[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 25, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1826-S1828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Francis Scott Key Bridge

  Ms. ALSOBROOKS. Mr. President, at 1:28 a.m. on March 26, 2024--a year 
ago tonight--a tragedy struck Maryland. A container ship crashed into 
the Francis Scott Key Bridge. While many were asleep, the Key Bridge 
collapsed into the icy waters.
  Although struck with fear and shock, Team Maryland didn't hesitate. 
We jumped into action right away and got to work.
  We have this phrase--``Team Maryland''--that we have been saying for 
years, but it is true. We work as a team, one of the strongest teams in 
the country--a coordinated effort between our Federal delegation, our 
Governor, and our county executives and mayors on the local level. It 
is true in good times, it is true when we face adversity, and it was 
never truer than we saw 1 year ago today.
  Governor Moore and Mayor Scott raced to the bridge. Our Federal 
delegation immediately started asking questions, pushing for funding to 
rebuild. County executives across the State, like me at the time, sent 
our resources and our first responders to help with rescue efforts. We 
are so grateful we had a President and administration willing to help.
  Team Maryland is just that--a team. We have always been, and we 
always will be. That is how you get through moments of crisis--
together. And we have stayed as a team every day since the collapse of 
the bridge, working together in coordination to ensure we can rebuild.
  Our teamwork in the face of a crisis is proof of how your government 
should work for you: jumping into action when tragedy strikes, asking 
questions, demanding answers, and rebuilding--doing what needs to be 
done on behalf of the people.
  Team Maryland responded quickly and capably, but we lost a lot that 
morning, none more priceless than the six lives that perished: Maynor 
Yassir Suazo Sandoval, Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, Jose Mynor Lopez, 
Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, and 
Carlos Daniel Hernandez. They are irreplaceable. Their names are 
forever remembered--six hard-working men devoted to their community, 
beloved by their families, and forever Marylanders in our hearts.
  Maynor was a father of a 5-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son. 
He moved from Honduras to America in search of a better life for his 
family, a life that included working through the nights to repair our 
infrastructure--all in the name of building a better life for his wife 
and two children.
  Maynor had dreams of one day owning a small business. He would say: 
You had to triple your efforts to get ahead.
  He said: It didn't matter what time or where the job was; you had to 
be where the work was.
  Maynor's outlook reminds me of my own father, who worked as a 
newspaper deliveryman and a car salesman. I once went to work with my 
dad on a very early morning, delivering newspapers.
  He said to me: You know, I hop up and down on this dirty truck every 
morning so you don't have to.
  Just like my own father, Maynor worked day in and day out, hard and 
long hours, to build a better life for his family.
  Miguel was a Marylander for more than 19 years. He made such an 
impact on his State and community. A husband to Maria and a father of 
three, Miguel was known for his kind and hard-working spirit.
  Miguel and Maria had a food truck in Glen Burnie. Just days before 
Miguel's tragic death, he brought Maria, his wife, to a storefront they 
soon planned to rent to continue to build their business. His coworkers 
remember him fondly as always wanting to share his food with them.
  Jose moved to the United States from Guatemala over two decades ago. 
His life surrounded his family--his wife Isabel and his children.
  Alejandro was a man of faith, just like me and so many others in this 
Chamber. He was active in his church and devoted to his loving family. 
A father of four, Alejandro was a big personality. Some even described 
him as a ``fireball.''
  Dorlian moved from Guatemala to the United States to pursue his 
dreams and to help his mother. He was only 26 years old.
  Carlos came from Mexico, seeking a better life, and was willing to 
work hard for it. He was only 24 years old--taken from us far too soon.
  Six individual lives, connected to their coworkers through service, 
connected to their families through love, connected to our community 
through their work to make our infrastructure stronger--1 year later, 
we remember their loss. They are greatly missed. One year later, their 
families and communities are still grieving. May we continue to pray 
for their strength and peace.
  We also remember the two men, including Julio Adrian Cervantes 
Suarez, who miraculously survived the devastating collapse.
  As Julio was falling into the Patapsco River, he prayed to God, 
giving thanks, asking for protection over his wife and family and 
asking for forgiveness. Determined to survive, he was able to hang onto 
a piece of the bridge to stay afloat. He immediately started calling 
for his coworkers, including his brother-in-law and his 18-year-old 
nephew, who, unfortunately, lost their lives.
  Thanks to a light on his work helmet, which he was still wearing in 
the water, search boats were able to rescue him. Today, he continues to 
keep the memories of his coworkers and friends alive.
  These men were essential workers, working the dangerous jobs that 
build and strengthen our State's infrastructure. It is in their loving 
memory that we dedicate our own efforts to rebuilding the Key Bridge.
  When the bridge collapsed on that early morning, people across the 
globe immediately predicted our economy would crash. One of the world's 
biggest ports was instantly shut off to traffic, and we would be 
challenged to recover. But Team Maryland proved them wrong. We were 
quickly and efficiently able to perform a controlled demolition in May. 
By June, we reopened the Fort McHenry Federal Channel and the Port of 
Baltimore, and last month, we revealed the design for the new Key 
Bridge--the State's first cable-style bridge--which will stand 40 feet 
taller than the original bridge and is set to open as soon as fall 
2028.
  Some may doubt our ability to rebuild. Team Maryland will prove them 
wrong again.
  Now, we still have a lot of work to do to get to fall 2028, but we 
are in this together on every level. Here in the Senate, I will use my 
position as ranking member of the Environment and Public

