Political Quotes

“Madam Chair, my amendment would increase funding by $10 million to match the President's budget request for the State and Tribal Assistance Grants to clean up and revitalize brownfields. Too many cities and towns across America with proud manufacturing legacies are now struggling with vacant brownfield properties. As our country transitioned away from manufacturing, plants and mills began to close, leaving too many communities to deal with these industrial sites on their own. These former industrial sites have come to be known as brownfields, land where the presence or potential presence of contamination prevents expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of the land. Brownfield sites aren't limited to abandoned factories or buildings. They can also be former dry cleaning establishments or gas stations that are no longer in use. Every single congressional district in our Nation has at least one brownfield site, and some, in fact, have hundreds. In April, I was in Torrington, Connecticut, a former mill town in my district where, like many communities in the Naugatuck River Valley, there are brownfields scattered throughout the city. I met with Mayor Carbone and other city and local officials to learn about plans to clean up and repurpose two industrial sites, which would create jobs and revitalize the downtown area. {time} 1915 The plan to revitalize downtown Torrington was made possible by funding provided through the EPA's brownfields grant program.…”