James Oberstar: “I rise in support of H.R. 2869, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. This important…”

“I rise in support of H.R. 2869, the Small Business Liability Relief and Brownfields Revitalization Act. This important bipartisan, bicameral brownfields redevelopment legislation, a long time in coming, will help significantly in the redevelopment of many abandoned and long-forgotten properties dotting our nation's city and community centers. Mr. Speaker, back in the early 1990's, several members of the Democratic caucus began talking about the problems faced in many of our urban centers. Many of our members had spoken with their mayors and other interested constituents about the great number of former commercial and industrial sites left underutilized or abandoned--with no real prospects of redevelopment. These 'brownfields', which once housed the machinery and the manpower that helped this country grow throughout the last century, were vacant--generating little tax revenue for the cities, and serving as breeding grounds for crime, vandalism, and a poor quality-of-life for neighboring communities. In 1992, members of the Democratic caucus proposed the idea of using the power of the Federal government to help rejuvenate these brownfields properties--cleaning up the legacy of the industrial age, and returning these forgotten properties to productive use.”