S.Amdt. 222

SA 222. Mr. LEVIN (for himself, Mr. Jeffords, Ms. Stabenow, Mr. Sarbanes, and Mr. Kennedy) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 18, setting forth the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2006 and including the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2005 and 2007 through 2010; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 65, after line 25, insert the following:

SEC. __. SENSE OF THE SENATE TO MAKE MORE EFFICIENT AND EQUITABLE, FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE APPROPRIATIONS AND REVENUE DECISIONS.

(a) Findings.--The Senate finds the following:

(1) Federal programs and policies directly influence local growth patterns through the location of Federal facilities, spending on public infrastructure, tax incentives, and Federal regulations.

(2) A majority of Americans favor walkable neighborhoods, shorter commutes, and open space protection, which are land development patterns favored by smart growth.

(3) Federal programs and policies should support local development choices that improve communities through the revitalization of town centers, transit and pedestrian-oriented development, increased access to retail and public services, open space and parklands, and a greater mix of housing, commercial, and retail uses.

(4) Federal incentives should encourage enhanced community quality of life, fiscally sound reinvestment in existing infrastructure, a balanced transportation system, and safe, decent, affordable places for people to live.

(5) Investing in existing infrastructure is a fiscally responsible use of resources. When not properly planned, local development decisions may actually burden the Federal budget by requiring the construction of new water, sewer, and transportation infrastructure in low-density areas, rather than funding the maintenance of existing infrastructure. Poorly planned development also often results in increased commuting times, traffic congestion, impaired air quality, loss of open space and environmentally sensitive areas, public health problems, lack of affordable housing, and poor accessibility to critical services such as schools and hospitals.

(6) Improving and investing in communities through good planning and sustainable community development has positive effects, reflected, for example, in fiscal cost savings, lower energy consumption, and healthier environments. In addition, businesses are increasingly locating to areas that offer parks and open spaces, provide walkable mixed-use communities, and include a variety of housing options.

(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that the budgetary levels in this resolution assume that in making appropriations and revenue decisions, the Senate should--

(1) support Federal policies that encourage growth patterns that make efficient and equitable use of available housing, transportation, and infrastructure resources, including such policies as brownfields development programs, farmland protection programs, the retention of the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), and Federal facility decisions, such as those made by the General Services Administration that consider the benefits of utilizing existing infrastructure; and

(2) address the unintended consequences of urban and suburban sprawl resulting from specific Federal programs and policies through the allocation of budgetary authority to provide incentives for sustainable growth.