[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 15 (Wednesday, February 2, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        PETITIONS AND MEMORIALS

  The following petitions and memorials were laid before the Senate and 
were referred or ordered to lie on the table as indicated:

       POM-1. A resolution adopted by the Legislature of Rockland 
     County, New York urging Congress to pass the Livable 
     Communities Act of 2010; to the Committee on Banking, 
     Housing, and Urban Affairs.

                           Resolution No. 624

       Whereas, the Rockland County Legislature agrees that 
     demographic trends support the need for cooperation in land 
     use planning and the development of housing and 
     transportation. The population of the United States will grow 
     from approximately 307,000,000 people to approximately 
     439,000,000 people during the period between 2009 and 2050, 
     an increase of more than 40 percent; and
       Whereas, the Energy Information Administration of the 
     Department of Energy forecasts that driving will increase 59 
     percent between 2005 and 2030, far outpacing the projected 23 
     percent increase in population; and
       Whereas, demographers estimate that as much as 30 percent 
     of current demand for housing is for housing in dense, 
     walkable, mixed-use communities, and that less than 2 percent 
     of new housing is in this category; and
       Whereas, people who live in areas of compact development 
     (where housing, shopping, jobs, and public transportation are 
     in close proximity) drive 20 to 40 percent less than people 
     who live in average development patterns in the United 
     States; and
       Whereas, transportation accounts for 70 percent of the oil 
     consumed in the United States and nearly 1/3 of carbon 
     emissions in the United States come from the transportation 
     sector. Reducing the growth of the number of miles driven and 
     providing transportation alternatives through good planning 
     and sustainable development is a necessary part of the energy 
     independence and climate change strategies of the United 
     States; and
       Whereas, a number of studies, reports, and articles by 
     organizations including the Environmental Protection Agency, 
     the National Association of Realtors, and the Transit 
     Cooperative Research Project have found that one of the keys 
     to revitalizing and maintaining the character of town centers 
     and preserving surrounding agricultural land in small and 
     rural communities is to prevent commercial and residential 
     development on the outskirts of town, by promoting integrated 
     housing, economic, and transportation development in town 
     centers; and
       Whereas, funding for integrated housing, transportation, 
     energy, environmental, and economic development and other 
     land use planning efforts at the local and regional levels is 
     necessary to provide for sustainable development and smart 
     growth, and
       Whereas, the Livable Communities Act of 2010 would provide 
     funding and support services to help municipalities make 
     smart planning decisions by:
       1. facilitating and improving the coordination of housing, 
     community development, transportation, energy, and 
     environmental policy in the United States;
       2. encouraging regional planning for livable communities 
     and the adoption of sustainable development techniques, 
     including transit-oriented development;
       3. providing a variety of safe, reliable transportation 
     choices, with special emphasis on public transportation and 
     complete streets, in order to reduce traffic congestion, 
     greenhouse gas emissions, and dependence on foreign oil;
       4. providing affordable, energy-efficient, and location-
     efficient housing choices for people of all ages, incomes, 
     races, and ethnicities, and making the combined costs of 
     housing and transportation more affordable to families;
       5. promoting economic development and competitiveness by 
     connecting the housing and employment locations of workers, 
     reducing traffic congestion, and providing families with 
     access to essential services;
       6. supporting public health and improving quality of life 
     for the residents of and workers in communities by promoting 
     healthy, walkable neighborhoods, access to green space, and 
     the mobility to pursue greater opportunities,
       and
       Whereas, to accomplish these goals, the Livable Communities 
     Act of 2010 would establish the Office of Sustainable Housing 
     and Communities, the Interagency Council on Sustainable 
     Communities, a Comprehensive Planning Grant Program, and a 
     Sustainability Challenge Grant Program; and
       Whereas, the Planning and Public Works Committee has met, 
     considered and by a vote of four ayes, two nays and one 
     absent, approved this resolution; Now therefore be it
       Resolved, That the Legislature of Rockland County hereby 
     requests that the United States Senate and House of 
     Representatives pass bills S. 1619 and H.R. 4690--the Livable 
     Communities Act of 2010, and that the President of United 
     States sign such legislation; and be it further
       Resolved, That the Clerk to the Legislature be and he is 
     hereby authorized and directed to send a certified copy of 
     this resolution to Hon. Barack H. Obama, President of the 
     United States; Hon. Charles E. Schumer and Hon. Kirsten E. 
     Gillibrand, United States Senators; Hon. Eliot Engel, Hon. 
     Nita Lowey and Hon. Nan Hayworth, Members of the United 
     States Congress; the President Pro Tem of the United States 
     Senate; the Speaker of the United States House of 
     Representatives; the Majority and Minority Leaders of the 
     United States Senate and House of Representatives; and to 
     such other persons as the Clerk, in his discretion, may deem 
     proper in order to effectuate the purpose of this resolution.
                                  ____

       POM-2. A message from the Executive Director, The Privacy 
     Projects, transmitting, a report relative to the Organization 
     for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Privacy 
     Guidelines; to the Committee on the Judiciary.

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