Mara D’Angelo works for Smart Growth America on older industrial cities issues. When President Obama released his FY 2011 Budget a few months ago, D’Angelo wrote a blog entry commending the President’s efforts to revitalize older, blighted urban neighborhoods. She specifically applauds Obama’s appropriations for the EPA’s brownfields program. According to D’Angelo, the appropriation demonstrates:
…A keen awareness of the desperate need in cities across the country to clean up vacant properties and reclaim polluted industrial sites as community assets. The Obama Administration’s proposed $40 million dollar increase for the program …

On July 20, 2009, fourteen representatives submitted a letter to Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, in which they requested a hearing on CRSI before this congressional term ended. Since the legislation has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee, a hearing in this committee is the next step in ensuring that this bill becomes a law. Thus, the letter was sent to Congressman Frank because he has the power to convene this hearing.
Read the letter here: CRSIletter_NEMW

On Thursday, October 29, 2009 there was a CRSI briefing on Capital Hill. The briefing, which was sponsored by the Northeast Midwest Institute and the National Vacant Properties Campaign, generated energy around the bill and made Hill staffers aware of the Bill and the need for the Bill. Read more about who presented at the briefing and what the had to say here.

CRSI was featured in a Recycling Today magazine that highlighted the bill permitting materials salvaged from demolition to be reused. Read the full article here.