Thomas R. Carper: “I am going to ask you to hold it right there. I have just been contacted by the Senate Finance Committee.”

You and our colleagues have heard me invoke in this room more times than I can count the Golden Rule: Treat other people the way I want to be treated.

Not really. I have just come from the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, which is having a hearing on the Key Bridge, the bridge in Baltimore that was badly damaged.

People ask me what I am proudest of in my life, and I always say, raising three boys, with a big assist from their mom.

Public engagement can build trust, it can increase public buy-in, can help resolve issues, can help prevent litigation, and ultimately it can save time and money.