Representing the 13th Congressional District of Pennsylvania
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 18, 2009 |
CONTACT: Rachel Magnuson, 202-225-6111 |
| U.S. Rep. Schwartz Hosts Philadelphia Congressional Field Hearing on Greening our Cities | ||
“This congressional field hearing provided an outstanding platform for national and local experts to share policy ideas and solutions on ways that we can further green our nation’s cities, including Philadelphia,” said U.S. Rep. Schwartz, who chaired the congressional field hearing.
A key focus of the hearing was on Rep. Schwartz’s landmark bill, the Green Communities Act (H.R. 2222), a forward-thinking plan to assist cities in planning, designing, and implementing green infrastructure strategies. As cities across the United States look for new effective, low cost strategies to grow their economies, the implementation of green infrastructure is one of the most effective ways to improve quality of life, attract new business, and improve the general environment in urban areas. The challenge lies in that many cities would like to implement green infrastructure solutions, but do not know how to get started. They often lack the technical expertise to effectively create a community-wide “green” strategy to strengthen economic development and improve environmental conditions in dense urban areas.
Schwartz’s Green Communities Act provides a common-sense solution to this situation by creating a new initiative through the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. This initiative will encourage public-private partnership by contracting with five nationally recognized non-profit organizations that will provide technical assistance to 80 municipalities across the United States. After the communities have completed the technical assistance portion, they will be eligible for additional grant funding to help implement their green planning.
“We know that cities want to make their communities green, yet they often face challenges on how to accomplish this. The Green Communities Act establishes a public-private initiative to educate municipalities across the country on how to best implement green efforts. This plan takes the successful greening experiences that Philadelphia has had, and works to disseminate those ideas nationwide,” said U.S. Rep. Schwartz.
The Green Communities Act is endorsed by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the American Nursery and Landscape Association
J. Blaine Bonham, Jr., executive vice president, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, said, “The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society wholeheartedly supports Congresswoman Schwartz’s Green Communities Act. PHS is dedicated to the revitalization of urban neighborhoods through the restoration of parks and green spaces and the reclamation of vacant land. Those efforts require a funding stream from various public and private sources to initiate new verdant landscapes and gardens and to create the green jobs that maintain these projects. The Green Communities Act will ensure the continuation of this work, which is vital to the environmental, social and economic future of our cities.”
“Congresswoman Schwartz truly understands the economic, environmental and social benefits of our green infrastructure – trees, gardens, parks and landscaped areas. We are pleased to be able to work with her on H.R. 2222 to extend the green benefits that Philadelphia enjoys to the entire country,” said Gregg Robertson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Landscape and Nursery Association.
Today’s congressional field hearing was organized by the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition in coordination with the Northeast-Midwest Institute and was held at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia.
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