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02/22/2021

APA Ohio Supports Recovery + Reinvention for Ohio

Letters to Senators Portman and Brown

Earlier today, APA Ohio sent letters to Senators Brown and Portman urging them to act on four key priorities during the 117th Congress:

Support recovery of the nation’s communities
Job one for Congress is to act on recovery measures that meet immediate needs providing fiscal stability for the states and localities on the frontlines of pandemic response and economic recovery. Effective relief and recovery legislation should support essential local and regional efforts to meet needs for housing, transportation, education, support for businesses, and health.

Advance recovery through smart investment in transportation and broadband infrastructure 
The most effective path toward long-term stimulus is infrastructure investment. Infrastructure legislation can ensure that we are connecting people to opportunity. Infrastructure legislation should give cities and regions new tools and accelerated investment to increase access and innovation and plan for the demands of a rapidly evolving future. Congress should make climate change planning and resilience a central pillar of infrastructure policy; expand and improve safe biking, walking, and public transit; and, provide sustainable funding with more resources provided directly to communities.

Make housing opportunity and economic mobility central to the long-term approach to recovery 
Housing security is a cornerstone of recovery.  COVID 19 has exacerbated an already perilous landscape for housing affordability and availability. Action is needed to support unmet housing needs, ensure access to housing and neighborhoods of opportunity, connect housing to infrastructure investments, and plan for community development that expands housing choice. 

Secure our future by acting on climate change, resilience, and environmental justice
Climate change is not only a threat to our future but also a real and present danger as communities face accelerating risks now. Meeting these challenges is also an opportunity to create new jobs and advance long-term innovation and sustainability. Planning is central to adapting our infrastructure and built environment, curbing emissions from two primary sources – transportation and buildings – and mitigating harm from natural disasters. Federal policy should embrace a planning-led approach to the climate crisis that prepares for the future while ensuring a resilient present. 

Each of these priorities – recovery, infrastructure, housing, and climate change – need the federal government to be a partner with local communities. Federal resources, incentives, and policy are vital to restoring our health, our economy, our environment, and our communities while building a foundation for a stronger, more prosperous future for all. 

Read the letter

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