Republican claps back at President Biden’s ask for Congress to approve taxpayer dollars to fix the Baltimore bridge saying it’s ‘outrageous’ to put Americans on the hook

Republicans are beginning to oppose President Biden’s request for billions of taxpayer dollars to rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland.

Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican from neighboring Pennsylvania, said it was “outrageous” that President Biden said he plans for the federal government to pick up the cost of rebuilding the structure.

U.S. officials expect the reconstruction could cost more than $2 billion.

“It was immediately a little bit outrageous for Biden to express in this tragedy the idea that he’s going to use federal funds to pay for the whole thing,” Meuser said on Fox Business’ Mornings with Maria.

The Republican suggested that Biden take money from his electric vehicle spending to make up for the damage. The bipartisan infrastructure bill allocated about $7 billion for electric vehicle charging stations.

President Biden said at a news conference Tuesday that he plans for the federal government to cover the “full cost” of the bridge’s reconstruction and he expects Congress to continue that effort.

“(The port) handled a record amount of cargo last year … and we’re going to get it back up and running as quickly as possible,” Biden said. “I have instructed my team to move heaven and earth to reopen the port and rebuild the bridge as quickly as possible.”

Congress is currently on recess until mid-April and it is not clear whether both chambers can reach an agreement on a funding package.

When the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed over the Mississippi River in 2007, Congress provided $250 million, and it was repaired within a year.

The Francis Scott Key Bridge was a major access road between Washington and New York, carrying approximately 31,000 cars daily, 11.3 million vehicles per year. It collapsed early Tuesday morning after being hit by a cargo ship.

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said the recovery effort would start with the release of money from an emergency fund from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.

According to the Maryland Transit Authority, the Francis Scott Key Bridge cost $62 million to build in 1972.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said there are no immediate estimates of how much repairing the bridge would cost. He said the federal government has about $950 million in a contingency fund that could be used.

“We are committed to providing all the federal resources needed, all the federal resources needed to help Maryland get back to normal, and we are going to work with them every step of the way to rebuild this bridge.” It will not be easy,” he told reporters. “Rebuilding won’t be quick, easy or cheap, but we will get it done.”

Rumors have emerged that the bridge was a toll road that raised money for the state of Maryland, and thus should not be the federal government’s problem. Still others have complained about the bipartisan infrastructure package.

Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency Tuesday morning after the catastrophic collision around 1:30 a.m.

Divers have searched for six missing people and have so far found two bodies

The ship, the Singapore-flagged Dali, had been sailing for 20 minutes when it struck a support column on the bridge.

“We’re not spending it on roads and bridges,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., recently said of the $1.2 trillion bill. “The left applauds this enormous success, but it was mainly the Green New Deal.”

That bill included $110 billion to “repair our roads and bridges and support major, transformative projects,” the White House said.

“If you live along the coast or near water, you know our bridges are rusting, you know we have a lot of bridges that need to be replaced and improved,” Mace continued.