VIDEO/TRANSCRIPT: Van Hollen Speaks on Senate Floor Marking One Year Since the Collapse of the Key Bridge

 

Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) spoke on the Senate floor in advance of tomorrow’s one-year mark since the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore.

Video of Senator Van Hollen’s remarks can be viewed here, and a transcript is below:

Mr. President, I rise to join my Senate colleague, Senator Alsobrooks, to talk about the one-year anniversary of the collapse of the Key Bridge in Baltimore. We speak today on the Floor on the eve of that solemn anniversary. And we remember those who died that day.

We probably all remember, at least all of us in Maryland, where we were when we learned that the Key Bridge had collapsed. It was a local, national, and in fact, international tragedy. It echoed around the world, and its impact was felt far from Maryland’s shores.

First and foremost, it was a human tragedy for the six Baltimore construction workers who were working the overnight shift that day. As my Senate colleague, Senator Alsobrooks has said, each of them had loved ones who depended on them. Four of them were fathers. And I, too, would like to read their names into the record on the solemn anniversary-eve of their passing away: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, who was 35 years old. Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, 26 years old. Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, 38 years old. Carlos Daniel Hernández Estrella, 24 years old. Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49 years old. And José Mynor López, 37 years old.

Mr. President, these six men came to Maryland in search of better lives, and they made our state, and indeed our country, a better place. Their tragic deaths came as they quietly worked on the overnight shift to maintain the bridge that millions of people depended on. We know that one year does not take away any of the pain or grief of their families or their loved ones. We know that this anniversary can be an especially difficult time, bringing up the most painful memories. And today we grieve with them.

Mr. President, the Key Bridge collapse also disrupted the lives and the livelihoods of countless Marylanders. For 47 years, the Key Bridge was an indelible part of the Baltimore City skyline and a vital part of our lives. More than 34,000 travelers crossed that bridge each day. It was the gateway to the Port of Baltimore, which welcomes 1,800 ships every year and supports 20,000 direct jobs, including 2,400 union longshoremen, as well as 24,000 jobs spurred by local purchases, and then an additional 7,200 indirect jobs. So, you can see its huge economic impact. In fact, it generates $70 billion annually of economic revenue for the city.

The Port of Baltimore is the busiest in the nation for farm and construction machinery and imported forest products, and the second busiest for automobiles and light trucks. And when the bridge collapsed that morning, the debris blocked the channel to the Port of Baltimore, putting 8,000 individuals temporarily out of work and halting the flow of trade for millions of Americans.

But as the bridge came apart, we came together – and out of this tragedy came unity of purpose and unity of action. We’ll remember the first responders, including the three Maryland Transportation Authority officers, who were on site and quickly acted to stop additional traffic from going onto the bridge, preventing further tragic loss of life. Sergeant Paul Pastorek, Corporal Jeremy Herbert, and Officer Gary Kurtz. Those officers and all of the first responders on scene that morning deserve our thanks and enduring gratitude for preventing more loss of life and rescuing the two workers who did survive the crash that day.

After the bridge fell, I woke up sometime in the middle of the night, the early morning hours, to a call from my team, and immediately everybody sprang into action. First of all, President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg quickly reached out to the Maryland Congressional Delegation. At that time, Senator Cardin, and also Congressman Mfume, and at the state level, to Governor Moore and Mayor Scott, and our state and local partners, all of whom quickly rallied to the site of the bridge collapse, to both get briefed on what happened and to plot the early stages of the way forward.

Federal, state, and local agencies established what was called the “Unified Command,” led by the United States Coast Guard, to manage the scene and begin the recovery effort. The Maryland State Police worked to recover the bodies of the six workers from the depths below the river. We were grateful for their quick and their careful work.

Mr. President, today is Maryland Day, and I want to commend our first responders for embodying the very best of our state.

Following the recovery efforts, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led the charge at the Unified Command to clear the debris from that channel. They deployed precision explosives to remove a large section of the bridge from the top of the Dali, the Dali was the ship that crashed into the bridge, and they coordinated the response across agencies. On May 20th last year, the ship was finally floated away from the site, and on June 12th, just 78 days after the bridge collapse, the Port of Baltimore was fully reopened – a testament to the unified efforts of federal, state, and local partners.

Mr. President, I would like to thank Colonel Estee Pinchasin, who was the Army Corps of Engineers person in command of the effort to clear the debris from under the bridge, for her leadership as commander of the Baltimore District at the time. As the Colonel noted when we all spoke about reopening the Port of Baltimore, “It is not a hope. It is a plan.” And as the Army Corps and others cleared the channel, Federal Team Maryland worked to secure the resources that Baltimore City and our state would need to rebuild the bridge.

Senator Cardin, Congressman Mfume, and I worked to coordinate the federal response. And we quickly secured the Biden administration's approval of Baltimore's eligibility to receive emergency highway funding to aid in the recovery effort. That was a critical first step. We then introduced the bipartisan Baltimore Bridge Relief Act, legislation to ensure 100 percent federal funding for the bridge replacement with bipartisan support and the entire Maryland delegation. We also ensured that any government litigation regarding the bridge, that the proceeds from that, as well as insurance proceeds stemming from the collapse, would go directly to the costs of replacing the bridge.

Mr. President, this bridge merited the 100 percent federal match because of the scale of the disaster and the precedent that we have applied to similar disasters of that scale. It was not simply a Baltimore City tragedy. It did have economic consequences across our region and indeed rippled across the nation. But securing those funds required a months-long effort and an all-hands-on-deck mission. And we worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle. And that bill finally passed in December of last year. And included in that legislation was an increase in funding for the National Emergency Relief Fund.

Mr. President, I want to thank a number of our colleagues who worked with us hand in hand to secure those funds at this moment of tragedy for Baltimore and the country. I want to thank Senator Capito and former Senator Carper, of the Environment and Public Works Committee, and I want to thank Senators Collins and Murray of the Appropriations Committee, as well as their staffs and our other colleagues. I appreciate all of those who came to visit the site of the bridge collapse and learn of our needs and what would be required to rebuild.

At the end of the day, passing this bill was not just about the funding. It was about keeping the promise that our government made to Baltimore and upholding a deeper national tradition that lies at the foundation of our union. That when one huge disaster strikes any one state, the rest of us assist and come to their help. No one has to go it alone.

I also want to thank my former partner in the United States Senate, Ben Cardin, for all his work in this endeavor, and our Governor, who worked so hard here on Capitol Hill to help make the case. And I also want to thank my new partner in the Senate, Senator Alsobrooks, as she takes up the baton and makes sure that we move full speed ahead.

Because of the federal funds we've gotten the necessary permits to proceed, and we must continue the work to rebuild not just the bridge itself, but to rebuild all that was lost that day. And the way we did it was by being united. And that is the message that I just want to close on, which is out of this terrible tragedy that happened in Baltimore City, first of all, people came together to comfort the families who lost loved ones. People came to support our first responders. People worked together to clear the channel of debris so the Port of Baltimore could reopen. And colleagues here in the United States Senate and those in the House of Representatives rallied to help Maryland in its time of need.

So, I thank my colleagues for their efforts, and I thank everybody across America who helped Baltimore City and the state of Maryland at that moment of tragedy. As I say, out of that horrible moment came a ray of hope and unity that has helped us get to this point. Thank you, Madam President, and I yield the floor.