Yesterday, congressional leaders released a bipartisan FY18 omnibus funding agreement. In response Smart Growth America President and CEO Geoff Anderson issued the following statement: “This bipartisan appropriations bill reflects a strong federal commitment to rebuilding our country’s neighborhoods and investing in a range of federal programs that will help local leaders and advocates build strong … Continued
Read the final end-of-year letter from Smart Growth America President and CEO Geoff Anderson as he wraps up this year of work and prepares to depart SGA in early 2018.
For the past several years Smart Growth America has been helping state departments of transportation improve safety and reliability, preserve their assets, and accelerate project delivery to expand economic opportunity and create healthier, more livable communities.
Our Innovative DOT program has worked with state DOTs in Florida, Vermont, Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon, and Tennessee. And over those years, we’ve released three editions of The Innovative DOT: A handbook of policy and practice, one of the most comprehensive guides available for DOTs committed to innovative excellence, in partnership with the State Smart Transportation Initiative (SSTI).
Yesterday President Trump released his blueprint for the next federal budget. The proposal would cut billions of dollars from domestic programs —including key programs that support economic growth in American communities.
Among its provisions Trump’s proposal would completely eliminate HUD’s Community Development Block Grants, USDOT’s TIGER program, and the National Endowment for the Arts. It would also make major cuts to the EPA and the Brownfields program; HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Choice Neighborhoods and the Self-help Homeownership Opportunity Program; as well as development programs at USDA.
This is a broadside against the things that make communities work. Trump’s budget jeopardizes people’s homes, their abilities to get to work, and local economies across the country. Without these federal programs communities will see rising demands on their services and fewer opportunities to grow their economies—and we are here to fight it.
This election season was tumultuous and divisive. For me, as president of an organization working to improve Americans’ lives by building better communities, it has brought a mixture of uncertainty, alarm, and hope. First, the uncertainty. With regard to economic development, tax policy, housing, infrastructure, and other federal programs that affect communities, the policies of … Continued