John Sarbanes: “Thanks very much, Madam Chair. I want to thank the witnesses for being here today. I want to acknowledge, as others have…”

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.

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

This bill takes important steps to support the ongoing restoration of the Chesapeake Bay by reauthorizing NOAA's Chesapeake Bay Office and authorizing the agency's long-running Bay Watershed Education and Training, or B-WET Grant program.

Each of which--each of which--would hamper EPA's ability to regulate air pollution and, unfortunately, continues this Republican agenda of putting Big Oil interests over the interests of the public.