"Mayor Ravenstahl and I discussed some of the pressing issues facing Pittsburgh and we continued the conversation we had earlier this year in Pittsburgh when we toured the economic development in the South Side," Senator Casey said. "Mayor Ravenstahl and I are both committed to seeing that the needs of the people of Pittsburgh are represented in Washington and I look forward to continue working with him."
At today's meeting Senator Casey discussed the importance of Community Development Block Grants. The President's FY08 budget proposal cut the CDBG program by 20%. Earlier this year, Senator Casey sent letters to both the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Appropriations expressing his opposition to these cuts of important economic development programs like CDBG.
In both 2006 and 2007, the City of Pittsburgh received approximately $17 million through this important economic development program. Recent funding cuts have filtered down to Pittsburgh. In 2005, Pittsburgh received approximately $19 million.
In the meeting, Senator Casey and Mayor Ravenstahl also talked about the East Carson Street widening project. The two noted that widening the street will not only lead to economic development, it will help reduce congestion.
Senator Casey and the Mayor also focused on the issue of crime. Senator Casey is a cosponsor of the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program and the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. Taken together, these two programs constitute the primary sources of federal funding for local law enforcement activities but have unfortunately suffered significant cutbacks under recent federal budgets.
