John Sarbanes: “H.R. 1 kicks off what I hope will be a wave of reform.”

I hope that today's hearing is the first step in continuing that legacy of strong bipartisan support for the Chesapeake Bay in this Congress.

They want to be on the field of their democracy. They want to feel like they have some power within their own democracy.

The health of the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed can only continue to improve through robust Federal, state, and local partnerships.

But these are dramatic changes that can bring us to a new place and, I think, have given many people a sense of hope instead of despair in the face of what we are seeing with a warming planet.