Daniel Inouye, Chairman U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations United States Capitol, Room S-128 Washington, DC 20510	Thad Cochran, Vice Chairman U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations United States Capitol, Room S-206 Washington, DC 20510
Patty Murray, Chair Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, Urban Development and Related Agencies Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 133 Washington, DC 20510	Susan Collins, Ranking Member Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation Housing, Urban Development and Related Agencies Hart Senate Office Building, Room 123 Washington, DC 20510

Dear Appropriations Leaders:

Congress’ decisions about the federal budget can have immense implications for communities across America and their ability to rebuild local economies and improve fiscal stability. As you consider this year’s difficult budget decisions, we, the undersigned group of concerned organizations, urge you to support the federal programs that keep communities strong, healthy and economically vibrant.

Specifically, we urge you to support the Partnership for Sustainable Communities and related grant programs in the FY11 continuing resolution and the FY12 appropriations process.

The Partnership for Sustainable Communities helps community leaders get the most out of each federal or state dollar invested in their neighborhoods. These programs make federal investments go even further by helping local leaders leverage private sector investment, save money in municipal budgets and by helping families save on things like transportation – all while creating jobs. Our organizations strongly support these programs, including:

• Continued funding for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Sustainable Communities Initiative, which provides Regional Planning Grants and Community Challenge Grants that help communities to leverage private sector investment, improve strategic growth, streamline regulatory barriers and make strategic investments with limited taxpayer dollars.
• Continued funding for the Department of Transportation’s TIGER program in FY11, which strengthens the economy, creates jobs, reduces gridlock, and provides safe, low-cost transportation choices to our citizens.
• The full commitment of obligated funds to grants received by more than 87 regions around the country under the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Sustainable Communities Initiative and the Department of Transportation’s TIGER program in FY09 and FY10.

We acknowledge that this year’s budget decisions are difficult ones and that Congress needs to cut wasteful spending, but the Partnership for Sustainable Communities helps the federal government work smarter. The Partnership is a vital opportunity to effectively coordinate and leverage federal programs for the greatest long-term benefit to our communities. Cutting these programs would be a short-sighted solution to the budget shortfall, and one which would stunt the economic growth of regions currently benefitting from the program.

We urge you to support the Partnership for Sustainable Communities in the FY11 continuing resolution and the FY12 appropriations process.

Sincerely,

American Institute of Architects American Planning Association American Public Transportation Association American Society of Landscape Architects Apollo Alliance Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Audubon International Center for Community Progress Center for Neighborhood Technology Center for Rural Strategies CEOs for Cities Coalition of Urban Serving Universities Congress for the New Urbanism Denver Housing Authority Enterprise Community Partners Environmental and Energy Study Institute Friends of the Earth Good News Mountaineer Garage Institute for Transportation and Development Policy International Downtown Association League of Rural Voters Local Government Commission Local Initiatives Support Corporation LOCUS: Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors Low Income Investment Fund Mercy Housing Metropolitan Planning Council National Association of Area Agencies on Aging National Association of Local Government Environment Professionals National Complete Streets Coalition

National Fair Housing Alliance National Housing Conference National Housing Trust National Resources Defense Council National Trust for Historic Preservation National Wildlife Federation OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon Oregon Public Health Institute Partnership for Working Families PolicyLink Prevention Institute Project for Public Spaces Public Health Law & Policy Quitman County Development Organization Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Reconnecting America RiverStone Health Safe States Alliance Sierra Club Smart Growth America Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future Strategic Alliance for Healthy Food and Activity Environments The Partnership for Working Families TOD Associates TransForm Transportation for America U.S. Green Building Council U.S. PIRG Upstream Public Health

cc:
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

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