WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Kweisi Mfume (all D-Md.), released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) $101,980,000 settlement with the owner and operator of the Dali, the vessel that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The settlement, according to DOJ, will cover federal costs incurred to restore access to the Port of Baltimore.

“The catastrophic loss of the Francis Scott Key Bridge required a massive and coordinated response from all levels of government and the private sector. Those efforts removed about 50,000 tons of debris from the Patapsco River and cleared the shipping channel faster than anyone predicted. The initial settlement that the U.S. Justice Department reached for cleanup costs is an important step in holding accountable the owner and operator of the Dali, the ship that caused this disaster,” said the lawmakers. “The federal government has properly stepped up to underwrite urgent and essential needs with an expectation that the appropriate parties will be held financially responsible for their actions. Congress should now act quickly to pass the Baltimore BRIDGE Relief Act, which will ensure full federal backing of the bridge replacement costs, while the Justice Department, State of Maryland and other stakeholders keep up their work to reimburse the taxpayers to the fullest extent possible and provide justice for the families of those we lost.”

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