[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 29, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H4997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    MAKING COMMUNITIES MORE LIVABLE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ballenger). 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, my goal in Congress is for the Federal 
Government to be a better partner with State and local governments, the 
private sector and individual citizens to make our communities more 
livable. This issue is moving to the center of the American political 
scene in part because of the attention that has been given to this by 
the administration, Vice President Gore in particular, but even more 
important because of the large grassroots pressure that has been 
building around the country as evidenced by over 240 local and State 
initiatives in the last election. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
  Part of the evidence of this growing movement for livable communities 
has been the attention that has been given by the national media. One 
of the best and most prominently featured articles was on the front 
page of the Sunday Washington Post this weekend which cited the new 
citizens, the new economy, and the new issues that are part of a new 
and growing awareness in the State of California.
  Yet despite this characterization of all this being new, quality of 
life is truly one of our oldest and most enduring issues. But whether 
it is a new emerging issue or one of timeless political concern, it is 
time for Congress to address livability now. We need to get beyond the 
soundbite focus that are driven by partisan politics catering to narrow 
special interests. It seems, sadly, to dominate our activities here.
  So far this month we have had some of the worst of examples, where 
Americans concerned by violence on our schoolgrounds saw us respond by 
attempting to weaken our gun safety laws and by posting the 10 
Commandments in school yards, something that is not going to inspire 
much confidence in the minds of most American families.
  We do not have to make up issues or shy away from real problems. 
There are simple, common-sense approaches for dealing with livable 
communities.
  In the area of gun violence, we can approach it the same way that we 
have reduced auto deaths and injury on our roads. We can make a huge 
difference in the three-quarter million Americans who have been killed 
by gun violence since 1960. An American government that has been able 
to take action to childproof aspirin bottles and cigarette lighters 
ought to be ashamed that there are more product safety protections for 
toy guns than for real guns. We can start by simply passing the 
legislation already approved by the United States Senate to close the 
gun show loophole and make it harder for children to get their hands on 
guns.
  We can make strides to make our communities more livable dealing with 
the built environment. All the time and money the Federal Government 
spends on physical infrastructure can be planned regionally and 
coordinated with our State, local and private partners.
  We can make the problems of air quality and traffic congestion 
better, not simply throwing money at them and in some cases actually 
making them worse. We can help manage the entire water cycle rather 
than have a flood insurance program that pays people to live where God 
does not want them despite being flooded out repeatedly. Most 
important, we can have the Federal Government practice what we preach, 
where we locate Federal buildings, how we manage our land.
  We could even take the radical step of having the Post Office obey 
local land use laws, zoning codes and work with local communities 
across the country before they make locational decisions that can have 
a devastating impact on Main Street America.
  Making our communities more livable is everybody's job, and it ought 
to start with Congress doing our part. We will feel better, and America 
will be better for our efforts.

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