Advocates take the Gulf Coast cause to the Hill

Today marks the first day of hurricane season, and much is being reported on preparations happening along the Gulf Coast to prepare for stormier weather.

But Gulf Coast advocates have also been preparing another big push to shore up Congressional support for the Gulf Coast Civic Works program, a Gulf region recovery package that would create "green jobs" along the Gulf Coast for victims of past storms. Several hundred Gulf Coast advocates, including a coalition of civil rights groups, affordable housing advocates, and Hurricane Katrina survivors, headed to Washington, D.C. this past weekend to urge lawmakers to support the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act of 2009 (H.R. 2269). Supporters of the act participated in congressional visits to bring attention to the continuing human rights crisis in the region and the vulnerability of residents to future disasters as the 2009 hurricane season begins.

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