Good evening.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with congressional leaders today and addressed a joint session of Congress following a state dinner last night. Kishida told lawmakers that the world is at a “historic turning point” and needs the United States to continue playing its “pivotal” and “indispensable” role in global affairs.
“And yet, as we meet here today, I detect an undercurrent of self-doubt among some Americans about what your role in the world should be,” Kishida said, in what could be seen as a reference to Trumpian “America First” isolationism. The prime minister later told lawmakers that Japan would continue to stand with Ukraine and warned: “Ukraine of today may be East Asia of tomorrow.”
Here’s what else is happening.
Baltimore Bridge Disaster Could Wipe Out Federal Emergency Fund
The effort to rebuild Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge could overwhelm a key federal emergency fund that is already facing more requests for help than it can handle.
As The Washington Post’s Jacob Bogage reports, the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief fund currently contains about $890 million in reserves, but has a backlog of requests for repair projects around the country totaling $2.1 billion. Funds are distributed according to need rather than in the order the requests are received, and the bridge in Baltimore could rise to the top of the priority repair list — potentially wiping out the emergency fund at the same time.
Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, told the Post that Congress will need to act to boost the emergency fund. “We have to come to realization that it needs to be tripled, quadrupled, just to have that money ready so we’re not debating it while one of our key arteries is broken,” he said. “We have to be honest with ourselves. This fund always needs more money. It’s critical for people, for our economy, for safety.”
Quigley called for any legislation on the issue to be bipartisan, which could be a challenge with some House Republicans questioning the need for the federal government to provide new funding for infrastructure repair.
Getting the funds flowing: Maryland has already received $60 million in emergency funds in the immediate aftermath of the collapse of the bridge, which fell into the Patapsco River after being hit by a container ship on March 26, killing six people. The money has been used to handle traffic disruptions caused by the closure of a portion of I-695, known as the Baltimore Beltway. Local officials are expected to request upwards of $1 billion to pay for recovery and rebuilding, and some experts think the project could cost even more than that in the end.
Lawmakers from Maryland released a bill Thursday, dubbed the Baltimore BRIDGE Relief Act, that would guarantee that the federal government covers 100% of the cost of the bridge project — a level of support that President Joe Biden vowed to provide soon after the disaster occurred.
How the larger funding plays out could get complicated. With other states already waiting in line for help from the emergency fund — California alone has more than $700 million in unfunded needs for emergency repairs to federal highways — there may be pressure to find other sources of money.
Some Republicans have called for insurance companies to bear the weight of the rebuilding effort. While the White House has agreed that private insurers need to play a role in paying for the reconstruction, it could take years to reach a final settlement, most likely making federal participation a necessity. Some conservatives have also called for any new infrastructure spending to be offset with spending cuts elsewhere — an approach that is unlikely to pass muster with Democrats.
Other sources lawmakers could consider include funds that have already been allocated for infrastructure use. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, for example, created a grants program focused specifically on bridge repair, and according to the Post, Maryland could conceivably receive between $5 billion and $6 billion over two years from that program if officials opt to support the reconstruction project.
The bottom line: Led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, demolition experts are clearing the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, and officials say the main channel to the Port of Baltimore could be open by the end of May. Meanwhile, lawmakers will battle over who pays for the massive reconstruction project, and how.
Number of the Day: $84 Billion
President Biden’s new student debt relief plans are projected to cost $84 billion if enacted, according to the Penn Wharton Budget Model. That total includes about $58 billion from waiving accrued and capitalized interest and another $19 billion from eliminating debt for borrowers in repayment for 20 years or more (or 25 years with graduate student debt). It also would come on top of the estimated $475 billion price tag over 10 years for Biden’s earlier SAVE plan, for a total cost of roughly $559 billion.
The PWBM analysis also projects that the new Biden plans would provide debt relief for just over 17 million borrowers, or about 28 million borrowers once the earlier SAVE plan is factored in. The average debt relief from just the newly announced measures would come to about $4,900. The analysis points out that the Biden plan to eliminate debt for borrowers in repayment for more than 20 years (or 25 years for graduate debt) helps about 750,000 individuals in households that, on average, earn more than $310,000 a year — a point that critics are sure to highlight.
Chart of the Day: Drug Shortages Hit a New High
Drug shortages reached a new high as of the end of last year, according to data collected by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), a trade group, and the University of Utah Drug Information Service. The groups found 323 active shortages, the most since they began tracking in 2001. The previous high was 320 in 2014.
Fiscal News Roundup
- House Leadership Eyes FISA Plan B After Failed Floor Vote – The Hill
- Maryland Members of Congress Unveil Bill to Fund Baltimore Bridge Reconstruction – CBS News
- Senate Investigation Shows Scam Victims Being Taxed on Their Stolen Funds – Washington Post
- Wholesale Prices Rose 0.2% in March, Less Than Expected – CNBC
- Hundreds of Drugs Are in Short Supply Around the U.S., Pharmacists Warn – CBS News
- Global Stockpile of Cholera Vaccine Is Gone as Outbreaks Spread – New York Times
- US Air Force Issues $409 Million Award for Long-Sought Pacific Airfield – Defense News
- Newsom Requests Federal Disaster Funds as Chinook Salmon Season Faces Likely Closure – The Hill
- Computer Theorist Wins $1 Million Turing Award – New York Times
Views and Analysis
- High Interest Rates, Rising Inflation: The Economy Still Isn’t Normal – Rachel Siegel, Washington Post
- Soft Landing or No Landing? Fed’s Economic Picture Gets Complicated – Jeanna Smialek, New York Times
- Why Inflation Is Biden’s Most Stubborn Political Problem – Andrew Restuccia and Sam Goldfarb, Wall Street Journal
- The Fed Might Not Be Done Raising Interest Rates Just Yet – Elisabeth Buchwald and Bryan Mena, CNN
- Fed Rate Cuts Are Now a Matter of If, Not Just When – Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal
- Trump Intensifies His Grip on Congressional GOP Agenda – Burgess Everett, Politico
- Republicans Are Fleeing the Stench of a Rotten Congress – Frank Bruni, New York Times
- How Donald Trump Could Ride to Mike Johnson's Rescue – Rachael Bade, Politico
- Trump Can’t Fix What Bothers Conservatives About the Bureaucracy – Megan McArdle, Washington Post
- Many Patients Don’t Survive End-Stage Poverty – Lindsay Ryan, New York Times