John Sarbanes: “I appreciate you holding the hearing. I also want to thank Chairman Pallone for his leadership.”

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

Congress gave EPA this role more than 50 years ago under the Clean Air Act and reaffirmed that responsibility in 2005 under the Energy Policy Act.

Without the strong and continued investment the EPA has requested for the Chesapeake Bay Program in fiscal year 2024, the risk is we could jeopardize decades of work in collaboration towards the Bay's restoration.

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.