[[Page S1827]]

Works' Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee to ensure that 
the funding is implemented as intended.
  Thanks to the leadership of Senator Cardin, Senator Van Hollen, and 
our entire Maryland delegation, the Baltimore BRIDGE Relief Act was 
included in last year's continuing resolution and ensured Congress is 
now committed to covering the full cost of replacing the bridge. The 
Baltimore BRIDGE Relief Act promises that Federal taxpayers will be 
reimbursed through proceeds from insurance payments and litigation 
taken on by the Department of Justice, the Maryland attorney general, 
and others. It also includes critical funding for the Federal Highway 
Administration Emergency Relief Fund to provide this project and others 
around the country with the resources they need. This is the Federal 
Government working effectively for our State in a time of disaster, as 
it should.
  Team Maryland won't stop fighting for our State. I am proud of what 
we have accomplished and am proud of what we will continue to do. We 
will rebuild, and we won't rest until it is done. We won't rest because 
we are doing it all for Maryland--for the six Marylanders who lost 
their lives that day, the brave Marylanders who dove into the frigid 
water during the rescue operation, the strong Marylanders whose 
businesses and livelihoods were impacted by the collapse, the 
Marylanders who depend on our port for resources, the Marylanders who 
count on our infrastructure to stand tall.
  When it is completed, we will serve as an example to the Nation and 
the world of what teamwork and togetherness can achieve.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Maryland.
  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. President, I rise to join my Senate colleague 
Senator Alsobrooks to talk about the 1-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, and four of them were fathers. I, too, would 
like to read their names into the Record on this solemn anniversary eve 
of their passing away: Alejandro Hernandez Fuentes was 35 years old. 
Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera was 26 years old. Maynor Yassir Suazo 
Sandoval was 38 years old. Carlos Daniel Hernandez Estrella was 24 
years old. Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez was 49 years old, and Jose Mynor 
Lopez was 37 years old.
  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 1 year 
does not take away any of the pain or the 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.
  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 is the second 
busiest for automobiles and light trucks. 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 will 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 Garry Kirts. 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 
to early morning hours, to a call from my team. 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 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 U.S. 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.
  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 20 of last year, the ship was finally floated away 
from the site, and on June 12--just 78 days after the bridge 
collapsed--the Port of Baltimore was fully reopened, which is a 
testament to the unified efforts of Federal, State, and local partners.
  I would like to thank COL 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.''
  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, with any government litigation 
regarding the bridge, the proceeds from that, as well as insurance 
proceeds stemming from the collapse, would go directly to the costs of 
replacing the bridge.
  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 monthslong effort and an all-
hands-on-deck mission. We worked with colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle, and that bill finally passed in December of last year. Included 
in that legislation was an increase in funding for the national 
emergency relief fund.

[[Page S1828]]

  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. 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 to 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 U.S. 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. 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 have gotten the necessary permits to 
proceed. We must continue to work to rebuild not just the bridge itself 
but to rebuild all that was lost that day. And the way we do it is by 
being united.
  That is the message that I just want to close on, which is that 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 U.S. 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.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Lummis). The Senator from Michigan.