You need that national perspective because there are things that nature crosses State lines.

I like the concept that we have now, in effect, an early warning system, on the political side of this to check in at regular intervals to adjust and enforce and insist in ways that we could not do before with the way the plan was designed…

I have supported strongly the efforts to connect young people to nature across the country.

If you invest in the things that clean up Chesapeake Bay, you are also investing in things that create jobs.

The Bay does need to be cleaned up. It needs to be addressed nationally.

overwhelming support not only for cleaning up the waters of the rivers and streams of the Chesapeake Bay, but for paying for it.

No one is doing more nationally for any treasure of the kind like the Chesapeake Bay than Senator Cardin is.

There are critical areas of this country of great interest to the entire country.

Well, let me thank all three of our witnesses. I think this has been extremely helpful.

We have a direct interest here. We not only have humanitarian reasons to respond to the use of chemical weapons, we have a direct American interest in that region.

I would suggest that as you have come to Congress for this authorization, if circumstances change and there is time to come to Congress, you will have the opportunity to come back to Congress and seek our participation.

It is very clear, the type of conduct that President Assad has done in Syria, his actions have created a humanitarian crisis, and now he has escalated to the use of chemical weapons.

I would hope we would have stronger international participation.

Both of you have indicated your concern about American military involvement in Syria, that it could draw us into an internal conflict.

But looking at the 2011-2012 Bay barometer, which noticed improvement on the oxygen levels and the reduction of dead zones, it also points out that we have challenges to meeting the overall goals.

This has got to be done in a way the public will accept. Otherwise, we cannot sustain this.

We have enjoyed support not just from Virginia and Maryland and Delaware and the Nation's capital but also from the people of Pennsylvania and the people of New York and people of West Virginia who are in the watershed but do not see it…

We need to look at trends over a longer period of time, and that is why I think the Hopkins and the University of Maryland study is instructive in that regard.