Statement of Commissioner Carl W. Bentzel on Letter to President Biden on Suggested Relief for Impacted Workers and Companies Due to the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse

Today, I sent a letter to President Biden thanking him for his quick response to the tragic Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore.

During the pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, commonly referred to as the CARES Act. Section 4112 of that legislation authorized and provided funding to the U.S. Department of the Treasury to make payments to workforces devastated by the massive economic swings during the pandemic. In particular, passenger air carriers, cargo air carriers, and certain contractors benefitted from the continuation of payment of employee wages, salaries, and benefits this statute provided. Collectively and over the course of the pandemic, in excess of $66 billion dollars was provided to the aviation industry between 2020 to 2022.

In the wake of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, there are local companies and workers suffering from an economic upheaval. The CARES Act can serve as a model for providing relief to impacted workers and industries.

The maritime industry never stopped working during the pandemic. While other service industries, such as aviation, were forced to stay home during the height of the pandemic, it was maritime and intermodal services that kept delivering what turned out to be record setting cargo volumes.

Now members of the maritime industry and community need relief. Thousands of employees in the Baltimore region are directly or indirectly reliant on the port for their livelihood. We should support them in their period of need to the same level as we did other transportation workers during the pandemic.

Carl W. Bentzel is a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. The thoughts and comments expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Commission.