[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 32 (Wednesday, March 16, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E455]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO ANNE L. BLUMENBERG

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 15, 2005

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay special tribute to Anne 
L. Blumenberg, founder of the Community Law Center in Baltimore. Anne, 
who recently retired as the Law Center's long-time executive director, 
has been instrumental in developing legal strategies to empower 
neighborhoods and communities.
  Anne is a remarkable women who has dedicated her life to improving 
our community. Over the years, she has performed ground-breaking work 
in the areas of low-income housing acquisition, community-based 
planning, coalition building and community advocacy. Through her 
efforts, the Community Law Center has become a leading advocacy 
organization for community and economic development in distressed 
neighborhoods. She has lead the way in fighting predatory real estate 
practices that have been so destructive to many Baltimore 
neighborhoods.
  A graduate of Catholic University's Columbus School of Law, Anne 
founded the Community Law Center in 1983, becoming its executive 
director in 1986. The Community Law Center's philosophy has been that 
access to lawyers could help revitalize neighborhoods. Initially, most 
of the work focused on public safety. In recent years, that focus has 
shifted to real estate and economic development. The Center's successes 
include: enactment of legislation giving community groups legal 
standing in drug nuisance cases and legal action against owners of 
vacant properties.
  I hope my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives will join 
me in saluting Anne L. Blumenberg for her work in helping neighborhoods 
and communities maintain some degree of control over their destinies.

                          ____________________