Will Congress pay for a new Baltimore bridge?

By Andres Picon | 03/27/2024 01:53 PM EDT

Lawmakers have called for massive amounts of money to rebuild the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge.

The collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Wednesday. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Following the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, President Joe Biden was quick to call on Congress to approve emergency funding to rebuild the critical thoroughfare.

Maryland lawmakers chimed in Tuesday and Wednesday, too, appealing for the federal government to swiftly provide the emergency money needed to replace the decades-old bridge after a massive container ship apparently lost power and rammed into a support structure.

But with Congress in recess through the end of next week and state and federal officials just getting started with their probes, there are open questions about where exactly the emergency funding would come from and how fast.

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It also remains unclear whether congressional leaders can muster the support required to approve the hundreds of millions of dollars or more needed.

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