Tom Carper

We want to maintain flexibility. But we also want to advance national priorities.

One of the other things my dad would say a lot to us is that my if sister and I would do some boneheaded stunt, my father would always say, just use some common sense.

All of us worked to enact the infrastructure law for the same reason: Because we know it will do so much to make life better for the American people.

This is a historic win for the American people in red States and blue States and throughout the United States.

I do want to thank him for actually introducing that and giving us that authority.

Finding the starting point is always the key to solutions.

Thank you so much. My thanks to you and Senator Lankford for hosting this hearing, calling this hearing, and for inviting our witnesses.

One of those Federal agencies that we get a lot of feedback on--you probably do, too, Madam Chair--is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which we underfund.

We actually do a survey on a regular basis, on a monthly basis, to see how we are doing with respect to serving people.

Everyday Americans still run into obstacles when interacting with agencies, and these obstacles are in part the result of workforce shortages.

As it turns out, for the last 21 years we have been doing this, my offices up and down the State, all taken together, they are evaluating these monthly surveys: 96 percent excellent or good in terms of feedback from the people we serve.

I think we are here--to serve people, serve the American people.

This will help us meet those goals for carbon emission reductions by 2025.

We came to this country in different boats but we're in the same boat now and our boat is in danger of sinking.

The SHORRE Act is certainly a really big step forward in that approach.

A special thanks goes to you, Senator Carper, and to you, Congresswoman Blunt Rochester, for your leadership and your support

We're here today, though, to talk about the impacts of sea level rise caused by climate change.

I think ensuring that the coast is the playground for America and not just the playground for the wealthy is a challenging thing.

I had asked my staff in Washington to give me an update just before we got to the end.

I call out three specific inclusions in the SHORRE Act that I'm particularly happy about.

We need to continue to equip this agency, the Army Corps, with the tools it needs to amply protect our Nation's coast.

40 percent of our Nation's population, that's about 130 million people, live in our coastal counties.

Mayor, thanks for your leadership in Slaughter Beach and thank you for extending that leadership well beyond Slaughter Beach and joining us today.

The SHORRE Act is a valuable tool in clarifying the Corps' mission, modernizing the Corps, and streamlining Corps interaction with the communities it serves.

We're delighted to be your partner in all of this and other issues as well.