[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 11, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H331]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATING MILWAUKIE, OREGON, ON ITS CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ballenger). Pursuant to the order of the 
House of January 7, 2003, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) is 
recognized during morning hour debates for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, amidst all the international drama and 
trauma, it is sometimes easy to forget that the primary goal of 
government is to provide a partnership where our communities can be 
livable and where our families are safe, healthy and economically 
secure. My hometown of Portland, Oregon, has received international 
acclaim as one of America's most livable cities, but actually, Mr. 
Speaker, ours is a region of two dozen livable communities. Under 
Oregon's unique land use system, each community is encouraged to 
develop its own special identity.
  One of the unique places that deserves special attention is the city 
of Milwaukie, Oregon, as it now celebrates its centennial this month, 
an example that thousands of small communities across the country could 
look to. Milwaukie's hard-working citizens are keenly interested in 
making the next 100 years something that is even better.
  The community of Milwaukie has played a key role in the history of 
our State. The city was actually settled in 1840 and played a critical 
role in shipping up and down the Willamette River. The commerce from 
those docks served to link Willamette Valley's pioneers with goods from 
the Hudson's Bay Trading Company and beyond. Oregon's founder, Dr. John 
McLaughlin, often supervised commerce on those very docks when he 
visited from his nearby home. Today, Milwaukie is the second largest 
city in fast-growing Clackamas County. It serves the Portland region as 
a transportation hub, hosting the intersection of two State highways 
and two freight railroads. But it is how Milwaukie has approached the 
future that is intriguing to me.
  In the latter part of the 1990s, this city looked at how they were 
going to join the region's light rail system. Some had serious 
questions about what it would do to their community and how it was 
going to be compatible with how they wanted to grow with the rest of 
the region. Instead of joining the region's light rail system at that 
point, they took time out to reflect how they should grow and relate to 
the surrounding communities. In the course of the next 5 years, the 
community carried out literally thousands of hours of community 
meetings. Some were informal. There were scores of neighborhood 
association meetings and workshops.
  As a result of this searching and introspection, the community, its 
neighborhoods and elected leaders, including some who were the most 
skeptical of earlier plans, are now among the most active and 
aggressive advocates of rail coming to their town; and not only light 
rail, but they are also supporting an innovative commuter rail system 
serving Milwaukie, as well. They are looking at other ways to make 
their community livable.
  Milwaukie, Oregon, like so many communities across the country, made 
decisions early in its career that cut off its waterfront from the 
community. It is inaccessible now because of a State highway that makes 
pedestrian and other access impossible. This beautiful and historic 
resource is now out of their reach, home only to a treatment plant. 
Milwaukie residents are now working to overcome this barrier to connect 
their historic waterfront and natural resource with the heart of their 
downtown.
  Milwaukie, Oregon is an outstanding example of how a livable 
community grapples with issues of growth, transportation, development, 
its past and its future. It is a community that other cities can look 
to for inspiration, how people of strong and varying opinions sitting 
down and working through their issues together for the common good can 
make a city safer, healthier and more economically secure.
  I, for one, am proud to represent the ``City of Dogwoods'' as it 
celebrates its centennial. Congratulations, Milwaukie, Oregon.

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