MVOC and Local Leaders Push Legislation on Capital Hill

On Monday, November 16th, the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative and several grassroots leaders visited several key lawmakers in Washington D.C. regarding House Bill 932/Senate Bill 453, the Community Regeneration, Sustanability, and Innovation Act of 2009. The  ill, co-sponsored by Representative Tim Ryan (D, OH-17) and  Representative Brian Higgins (D, NY-27) will help older industrial cities like Youngstown and Warren, and dozens of shrinking, post-industrial cities across America, deal with the seemingly insurmountable problems associated with industrial decline, rapid emigration, and long-term disinvestment. The bill currently has 41 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and has been introduced in the Senate by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and co-sponsored by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio For more information, on the bill's progress, the organizing strategy behind it, and other valuable resources, check out www.rebuildingcitiesthatbuiltamerica.com.

MVOC also met with other groups like the Northeast-Midwest Institute and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, to strategize around furthering the bill and, more broadly, around shaping a national dialogue with support for older industrial cities as a priority.

Attached to this blog entry is an http://www.mvorganizing.org/sites/default/files/09_11-11 CRSI Doc SMALL.pdf">info sheet on CRSI.