[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 32 (Tuesday, March 2, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H829-H830]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION REQUIRING POST OFFICE TO OBEY LOCAL LAND 
                                USE LAWS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, as somebody who has worked for years on 
helping communities find ways to promote livability, I am excited to 
see the attention that has been accorded lately to the livable 
communities movement.
  It is clear that we do not need a lot of new rules and regulations 
and mandates and stipulations to be able to make sure that we achieve 
that goal. It is indeed the simplest step for us to take for the 
Federal Government to just be a constructive partner with State, local 
governments and the private sector, working with them to make 
communities work better. One small but important step would be to have 
Federal agencies like the post office obey the same rules and 
regulations requirements that we require on homeowners and businesses.
  There are over 40,000 post offices all across America who are these 
little outposts that bring communities together, and there are 
opportunities from coast to coast, border to border to be able to 
promote livable communities by being constructive partners. 
Unfortunately, the post office has not always lived up to that ideal. 
Today, in the USA Today, there is an article about Tully, New York, and 
their struggle with the post office. Last week, it was Byron, 
California, and Discovery Bay.
  Now, I bring this forward not with any animosity toward the Postal 
Service. To the contrary. I think it is terrific that we can, for less 
than a dollar, send three handwritten letters all across the country, 
have them be delivered in a matter of days, that they are delivered by 
employees who give back to the community, who usually do not just give 
the postal service but they do so with a smile.
  It is a critical function that helps unite and bring people together. 
In fact, main street post offices are one of the anchors of small town 
America that add to the business district, that add to the flavor of 
those communities; and, in fact, that is why it is so important that 
the post office be a good citizen and a full partner for livability.
  That is why my legislation has been endorsed by the Trust for 
Historic Preservation, by main street associations representing small- 
and medium-sized businesses all across the country, why the National 
Governors Association is concerned about this, why the post office 
itself has recently declared a moratorium on closing and is 
readdressing its relationship with the community. They claim far fewer 
problems than in the past and that there is a new era under Postmaster 
Henderson.
  I have met with the Postmaster General. I am impressed with his 
commitment, but I think the best way to express this commitment is to 
stop fighting this legislation and get behind it, to make clear its 
support for a new era of partnership.
  Why should the post office be exempt from planning, zoning and 
building codes that homeowners and businesses in communities across the 
country

[[Page H830]]

must adhere to? Why, since the post office is such a critical part of 
our community, should the community not be as involved with potential 
relocation issues as they are in helping pick which version of the 
Elvis stamp we are going to have?
  I have discussed on the floor of this House in the past problems we 
have had in Leon County, Florida, where the Postal Service decided that 
it would not abide by the same groundwater environmental standards for 
runoff on their parking lot as other private businesses; or where in 
Ball Ground, Georgia, the Postal Service was not going to abide by a 
comprehensive plan to help metropolitan Atlanta deal with its critical 
environmental problems.

                              {time}  1045

  Well, after making, as it were, a Federal case out of it, the 
personal intervention, I think, of the Postmaster General, it looks 
like we are moving towards resolution in Leon County, Florida, and in 
metropolitan Georgia. But it should not have to be a major battle. It 
is time for the post office to stop fighting this legislation. It is 
time for the post office to institutionalize with us to make sure that 
the Postal Service is a full partner for the next millennium of livable 
communities in America.
  Mr. Speaker, this small step can lead the way for the Federal 
Government itself across the country to provide that sort of 
partnership for livability.

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