Norton's Efforts for Eastern Market Pay Off for the City (9/15/08)

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management, will be joined by Jim Oberstar, chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to present a check to Mayor Adrian Fenty, for the restoration of historic Eastern Market, on Sept. 16, 10 a.m., rm. 2253, RHOB.

Shortly after a fire gutted the popular Market last year, Norton asked Chairman Oberstar to accompany her to inspect the damage, and began looking for funds to help in the rebuilding. "Jim came with me on a particularly busy day for him in the House, including visitors to his office. After looking at the severely damaged inside of the Market, Jim, with his signature generosity, came across the street where vendors gathered, and offered very reassuring remarks."

After the fire, the Congresswoman immediately identified two sources for funds -- an appropriations earmark and the possibility of a federal grant through the EDA. She secured a $131,000 earmark in appropriations last year. Norton was in touch with EDA, one of the agencies under her subcommittee's jurisdiction and asked whether the Eastern Market neighborhood met EDA guidelines for a grant. She learned that the city could submit a grant application to the EDA, which offers assistance to urban and rural areas experiencing high unemployment, low income levels, or other severe economic distress. "I recognized that it is the city's responsibility to bear the cost of building the Market" Norton said, "but the Eastern Market is as much a part of historic Washington as the monuments downtown." She said she was pleased that D.C. met the threshold guidelines, but "the credit goes to the city, including the Mayor and his staff for meeting the challenge of writing a credible grant proposal."