Haar Testifies Before Congress

A Harvard Law School professor testified before a U.S. House of Representatives committee this week to offer his support for a new incentive plan designed to draw businesses into America's inner cities.

Brandeis Professor of Law Charles M. Haar gave his testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, which has been working for several weeks to formulate the Enterprise Zone (EZ) Improvements Act of 1989.

Haar, a noted expert on inner city revitalization and a former presidential task force officer, supported the new law and urged Congress to include deregulation of local building and municipal codes to encourage businesses to move to the country's most debilitated urban areas.

"It is the only answer that can realistically be expected from Congress this year addressing the emergency needs of the jobless and homeless...caught in the pattern of decay of devastated inner cities," Haar testified.

While Haar said he did not think the act was the perfect solution to the plight of the inner city, he did think it was important to pass the bill since it was the best solution that had been proposed thus far.

"I support the bill because we have to take what we can get," Haar said. "Let's establish the initial EZ Improvement Act and hope to build on it and target the cities with the most need in the very near future."

Citing the fated Model Cities Program under the Reagan Administration, Haar warned against spreading scarce resources too thin. He also advised the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which has until 1991 to decide where to create the EZs, to target those cities whose needs are most pressing.

Haar also pointed out that while HUD Secretary Jack Kemp initially supported the bill, the issue defies party allegiance both in its supporters and its detractors.

"There are liberals who say this simply won't work, and of course there are the conservatives who say the situation will simply work itself out...and still others say that all these incentives aren't really needed to draw business," Haar said.

But, he added, "In any case, I believe something should be done now to get the wheel rolling in terms of urban improvement, and from that perspective, there does seem to be some bipartisan support."