[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 122 (Thursday, August 6, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9017-S9018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Bennet, 
        Mr. Akaka, and Mr. Schumer):
  S. 1619. A bill to establish the Office of Sustainable Housing and 
Communities, to establish the Interagency Council on Sustainable 
Communities, to establish a comprehensive planning grant program, to 
establish a sustainability challenge grant program, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Livable Communities 
Act.
  Our communities are growing and changing. And the way we plan for 
their futures needs to evolve, as well. At stake is whether or not we 
will be able to enjoy the places where we live and work without 
excessive traffic, skyrocketing fuel costs, and sprawling development 
patterns that eat up our open space.
  As our communities grow, people are living farther from jobs, 
commuting longer distances on more crowded roadways, paying more at the 
pump at a time when family budgets are stretched thin and putting more 
greenhouse gases into the air at a time when climate change has emerged 
as an urgent threat.
  We are losing our rural land and open spaces. Transportation costs 
are making housing less affordable. Even though our communities are 
growing in size, we are losing the community spirit that makes American 
towns and cities so great.
  It is clear that current trends simply cannot continue.
  Sustainable development will cut down on the traffic that has long 
plagued my home State of Connecticut and connect people with good-
paying jobs. Done right, it will protect the environment and help us 
meet energy goals; protect rural areas and green spaces; revitalize our 
Main Streets and urban centers; create and preserve affordable housing; 
and make our communities better places to live, work, and raise 
families.
  But does that mean sustainable development is a transportation issue? 
An energy issue? A housing issue? An environmental issue?
  The answer, of course, is ``all of the above,'' and unfortunately, 
that tends to short some circuits here in Washington. Our policy has 
long been stovepiped within the various agencies responsible for each 
of the issues affected by planning and development.
  In February, I wrote a letter to President Obama urging him to 
establish a White House Office of Sustainable Development to coordinate 
housing, transportation, energy, and environmental policies.
  I felt confident I would find a partner in the White House. The 
President has been a strong leader on these issues, and he has shown a 
willingness to shake up a Federal Government that hasn't always 
succeeded when it comes to thinking outside the box and addressing 
related issues in a comprehensive, effective way.
  Sure enough, last month I brought together Secretary of 
Transportation Ray LaHood, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
Shaun Donovan, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa 
Jackson at a Banking Committee hearing--three public servants who don't 
often find themselves in the same hearing room at the same time.
  They brought with them a pledge that the administration would work 
across agency lines to take a holistic look at development policy--and 
a firm commitment to livability principles that would serve as the 
foundation for that policy going forward.
  The administration's principles demonstrate a true understanding of 
the best way forward.
  Sustainable development, as grounded in these principles, provides 
more transportation choices for families, expands access to affordable 
housing, enhances economic competitiveness by

[[Page S9018]]

connecting families with jobs and services, targets funding towards 
existing communities to spur revitalization and protect our open 
spaces, values the unique character of both our cities and our small 
towns, and improves collaboration between different government agencies 
to better leverage our investments.
  As Secretary LaHood said at the hearing, we are now all working off 
the same playbook. But now it is time to snap the ball and move down 
the field.
  Last month the White House announced the selection of Shelley Poticha 
to head up these efforts. If the Livable Communities Act becomes law, 
as I hope it will, Ms. Poticha will head a new HUD Office of 
Sustainable Housing and Communities.
  This new office will serve as a clearinghouse for best practices, so 
that successful initiatives can be easily replicated. And it will give 
HUD Secretary Donovan, Deputy Secretary Ron Simms, and Ms. Poticha the 
tools and authority they need to really dig in and become a partner to 
our communities in creating a sustainable future.
  One successful play from our playbook could be modeled after a 
project in my home State of Connecticut. It links housing and 
transportation policy, encourages smart land use, generates economic 
growth, and will reduce our carbon footprint around what's known as the 
Tri-City Corridor in Connecticut. This proposal would provide commuter 
and 110-mile-per-hour intercity rail service between New Haven, 
Hartford, and Springfield, MA, and feature 12 stops, creating ``transit 
villages'' and revitalizing local economies.
  Already, we are seeing how this proposed service is serving as a 
catalyst: attracting new business, commuters, and residents, and 
transforming struggling local economies.
  Along the corridor is Meriden, a small city of nearly 60,000 
residents located roughly halfway between New Haven and Hartford. In 
anticipation of a commuter stop on the rail line, the city would like 
to transform 15 acres of brownfields into new commercial and 
residential developments, including a public green that doubles as a 
flood buffer.
  Immediately north of that site is the Mills Memorial public housing 
complex, providing 140 units of affordable housing to low income 
residents.
  By linking transit, housing, and commercial planning, the city of 
Meriden will be able to transform its downtown into a bustling economic 
center ready to support a wide range of residents.
  The vision of Meriden and so many communities throughout the country 
needs the support and planning tools to take these initiatives from 
idea to action.
  So, today, I offer for your consideration legislation that encourages 
communities across the country to begin planning for more prosperous 
and livable futures.
  In addition to creating the new HUD Office of Sustainable Housing and 
Communities I mentioned earlier, this bill creates a competitive grant 
program that States and localities can use to better integrate 
transportation, housing, land use, and economic development when making 
long-term planning decisions.
  In addition, it provides funding for communities to implement these 
comprehensive regional plans through a challenge grant program. This 
program will help communities invest in public transportation, 
affordable housing, complete streets, transit-oriented development, and 
redeveloping brownfields.
  Finally, this bill creates an Interagency Council on Sustainable 
Communities to break down the ``stovepiping'' that exists within the 
Federal Government and coordinate Federal policies to encourage 
sustainable development.
  In my home State of Connecticut, integrated planning and sustainable 
development is critical to growing stronger communities.
  We have a state-level program called HOMEConnecticut that provides 
grants to plan Incentive Housing Zones. In these zones, mixed-income 
housing is built near jobs and transit centers, in downtowns and in 
redeveloped brownfields. More than 50 cities and towns have either 
applied for grants or already received them. The investment will pay 
off in affordable homes, good jobs, and more livable communities.
  Like bragging on Connecticut, but I would love to see this success 
replicated in communities around the Nation. The Obama administration 
has indicated its commitment to encouraging sustainable development and 
helping local authorities build a better future. It is time for us to 
do the same.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this important 
legislation.
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