In this issue:
Federal Policy Update
Thank you for sending letters in support of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities!
Join Smart Growth America at the National Brownfields Conference – May 15-17, 2013
Registration is now open for the 2013 LOCUS Leadership Summit – June 4-5, 2013
Register now for the Safe Routes to School National Conference in Sacramento, CA – Aug. 13-15, 2013
Survey from the State Smart Transportation Initiative on freight transportation demand (TDM) strategies
Federal Policy Update
As Congress debates the FY14 budget, several subcommittees within the House and Senate Appropriations Committee have held hearings in the past couple of weeks to discuss how the budget affects certain federal programs. We have been monitoring these hearings and have included synopses below.
House THUD Subcommittee
On April 17th the House Appropriations Committee Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee held a hearing where Secretary Donovan testified on the the President’s FY14 Budget Request for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. At the hearing, Subcommittee Chair Latham raised the concern that the President’s Budget requested funding for some new initiatives at the expense of funding for some of core programs. Subcommittee Chair Latham’s primary question was whether HUD be able to meet its core responsibilities as an agency given the proposed cuts in its budget. Also, there was an extensive back and forth with Secretary Donovan about the long-term of sequestration on HUD’s programs and whether Congress should work with the President to replace sequestration or not. Also, one member of Congress asked a question about how communities that have received regional planning grants from HUD will continue their work once the planning phase is done; specifically, what steps is HUD taking to help communities with implementation. Secretary Donovan responded by talking about the new focus of program to ensure grantees are developing an implementation plan and ensuring HUD, DOT and EPA are taking steps internally to make sure their programs are aligned to make implementation easier.
Senate THUD Subcommittee
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) held a hearing on the President’s FY14 HUD budget request with Secretary Donovan. Ranking Member Susan Collins (ME) asked how sequestration affects HUD programs, and Secretary Donovan emphasized the fact that sequestration would result in job losses. Specifically, he said that cuts to the Community Development Block Grant program would result in 20,000 jobs losses. Chairwoman Patty Murray (WA) also asked a question about how initiatives including the Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) would encourage partnerships and leverage new private sector. Secretary Donovan responded that CNI would continue to leverage private sector investment to create better communities. Secretary Donovan also highlighted the new Office of Economic Resilience and supported the President’s commitment to the program. Overall, members seemed pleased with the success HUD has made in terms of reducing homelessness, especially among veterans, and to focus on more programs like that.
Senate Interior and Environment Subcommittee
On April 24th the Senate Appropriations Committee Interior and Environment Subcommittee held a hearing where the Acting Administrator of the EPA testified on the Agency’s FY14 Budget Request. A number of members of the Committee asked questions about how proposed cuts in funding to programs that help clean up contaminated sites and build critical infrastructure. Specifically, Senator Udall talked about the proposed cuts in funding for the Brownfields Program and asked if the Acting Administrator would agree that there are more productive brownfields redevelopment projects to fund than the level of funding included in the President’s budget. Acting Administrator Perciasepe agreed and pointed to the work of the interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities to help communities better leverage limited resources.
Thank you for sending letters to your Members of Congress in support of programs within the Partnership for Sustainable Communities
We really can’t thank you enough for all the work you put into generating letters to your Members of Congress last week, especially given the short notice we provided! As of last Friday, 41 letters had been sent by SGA’s coalition partners to their Senators and Representatives – that is amazing!
As a result, several representatives and senators signed onto their respective letters in support of the HUD and/or EPA programs – the lists are below:
House – HUD support letter signers
Perlmutter, CO
Blumenauer, OR
Cleaver, MO
Moran, VA
Capuano, MA
Cicilline, RI
Senate – HUD support letter signers
Landrieu
Menendez
Franken
Warren
Whitehouse
Leahy
Coons
Lautenberg
Gillibrand
Durbin
Hirono
Schatz
Sanders
Blumenthal
Stabenow
Baldwin
Reed
Schumer
Harkin
Wyden
Levin
Senate – EPA support letter signers
Schatz
Landrieu
Menendez
Leahy
Lautenberg
Baldwin
Blumenthal
Sanders
Heinrich
Carper
King
Durbin
Whitehouse
Levin
Hirono
Gillibrand
Registration is now open for the 2013 LOCUS Leadership Summit – June 4th and 5th, 2013
Real estate developers, investors and professionals are invited to join LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors for the second annual LOCUS Leadership Summit in Washington, DC on June 4th and 5th, 2013. In partnership with Smart Growth America, this two-day event will provide real estate professionals from across the country the opportunity to meet with Congressional leaders and smart growth industry leaders, to network with fellow professionals, and gain in-depth information about the federal financing of real estate and other innovative solutions to challenges facing the real estate industry. Visit the 2013 LOCUS Leadership Summit website to register.
Join Smart Growth America at the National Brownfields Conference – May 15-17, 2013
The National Brownfields Conference is the largest event in the country that focuses on environmental revitalization and economic redevelopment of contaminated land. This year’s conference will be held May 15-17, 2013 in Atlanta, GA, and Smart Growth America is hosting two events for conference participants:
To kick-off the conference, SGA will host a pre-conference meeting for attendees to learn about the best practices, strategies and discuss common challenges in creating healthfields. The event will be held Wednesday, May 15, 2013 from 12:00-3:00 PM in Atlanta, walking distance from the Georgia World Conference Center. To attend, RSVP to Elizabeth Schilling by Wednesday, May 1, 2013.
The National Brownfields Coalition will also host a breakfast meeting to discuss federal brownfields issues and for participants to learn about the brownfields issues currently in Congress including the BUILD Act, the Remediation Tax Expensing program and federal brownfields appropriations. The breakfast will be held on Friday, May 17, 2013 at 7:15 AM. Location information will be sent to attendees.
Click here to learn more about the events at the National Brownfields Conference.
Register now for the Safe Routes to School National Conference in Sacramento, CA – Aug. 13-15, 2013
Registration is now open for the Safe Routes to School National Conference. Learn how Safe Routes to School programs across the nation are changing the habits of an entire generation of schoolchildren while improving the health and environment of numerous communities. This fourth national conference will feature workshop sessions, mobile tours, inspirational presentations, and networking opportunities to help you start or expand your SRTS program.
This bi-annual conference is sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School (NCSRTS) and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership (SRTSNP), with the 2013 event being hosted by the Local Government Commission (LGC). The LGC has partnered with several local, regional, and statewide agencies and organizations that reflect the range and diversity of the topic itself.
Visit the Safe Routes to School National Conference website to learn more about the conference and to register.
Survey from the State Smart Transportation Initiative on freight transportation demand (TDM) strategies
The State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI) is conducting a survey to better understand how state, local, and regional governments are using freight transportation demand management (TDM) strategies to improve urban freight transportation and lessen its negative impacts on their communities. They are also interested in the opportunities and barriers that they have faced in implementation. The findings from this survey will be incorporated into a report with discussion and case studies of TDM strategies to reduce the negative impacts of urban goods movement on society in the hopes that these strategies can assist state, regional, and local decision makers in their planning efforts.
The survey can be found on the SSTI’s website.