[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 137 (Tuesday, October 12, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H9824]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE POST OFFICE COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP ACT

  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. Madam Speaker, I am pleased by the national attention 
to ways to make our communities more livable by this I mean our 
families safe, healthy, and economically secure; and ways to give our 
citizens a real voice in the decisions that impact their communities; 
and a special emphasis on simple, low-tech, low-cost but high impact 
solutions.
  The Federal Government can make a huge difference in the liveability 
of our communities without new rules, regulations, fees and taxes for 
Americans and business. We can do so by having the Federal Government 
simply lead by example; work that is being done by the General Services 
Administration, for instance, and how they manage over 300 million 
square feet of office space in our inventory. Another area with 
tremendous potential is the Post Office which touches over 40,000 
different areas across the country and most Americans six times a week.
  Momentum is growing with over 100 House cosponsors for H.R. 670, the 
Post Office Community Partnership Act. Last week before the Senate 
Government Affairs Committee, there was a hearing, and I could not 
agree more with the testimony provided by the National Association of 
Home Builders. They stated, and I quote: As home builders, our members 
abide by local zoning, permit, and building code laws in order to 
develop responsibly and preserve the integrity of communities. The 
United States Postal Service, however, is currently not required to 
adhere to State or local codes when relocating, closing, consolidating, 
or constructing facilities.
  This noncompliance undermines the economic and social well-being of 
communities by permitting the Post Office to build new facilities or 
modify existing facilities without regard to local plans for growth or 
traffic management, environmental protection, and public safety. The 
National Association of Home Builders strongly believes that the 
Federal Government should follow the same rules as it expects the 
American public. That is why we support the Post Office Community 
Partnership Act.
  I could have quoted from similar testimony from the Sierra Club, sort 
of a strange partnership that we do not see too often between the home 
builders and the Sierra Club, or a coalition composed of the National 
Association of Counties, League of Cities, Conference of State Historic 
Preservation Officers, Conference of Mayors, Preservation Action, 
American Planning Association and the International Downtown 
Association, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the 
National Alliance of Preservation Commissions. They stated as recently 
as last year the Post Office attempted to evade local clean water 
standards in Tallahassee, Florida and ignore local laws put in place in 
Ball Ground, Georgia, which were an attempt to meet Federal clean air 
standards. These actions would be criminal if they were attempted by a 
private company but are merely shameful when pursued by the Postal 
Service.
  Comedian Lilly Tomlin's annoying and sadistic telephone operator, 
Ernestine, made popular the notion we do not care because we do not 
have to, we are the phone company. Well, the laughter that that 
provided was a bit bittersweet in part because of the grain of truth 
that was embedded. In today's competitive world with higher citizen 
expectations, it is time for the Post Office to care because they want 
to and because they have to start leading by example.
  I strongly urge my colleagues to join me and over 140 House 
cosponsors of H.R. 670, the Post Office Community Partnership Act.

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