Bill Ferguson, the president of the Maryland Senate, said in an interview on Wednesday that he and other state lawmakers were drafting legislation to help the more than 15,000 people in the area whose income was threatened by the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
The legislative effort began as officials also wrestled with how to reopen the waterway, take care of affected workers and rebuild the crucial road that was destroyed early Tuesday.
“We’ve got to focus on rebuilding the bridge,” said Mr. Ferguson, a Democrat from Baltimore. “We’ve got to open up the channel, and we also have to support the workers that, as of Tuesday at 1:29 am, have this uncertainty about the future, their profession and their livelihood.”
Mr. Ferguson said it was apparent to him upon visiting the site of the disaster that many workers at the port would be without jobs for a long time.
“People are scared, understandably so,” he said. “They just don’t know what the future looks like.”
The proposed legislation, called the Maryland PORT Act, would provide financial support to affected workers and assistance to small businesses to keep workers employed. He said parliamentarians were working closely with Gov. Wes Moore’s administration and were rushing to advance the legislation before the end of the session on April 8.
Mr. Ferguson, who said lawmakers also needed to support the families of the six construction workers who were presumed dead, added that he was pressing for answers on how quickly the channel could be reopened.
“Nobody can remember the last time the port was forced to totally shut down,” he said. “I think the global supply chain impact is something that can’t be underestimated. Baltimore is the No. 1 port for cars and light trucks, for export and import. And so this is going to have a massive impact on that global trade supply line.”
After the collapse, Maryland scientists huddled in a command center to receive briefings about the bridge’s destruction.
Comptroller Brooke Lierman, who oversees the state’s finances, said she was particularly concerned about the effect on the state’s motor fuel supply. In addition, she said, the port’s workers earned about $2 million in wages per day.
“We’re evaluating the impact on our state’s revenues, what it will mean for business revenues, individual revenues, and what’s happening in our economy around this,” Ms. Lierman said.
The bridge is insured by the federal government, meaning federal officials will most likely have to pay for its rebuilding. On Tuesday, President Biden called on the federal government to pay for the “entire cost” of the bridge’s reconstruction.
Representative Kweisi Mfume, Democrat of Maryland, the area’s congressman, said he had talked to Mr. Biden, who “promised to move Heaven and Earth” to respond to the tragedy.
“There are 15,000 jobs tied to the port and the harbor,” Mr. Mfume said. “Those people are going to immediately cease from working, and until we’re able to clear the debris and open the channel again, which is going to take a while, there’s not going to be any work for them.”
Mr. Mfume, who grew up near the site of the crash, estimated the port would lose $15 million per day while it was shut down, and he said the bridge had “meant so much to the people.”
“It was an artery, a way to connect, a way to get to work, a way to get to school and to visit, and it just cut down on a tremendous commute that existed before that,” he said. “It’s been a part of that skyline for a long time, and emotionally, a lot of people have memories of what that bridge has meant to them.”
Tags: Baltimore Bridge Collapse Live Updates Efforts Clear Debris Reopen Port
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