Councilmen Richardson, Burrell Hear from First Lady, Other Top Decision Makers in Washington
Mar 16th, 2011
Washington, DC – Councilmen Fred Richardson and Jermaine Burrell joined over 1,700 fellow local leaders in Washington, DC this week to promote an agenda for economic growth for cities during the National League of Cities (NLC) 2011 Congressional City Conference. As part of the conference, delegates heard from First Lady Michelle Obama, Deputy Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Procari, Senator Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Trey Grayson, Director of the Institute for Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
As Congress and the Administration work to address economic recovery and budget concerns, protecting proven federal investments like the Community Development Block Grant program and rebuilding the nation’s transportation infrastructure system are the priorities for a successful Agenda for Economic Growth.
Councilman Richardson stated, "From this meeting, I will come back home with a wealth of information that will help my city in its quest to recover economically. I also have information on new programs that I expect to pump needed capital in disadvantage neighborhoods."
The Congressional City Conference is NLC’s annual legislative meeting, designed to inform municipal leaders about federal policy issues. It also provides an opportunity for city leaders to bring local concerns to their federal elected officials in Washington, DC. Additionally, attendees participates in general sessions with national leaders and a range of educational, networking and strategy sessions, touching on other issues including local energy efficiency efforts, economic development, municipal finance and youth, education and families.
“It is essential that we invest in our nation’s municipalities if we want to help our communities and our country grow and prosper,” said James E. Mitchell Jr., NLC President and Councilmember, Charlotte, NC. “While in Washington, we urged Congress and the Administration to promote economic growth and job creation in cities by investing through the Community Development Block Grant, rebuilding our transportation infrastructure system and fixing the nation’s broken immigration system. This will allow cities to help spur economic recovery and allow our country to be more competitive in the future.”
While in Washington, Councilmen Fred Richardson and Jermaine Burrell met with Senators Jeff Sessions, Richard Shelby and Congressman Jo Bonner, to discuss funding CDBG and many other issues vital the City of Mobile.
The National League of Cities is the nation’s oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.
On Wednesday morning, Richardson and Burrell will join thousands of other elected officials at the Hart Senate Office Building, Room 902, in showing support for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. NLC, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the National Association of Counties are holding an event to mobilize a bipartisan group of officials in support of CDBG and other federal programs important to cities and towns. The event will take place on Wednesday, March 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
The conference will close on Wednesday.