[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 18891]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                    BETTER AMERICA BONDS, H.R. 2446

  Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, it has been said that the only means of 
conservation is innovation, and I believe that is what Vice President 
Gore had in mind in recommending an innovative proposal called Better 
America Bonds. I joined him back in January of this year over at the 
American Institute of Architects with a number of outstanding planners 
and conservationists to announce this initiative. Now, the gentleman 
from Missouri (Mr. Gephardt), the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Matsui), the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer) and I, along with a 
number of our colleagues, have filed this legislation to establish the 
Better America Bonds program.
  Mr. Speaker, we believe that the Federal Government should be an 
active partner with local communities supporting their efforts to build 
more livable communities as we approach the 21st century.
  I believe that there is strong, broad-based support for these locally 
developed, ``smart growth'' or sustainable growth initiatives. The 
Better America Bonds program would assist State and local governments 
in their efforts to plan for their future growth and development.
  Through the issuance of this new type of bond, one that carries a 
Federal tax credit as opposed to a small amount in interest payments, 
local governments would be enabled to make purchases to preserve green 
space, create or restore urban parks, or simply to clean up land or 
water.
  I believe that the preservation of more open space, more green space 
in which families can enjoy life, is becoming a leading environmental 
issue across this country. Both property values on homes and the basic 
quality of life that we all expect are improved with additional open 
space and parks.
  It really is not that hard to understand why that is so if we are 
coming or going from Washington, D.C. along the George Washington 
Parkway or the Rock Creek Parkway. Or if, as my wife and I like to do, 
one is enjoying bicycling along the trail that leads beside the parkway 
down to Mt. Vernon, one recognizes how much the beauty of the green 
space and the opportunity to walk and play in that green space adds to 
the quality of life.
  Mr. Speaker, the Better America Bonds legislation has some 110 
Members of this House now as cosponsors. We would provide up to almost 
$10 billion in bonding authority for communities across the country to 
buy up threatened farmland or to purchase downtown waterfront property 
to convert into a park perhaps, like the great hike and bike trail we 
have along Town Lake in my hometown of Austin, Texas. In Austin, we 
have a number of new projects that are under consideration, including a 
project along Waller Creek, and a project for an additional Town Lake 
park, both to preserve green space. Additional green space provided 
through these projects means not only more fun but more opportunity for 
economic development in some areas that have been neglected and not 
properly used in the past by the city.
  My constituents back in central Texas have realized the importance of 
additional green space acquisition and of clean water by approving 
local bond initiatives through which the City of Austin has already 
purchased some 15,000 acres of land towards this objective. These new 
land purchases will protect our sensitive environment in central Texas 
and provide additional parks.
  They have also provided a unique opportunity for some groups that 
have warred against each other to work together. In Austin, the Save 
Our Springs Alliance, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the 
Real Estate Council were once opposing each other over some of the 
environmental efforts in the community. Now they have united in what is 
called a ``Vast Open Spaces'' project to acquire additional land and in 
the process of uniting over this issue, they have come to achieve some 
common ground on a number of other issues toward improving the quality 
of life in central Texas as well. I believe that the Better America 
Bonds program, by supporting that kind of effort, will allow them to do 
an even better job, reach more parts of our community, and provide more 
parks and green space, not only along Town Lake but throughout central 
Texas.
  Mr. Speaker, I think the same kind of thing can happen around the 
country, whether it is along the Anacostia here in Washington, the 
Chattahoochee in Atlanta, or along the Los Angeles River, these bonds 
provide the opportunity to reinvigorate downtown areas, make them more 
livable, and reinvigorate the economy in some of these areas.
  The Better America Bonds initiative has received support from the 
American Institute of Architects and the National Realty Committee 
because they support strong neighborhood planning and this program 
provides the means for communities to do just that. Communities and 
local governments are also supporting the Better America Bonds program 
because these bonds are much less costly to a local government for them 
to use than the traditional interest bearing ones.
  As Vice President Gore said earlier this year, ``Plan well, and you 
have a community that nurtures commerce and private life. Plan badly, 
and you have what many of us suffer from firsthand: Gridlock, sprawl 
and that uniquely modern evil of all, too little time.''
  We incorporated this concept of Better America Bonds in the 
Democratic tax substitute. It received a substantial number of votes, 
and I hope that we can come together in a bipartisan effort to support 
Better America Bonds in the future. I believe that we must all be 
active participants in preserving our livable communities for our 
children and grandchildren. Through innovative conservation programs 
like Better


America Bonds, we can ensure this legacy.

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