we have one of the fastest-growing economies in the nation. The hard-working people of Baltimore have been training for this moment. Even if we didn't know it, our unions, our first responders, our government leaders, our village elders, our business community, all of us have forged uncommon bonds, and partnership is what we do here, and partnership will help us to rebuild the bridge and win this moment. Today, we launch a new partnership with leaders in the public and the private sectors. It is called the Maryland Tough Baltimore Strong Alliance. The alliance is made up of leaders who are doubling down on their commitment to the city and their commitment to this state. Many have agreed to not lay off employees. Many have agreed to return to Baltimore even if they need to move somewhere else temporarily, and all have agreed to help us build a better future. Foundations, businesses, sports teams, community champions have committed a combined $15 million thus far to support our workers and our neighbors in this moment. The alliance is over 50 members strong, and we are only getting stronger. Maryland is building a table that is large enough to include everybody, from our federal partners to our non-profit leaders to our entrepreneurs to our port workers. And this morning, I signed an executive order to provide $60 million in financial relief for workers and businesses that have been impacted by the Key Bridge Collapse. Now I know our state's largest city is being tested right now. Baltimore has been tested before. We get knocked down, we stand back up, and we dust ourselves off and we move forward. That is what we do. And the people of Maryland are grateful to have a full partner in this work like President Biden. I received my first call from the White House at around 3 a.m. on the day of the collapse. And every hour since, we've worked hand-in-hand with this administration. President Biden might not be a Marylander by birth, but I tell you, he's proven what it means to be Maryland tough and Baltimore strong. The President stood with us in the first 100 days of our administration to announce historic funding for the Frederick Douglass Tunnel. And he stands with us today to help the families clear the channel, lift our people, and rebuild this bridge. With the support of President Biden and his team, I know that Marylanders of this generation and the next will look up and once again, they will see the Francis Scott Key Bridge and they will see it standing tall. The state of Maryland is honored to welcome the President of the United States to one of the most important cities in the United States. Ladies and gentlemen, the 46th President of the United States of America, President Joe Biden. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Please, please, thank you. By the way, folks, I'd say to my dad, dad, they're mispronouncing Baltimore. My dad and the Biden, please sit down. The Biden family goes all the way back to being watermen in this bay for a long, long time, mid-1800s. My father was born and raised here in Baltimore. And we have strong, strong connections, still have family in the region as well. Governor Moore, Senator Cardin, Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Fummey, Mayor Scott, County Executive Johnny O. I like that, Johnny O, ho, ho. To all the military members and first responders, most importantly, the people of Maryland, I'm here to say your nation has your back and I mean it. Your nation has your back. You've got, without exaggeration, the finest delegations in the Congress of any state in the union, and they know how to get things done and we're going to get this paid for, aren't we? I was just briefed by the United Unified Command about the ongoing impact of this tragic collapse of Francis Scott Key Bridge last Tuesday. The damage is devastating and our hearts are still breaking. Eight, eight construction workers run to the water when the bridge fell. Six lost their lives. Most were immigrants, but all were Marylanders, hardworking, strong, and selfless. After pulling a night shift fixing potholes, they were on a break when the ship struck. Just seconds before, one of the men named Carlos, who was only 24, left a message for his girlfriend. Here's what it said. He just poured cement. We're waiting for it to dry, he said. Well, all the families and loved ones who are grieving, I've come here to grieve with you. We all are. It's not the same, but I know a little bit about what it's like to lose a piece of your soul. You get that phone call in the middle of the night and say, family members of God, I've been there. It's really like having a black hole in your chest, like you're being sucked in, unable to breathe. The anger, the pain, the depth of the loss is so profound. And we know it's hard to believe. You're probably not going to believe me, but I can tell you now from personal experience, the day is going to come when the memory of your loved one as you walk by that park or the church or something that you shared together is going to bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eye. It's going to happen. It's going to take a while, but I promise you it will happen. And that's when you know you're going to be able to make it. I promise you will come. My prayers for you is that time comes sooner rather than later. But it will come. Also, never forget the contribution these men made to this city. We're going to keep working hard to recover each of them. And, you know, my vow is that we will not rest, as Carlos said, until the cement has dried and the entirety of a new bridge, a new bridge. Earlier this afternoon, we took an aerial tour of survey of the wreckage. You know, from the air, I saw the bridge that's been ripped apart. But here on the ground, I see a community that's been pulled together. I want to thank you all, the first responders, the port workers, state and local officials, who sprang into action before dawn and have been here ever since. And we did talk, I think it was two or three in the morning. We were here. Within minutes of the collapse, the U.S. Coast Guard arrived on the scene. Within hours, I ordered