Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11tv President Biden Remarks on Rebuilding Key Bridge Reopening Port of... CSPAN April 7, 2024 1:29am-1:50am EDT
1:31 am
>> good afternoon. the president, on behalf of 6.3 million marylanders, welcome back to baltimore. [applause] i want to thank the mayor, or county leaders, our federal delegation, marylanders from all walks of life. team maryland -- we are here together in partnership. today and every day, we are thinking of the six victims of the key bridge collapse and their families. they are in our hearts, our thoughts and in our prayers. [speaking spanish] 10 days ago, a piece of the
1:32 am
baltimore skyline and a piece of the baltimore spirit plunged into the river. but the people of maryland, we rallied. i tell you, mr. president, the city of baltimore is stronger today than ever before. [applause] 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 homicide to the lowest rates they have been in almost eight decades. [applause] baltimore came together to drive growth and, this year, we have one of the fastest growing economies in the nation. [applause] the hard-working people of baltimore have been training for
1:33 am
this moment. even if we did not know it. our unions, our first responders, our government leaders, our village elders, our business community, all of us have forged an uncommon bond and partnership is what we do here. partnership will help us to rebuild the bridge and win this moment. [applause] today, we launch a new partnership with leaders in the public and 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 this state. many have agreed to not lay off employees. [applause] many have agreed to return to
1:34 am
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. [applause] 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 nonprofit leaders to our entrepreneurs to our port workers. 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.
1:35 am
[applause] i know our state's largest city is being tested right now. but 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. [applause] and the people of maryland are grateful to have a full partner in this work, like president biden. [applause] i received my first call from the white house at around 3:00 a.m. on the day of the collapse. and every hour since, we have worked hand-in-hand with this administration. president biden might not be in maryland or by birth, but i tell you, he has proven what it means to be maryland tough and baltimore strong. [applause]
1:36 am
the president stood with us in the first 100 days of our administration to announce his 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. [applause] 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. [applause]
1:37 am
pres. biden: thank you, thank you, thank you. please, please, thank you. [applause] >> woo! woo! [applause] pres. biden: by the way, folks, i said to my dad, dad, you are mispronouncing baltimore. [laughter] please sit down. the biden family goes all the way back to being watermen in this bay in the mid-1800s. my father was born and raised here in baltimore. there is a strong, strong connection. i still have family in the region. governor moore, congressman, mayor scott, county executive
1:38 am
johnny o. -- i like that. to all the military members and first responders, most importantly to the people of maryland, i am here to say your nation has your back and i mean it. your nation has your back. [applause] you have without exaggeration one of the finest delegations in the congress of any state in the union and they know how to get this done and we will get this paid for. i was just briefed by the unified command about the outgoing impact of this tragic collapse of the francis scott key bridge last tuesday. the damage is devastating and our hearts are still breaking. 8 -- 8 -- construction workers went under the water when the bridge fell, six lost their lives. most were immigrants but all were marylanders. hard-working, strong and selfless.
1:39 am
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 that said we just poured cement, we are waiting for it to dry, he said. all of the families and loved ones who are grieving, i have come here to grieve with you. we all are. i know what it is like to lose a piece of your soul, to get that phone call in the middle of the night to see if any member is gone. i have been there. it is like having a black hole in your chest, like you are unable to breathe. the anger, the pain, the loss is so profound. we know it is hard to believe -- you will probably not believe me but i can tell you now from personal experience -- the day will come when the memory of your loved one you walk by a
1:40 am
park or a church or something you shared together will bring a smile to your face before a tear to your eye. it will take a while but i promise it will happen. that is when you know you can make it. our prayers for you is that time comes sooner rather than later. but it will come. do not forget the contributions these men made to the city. we will continue working hard to recover each of them. my vow is we will not rest, as carlos said, until the cement has dried and the entirety of a new bridge -- new bridge. [applause] we took a tour to survey the wreckage. from the air i saw a bridge that has been ripped apart. on the ground, i see a community that has been pulled together.
