Brad Pitt urges House leaders to continue help for New Orleans' recovery

TIMES-PICAYUNE. MARCH 5, 2009.

WASHINGTON - Brad Pitt today met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, and received their thanks for his rebuilding efforts in New Orleans.

Pitt thanked the two Democratic leaders for the assistance provided for New Orleans and urged them to continue to help the city rebuild.

"I just want to say thank you to the speaker for opening up her doors for us to come in and discuss the rebuilding effort, the current rebuilding effort going on in New Orleans and how we can expand this idea of affordability and sustainability because we think we have a model that works,'' Pitt said.

Pitt, who has a home in New Orleans with his wife, actress Angelina Jolie, founded "Make it Right" in 2007, helping build environmentally sustainable housing for low-income people displaced from their homes by Hurricane Katrina.

Pelosi, speaking with Pitt and Clyburn at a brief press availability before their Capitol meeting, said Pitt had been telling her about how the homes his foundation has built are not only "wonderful home for these families'' but built to a "green standard,'' with utility bills of less than $10 a month.

"It's possible,'' said Pitt.

Full TImes-Picayune Article

Brad Pitt chaired the jury for Global Green's Sustainable Design Competition in 2006, resulting in the Holy Cross Project beng built in the Lower Ninth Ward. For the latest photos and news from the Holy Cross Project, click here.