The Federal Government has a very important role to play.

Do we know whether any of the homeowners or storeowners implemented any of these changes and whether that helped reduce the damage in the last flood?

we need, obviously, to have a plan.

It makes a difference when you have a constituency that comes out and is supportive of your efforts. It makes a big difference because it makes you want to go out there and work even harder.

I'm so proud to represent Ellicott City in Congress. It is a beautiful, historic city and a thriving community that is not only a treasure for our State but a treasure for our entire Nation.

This is what democracy looks like. This is what it's all about: The idea that on a sunny August afternoon when you could be doing all kinds of other things, you are sitting here trying to make sure that we shape our destinies and that we…

Look, in my view, as a country and as a world, we should have been working much harder way back to try to put the brakes on the damages of climate change.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wake up every morning--as I know Senator Cardin and Senator Van Hollen do--thinking about how can we best serve our constituents and help them improve their lives.

there's local funding, there's State funding, and Senator Cardin said there's Federal funding.

I do believe, as my colleagues do, that the Federal Government needs to play a very important role in that.

You will not get a delegation that will work closer and harder with you all to get this resolved and soon, as soon as we can.

I think both Senator Cardin and Senator Van Hollen have said this.

When constituents come to you, make sure you do not promise results but promise best efforts, that you'll give it your best.

We have a delegation, right, fighting hard. Everybody's fighting hard.

It is indeed an honor to testify before the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the Senate's Committee on Environment and Public Works regarding the catastrophic flooding that has occurred in Ellicott City.

I guess--maybe it's because I spent 6 months in the hospital. I have a different view of life, and that is that we only have one life to live; this is no dress rehearsal, and we may be gone tomorrow. But while we're here, this is our watch.

We recognize that we do need structural improvement. And yes, that's very expensive.

We're going to take a look at all the Federal partnership programs we have under EPA and see how we can leverage that most effectively.