[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 13 (Monday, February 14, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H346]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE STRUGGLE TO MANAGE GROWTH PROPERLY IS A KEY CONCERN FOR ALL 
                               AMERICANS

  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, in 5 short minutes, when I sit down, 
there will be 6 more Californians. Twenty-four hours from now, 1,700 
people will either be born or move to the Golden State. This continued 
relentless growth, coupled with patterns of unplanned development, 
congestion, pollution, and the loss of open space has created a 
backlash in our Golden State. The front page of the Sunday New York 
Times yesterday contained a dramatic example of the controversy 
surrounding a huge development, the Newhall Ranch in the Los Angeles 
area, and what it represents for their community.
  The struggle to manage growth properly is a key concern for all 
Americans, but the implications for California are critical. Just as 
families across America watched on Disneyland the progress on the Walt 
Disney Show every Sunday night for weeks during the mid-1950s, America 
has been watching the struggle to manage developed area in our Nation's 
largest State.
  In the Los Angeles area alone, from 1970 to 1990, the developed area 
tripled to encompass an area the size of the State of Connecticut, 
growing six times faster than the growth in population.
  This explosive growth is not just limited to Southern California. It 
has created a crisis in livability in the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, and 
the Central Valley, home to America's most precious farmland, arguably. 
Fresno County produces more agricultural product than 24 States 
combined. Yet, if the projections to triple its population with the 
current land uses are realized, there will be a million acres of 
farmland lost.
  Since 90 percent of all of California's agricultural output is near 
the urban fringe, this has critical implications all across the State.
  California has many examples of smart growth initiatives led by 
individuals like State Treasurer Phil Angelinas and his insightful 
report detailing how California State government can invest in smart 
growth. There are communities that have taken in their own hands to 
establish limits on urban growth and protect their natural resources 
through local initiatives.
  The Silicon Valley Manufacturers Association for years has identified 
as the top priority for this business group affordable housing, 
protection of open space and transportation.
  The wildly successful and popular Coastal Zone Management Program is 
an example of sound land-use planning in the State of California, but 
what the State does not have is a statewide framework that would assure 
that every local government does its job and that nobody can grow at 
the expense of their neighbors.
  It is time that the voters or the State legislature provide the same 
thoughtful framework for the rest of the State. Californians should 
also insist that Congress not stand idly by as they struggle to 
maintain the livability of their State.
  Candidly, many of Congress' well-intended programs in the past, from 
massive water projects to the interstate freeway system, have fueled 
California's explosive growth and some of the problems. There are 
simple steps that we can take here in Congress. We should require that 
the substantial sums of Federal money for infrastructure and water 
projects, road transit, should be spent only after careful planning and 
analysis to protect community resources and the environment.
  The Federal Government should increase its investment in brownfield 
cleanup through subsidy low-interest loans and tax incentives and 
continue efforts to reform the brownfield and Superfund cleanup 
process.
  The Federal Government should reform the flood insurance program, 
passing a little piece of legislation that the gentleman from Nebraska 
(Mr. Bereuter) and I call two-floods-and-you-are-out-of-the-taxpayers'-
pocket so that the Federal Government no longer subsidizes people 
living where God has repeatedly shown that he does not want them.
  The Federal Government should be leading by example, whether 
protecting the vast Federal resources like Yosemite Park, treating it 
like a livable community or leading by example by making sure that the 
post office obeys local land-use laws, zoning codes, and environmental 
laws.
  The California experience is just one more example of why every 
politician in the year 2000 should have a program to promote livable 
communities, what the government can do to be a better partner to make 
our families safe, healthy, and economically secure.

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