District of Columbia: Repair of federal buildings will bring jobs to District
Issue date: 1/4/09 Section: Neighborhood
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton has recommended that repairs of existing federal buildings be a major part of the economic stimulus committee Congress will be debating when it convenes this month.
Congresswoman Norton is chair of the Congressional subcommittee on economic development, public buildings, and emergency management.
In a letter to Congressman James Oberstar, chair of the full committee on transportation and infrastructure, Norton wrote that funding these smaller projects will result in more jobs for more people with many kinds of skills, especially minorities and others who often are not journeymen or apprentices.
Because government spending to stimulate the economy focuses on public works, Norton is focusing on the disrepair of many buildings in the District.
The federal buildings lining Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues today were constructed as public works projects during the Great Depression of the 1930s to stimulate jobs and provide space for government agencies. They include the Justice and Commerce departments, the IRS, and the National Archives.
"These and other structures will never be torn down," Norton wrote. "Now is the time, I believe, to begin the repair and renovation just as Roosevelt understood that the depression was the time to build them to expand the federal presence in the first place."
Norton also wants the stimulus package to including funding for repairers and rehabilitation of public schools.
Congresswoman Norton is chair of the Congressional subcommittee on economic development, public buildings, and emergency management.
In a letter to Congressman James Oberstar, chair of the full committee on transportation and infrastructure, Norton wrote that funding these smaller projects will result in more jobs for more people with many kinds of skills, especially minorities and others who often are not journeymen or apprentices.
Because government spending to stimulate the economy focuses on public works, Norton is focusing on the disrepair of many buildings in the District.
The federal buildings lining Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues today were constructed as public works projects during the Great Depression of the 1930s to stimulate jobs and provide space for government agencies. They include the Justice and Commerce departments, the IRS, and the National Archives.
"These and other structures will never be torn down," Norton wrote. "Now is the time, I believe, to begin the repair and renovation just as Roosevelt understood that the depression was the time to build them to expand the federal presence in the first place."
Norton also wants the stimulus package to including funding for repairers and rehabilitation of public schools.
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