Thomas R. Carper: “I announced a couple of months ago that I am not going to run for re-election next year.”

Last year, the Environment and Public Works Committee held, I think, not one, but a couple of hearings on permitting, common theme at our hearings, on the importance of public engagement.

Public engagement can build trust, it can increase public buy-in, can help resolve issues, can help prevent litigation, and ultimately it can save time and money.

I hope is that the issues we just discussed... we can keep at it today and see if we can't find a way to yes.

Thank you for your passion, and I would ask that we spend the rest of this day dealing with this.