personnel from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Navy, the Department of Transportation to assist in every way possible. Within a day, you stood up a unified command. In the weeks to come, I want you to know, we're going to continue to have you back. Every step of the way, I guarantee, I guarantee. First, but first is our priority to reopen the port. It's one of the nation's largest shipping hubs. And it's the top port in America, both in importing and exporting of cars. And, like, simply put, the impact here has a significant impact everywhere, up and down the coast and around the country. Thousands of tons of mangled steel remain lodged in the water, blocking ships from moving in and out of the harbor. I've directed the Coast Guard, the Navy, and the Army Corps of Engineers, who are, by the way, the finest engineers in the world, and state officials, to work together to help remove this steel as quickly as possible and as safely as possible. So far, our team has been able to clear two small channels for essential ships helping clear the wreckage. And yesterday, the Army Corps announced that by the end of April, they'll be able to open the third channel for some commercial traffic, including car carriers. And by the end of May, we'll open the full channel, the full channel. My task force on supply chain disruption has been able to engage with union, rail, trucking, shipping, state and local leaders to minimize the impact on our supply chains. And I'm proud to announce that the federal government will provide over $8 million in grant funds to make the infrastructure improvements at Sparrows Point as the only port unaffected by this collapse, which will allow Sparrows Point to take on more ships. And that's happening now. It will happen shortly. Second, we'll focus on protecting the workers and businesses. Folks, 20,000 jobs depend on this port. 20,000 families depend on this port to buy groceries, to make rent, to pay their bills. Today, my administration is announcing the first tranche of dislocated worker grants, Fancy Trade, which is dined with all that is there to make sure it helps create jobs for workers involved in the cleanup of this incident, additional jobs. My Small Business Administration has also issued a disaster declaration which will allow the SBA to offer low-interest loans to small businesses impacted by the collapse in order to keep things moving. The state, the city, the county are also stepping up impressive ways to help workers and businesses who have been affected by this disaster. But, folks, we all need to step up. Amazon, Home Depot, Domino's Sugar, many other companies all rely on this port. And they have committed to keep workers and payrolls on their- and their businesses in Baltimore and move as quickly and clearly as possible to the channel. Every company at and around the port to do the same thing, the same exact thing, commit to stay. And the customers who use this port, we're coming back. We're coming back soon. Folks, finally, we're going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible. And we're going to do so with union labor and American steel. Simple reason that the best workers in the world got hyperbole. Every day, over 30,000 vehicles travel across this bridge. And I was one of those people. I commuted every day from Delaware for 36 years to Washington, D.C., back and forth, and about one-fourth of that time by automobile. I've been to every part of this port. Folks, we now face a question no American should ever have to ask. How will I get to work? How will I go to school? How will I get to a hospital? Response and response. Everyone, including Congress, should be asking only one question, and they're going to be asked the question by your delegation. How can we help? How can we solve that problem? My administration is committed, absolutely committed, to ensuring that the parties responsible for this strategy pay to repair the damage and be held accountable to the fullest extent the law will allow. But I also want to be clear. We will support Maryland and Baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all the business and commerce that's here now. As the governor can tell you, within hours of American reporters in Maryland request to approve $60 million emergency federal funding. I fully intend, I fully intend, as the governor knows, to have the federal government cover the cost of building this entire bridge. All of it. All of it. As we've done in other parts of the country in similar circumstances. While I stand here, I call on Congress to authorize this effort as soon as possible. Let me close with this. This port is over 300 years old. As a matter of fact, as I said, my great-great-grandfather worked here as a waterman in this bay. This port is older than our republic and has been through tough, tough times before. During the War of 1812, a young Marylander named Francis Scott Key, to whom the bridge is named after, sat in a boat in this very harbor, and he watched the British troops launch an attack after attack on American forces. But as the dawn broke, we saw the American flag still flying. Baltimore was still standing, and our nation, as he wrote in the Star-Spangled Banner, had made it through a perilous fight. Folks, this is going to take time, but Governor Moore, Senator Cardin, Senator Manholland, Congressman Fummey, Mayor Scott, County Executive Johnny O. and others are going to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as possible. Folks, we're determined to come back even stronger. We're the only nation that's gone through every crisis that we've had. We've come out stronger than we went in, and we're going to do it here as well. And once more, to make this a perilous challenge. Perilous challenge. You know, because we're the United States of America, there's nothing, nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together. Think about that. Remember who we are. We're the United States of America. Nothing is beyond our capacity. May God bless you all, and may God protect our troops, our first responders, and all those who gave their soul. Thank you, thank you, thank you.