[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 28, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4800-S4801]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      AMERICAN CITY QUALITY MONTH

  Ms. SNOWE. Madam President, I rise today to recognize that the month 
of April is designated as American City Quality Month. Through the 
continued efforts of the American City Planning

[[Page S4801]]

Directors' Council and the American City Quality Foundation, ACQF, the 
April 2009 theme is appropriately labeled, ``Support Planning and 
Action for Better Quality Communities.'' For many years the emphasis 
promoted by the ACQF and its numerous professional organizations and 
supporters has been to call attention to the vital need for improving 
American cities through quality planning--via coordinated efforts to 
produce effective decisions, design, development, management, and 
action.
  As our country's population growth projections appear to reach an 
additional 34 million people by the year 2020, the importance of proper 
urban planning as it relates to area surroundings, land conservation, 
and quality of life becomes a crucial component of the United States' 
strategy to halt urban sprawl and the waste of both human and fiscal 
resources. Subsequently, through the devoted work, development, and 
planning of the ACQF and interested parties, the recognition has 
surfaced--that coordinated efforts on the part of city, State, and 
Federal governments, and the private sector need to be exacted more 
than ever. Such a critical mission must continue until there is 
mainstream coordination throughout the nation to improve our country's 
urban settings in terms of cultural, practical, and land conservation 
amenities.
  Therefore, through the efforts of the American City Planning 
Directors' Council, the American City Quality Foundation, and other 
interested parties, I thank all who have joined together to address the 
challenges posed by our burgeoning cities, as the integration of 
efforts has and will continue to provide us with a plan and hope for 
the future that assures quality growth for our Nation's urban settings. 
The ACQF's mission toward reaching that goal has secured both the 
attention and admiration of the American public.

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