Lincoln Chafee: “I would like to make the Senator from New Hampshire, the Chairman of the Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee, aware of…”

“I would like to make the Senator from New Hampshire, the Chairman of the Commerce Appropriations Subcommittee, aware of a strong economic development proposal from my home state of Rhode Island. The proposal focuses on the renovation of the restored historic theater at the Providence Performing Arts Center, PPAC, in our capital city of Providence. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the facility was recently named an Official Project of the Save America's Treasures program directed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the White House Millennium Council. The full renovation of the theater, both structural and mechanical, is the ultimate goal of the non-profit entity that operates the center. A renovated PPAC has the potential to be one of the major economic development stimulants in the old downtown. I know from my membership on the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has authorizing jurisdiction over the EDA, that this project is very similar to others funded by the agency. I ask the chairman if the Providence initiative is in keeping with the projects recommended by the committee and listed in the report?”