Earl Blumenauer: “The issue of the livable communities will be one of the dominant themes in the year 2000 election. It is not altogether…”

“The issue of the livable communities will be one of the dominant themes in the year 2000 election. It is not altogether clear to me that the pollsters, pundits, and consultants fully understand the depth of this issue and what it means to American families. The reason it will be an issue is not because it is being driven by the national level, although I do appreciate the leadership of the administration and Vice President Gore. This is an issue that is being driven from the grassroots. Many of us are aware that in 1998 there were over 240 State and local ballot measures nationwide that dealt with issues of open space, land use planning, and environmental protection and transportation. Seventy-two percent of these measures passed involving spending of over $7.5 billion; even in the relatively quiet so-called off year of 1999, the drumbeat continued. There were 139 ballot measures with a 77 percent approval rating. The media coverage of the term 'smart growth,' which is probably the best proxy of livable communities, rose from 101 citations in 1996 to over 2,700 citations in 1999. Why is this? People know that the past patterns of development are simply not sustainable. From 1992 to 1997, we just learned a couple of weeks ago that over 16 million acres of farm and forest land were lost to development, an area larger than the State of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, we as a Nation are sprawling faster than we increase in population.”