1:41 am
i want to think you all, first responders, port workers, officials springing into action before dawn. i think it was 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning, you were out here. within minutes of the collapse, the u.s. coast guard arrived on the scene. within hours, ordered personnel from the army corps of engineers to insist in any way possible. we stood up with unified command. in the weeks to come, i want you should know we will continue to have your back every step of the way, i guarantee you. i guarantee you. first is our priority to reopen the port. . it is one of the nation's largest shipping hubs and a top port in america with the importing and exporting of cars and trucks. simply put, the impact here has a significant impact everywhere, up and down the coast and around the country.
1:42 am
thousands of tons of steel remained lodged in the water, blocking ships into the harbor. i directed the coast guard and army corps of engineers, the finest engineers in the world, and state officials to work together to remove the steel as quickly and safely as possible. our team has been able to clear two small channels for essential ships, helping to clear the wreckage. yesterday the army corps announced by the end of april they will be able to open a third general. by the end of may, they will open a full channel. [applause] my task force on supply-chain disruption has been engaging with union, rail, trucking, shipping and state and local leaders to minimize the impact on our supply-chain.
1:43 am
the federal government will provide over $8 million in grant funds to make infrastructure improvements at sparrows point is the only port unaffected by this collapse to allow sparrows point to take on ships. second, we are focused on protecting the workers who have businesses. folks, 20,000 jobs depend on this port. 20,000 families depend on this port to buy groceries, make rent, pay their bills. my administration is announcing dislocated worker grants. to make sure it helps create jobs for workers involved in the cleanup of this incident, additional jobs. my small business administration has issued a disaster declaration which will allow the spa to offer low-interest loans to businesses affected by the collapse to keep things moving. the state, city, county are
1:44 am
stepping up in impressive ways to help workers who have been affected by this disaster. folks, we all need to step up. amazon, home depot, domino sugar and other companies rely on this port. they have committed to keep workers and businesses in baltimore and move as quickly and clearly as possible. [applause] i am calling on every company at and around the port to do the same exact thing -- commit. the customers who use this port, we are coming back. we are coming back soon. folks, finally, we are going to move heaven and earth to rebuild this bridge as rapidly as humanly possible. we will do so with union labor and american steel. [applause] for similar reasons.
1:45 am
they are the best workers in the world, that is not hyperbole. every day over 30,000 vehicles travel across this bridge. i was one of those people. i commuted every day from delaware for 36 years to dca back and forth and about 1/4 of that time by automobile. folks, you are facing a question no american should have to ask --how will i get to work? how will i go to school? how will i get to a hospital? everyone including congress should ask only one question and they will be asked by your delegation --how can we help? how can we solve that problem? i administration is committed to ensuring that the party responsible for this strategy pays to repair the damage and be held accountable to the fullest extent the law will allow. i also want to be clear, we will
1:46 am
support maryland and baltimore every step of the way to help you rebuild and maintain all business and commerce that is here now. [applause] as the governor can tell you, within hours of the maryland request, we approved $60 million of emergency federal funding. 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. [applause] as we have done in other parts of the country in similar circumstances. 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 i said, my great, great grandfather worked here in his day. this port is older than our republic, that has been through tough, tough times
1:47 am
before. through the war of 1812, a young verlander named francis scott key sat in a boat in this great harbor and he watched troops launch attack after attack on american forces. as the dawn broke, he saw the american flag still flying. baltimore was still standing. and our nation, as he wrote in the "star spangled banner," we had made into a perilous fight. congressmen, mayor scott, johnny o. and others will rebuild this bridge as fast as possible. we are the only nation who has gone through every crisis that we have had an come out stronger than we went in. we will do it here, as well. a perilous challenge.
1:48 am
because we are the united states of america, there is nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together. think about that. we are the united states of america. nothing is beyond our capacity. may god bless you all and may god protect our troops, first responders. thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause]
28 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CSPAN
Television Archive 
Television Archive News Search Service 
Uploaded by TV Archive on
