Obama, Other Leaders Get Brad Pitt's Input
Times-Picayune (excerpt)

WASHINGTON -- Brad Pitt, in the nation's capital to promote his success in creating safe, affordable, "green housing" in the Lower 9th Ward as a potential national model, had meetings Thursday with President Barack Obama as well as Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and House Democratic Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., chairman of the House Katrina-Rita Task Force.

Pitt was joined by Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change, at his brief White House meeting.

Pitt met separately Wednesday with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. On Thursday, Donovan, in New Orleans, was able to see some of the houses built by Pitt's foundation.

Pitt's only public appearance was a photo opportunity with Pelosi and Clyburn in the speaker's Balcony Hallway just before their half-hour meeting, at which the actor and the Democratic leaders exchanged thanks for their efforts on behalf of New Orleans,

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