Stimulus. Stimulus. Stimulus.

Washington DC
November 7, 2008

Stimulus. Stimulus. Stimulus. How much? 60 billion? 150 billion? 200 billion? 300 billion? When? During a Lame Duck Session the week of November 17? After President-elect Obama takes the oath on January 20? There’s so much talk and speculation that it’s hard to stay on top of it. The stimulus buzz caused Norm Ornstein of The American Enterprise Institute to say on a C-SPAN panel last night that we are entering a “Cialis” period where we are going to be stimulated for a long time.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put $60 billion back on the table and says that is a starting point for action before our new president takes office. Other House Leaders and Senators want more now.
Press reports and leaks confirm that President Obama will propose additional stimulus spending after January 20.

So, we could have two major stimulus spending measures enacted over the next four months.

We could have a “down payment” package coming from Pelosi to jump-start the nation order to counter the worsening downturn and rising unemployment. And we could have a bigger stimulus and spending and tax measure after our 44th President takes office. No doubt, all signs and political speculation point to the need for President Obama to move swiftly with bold proposals to calm Wall Street and counter the recession.

We are ready with our “MainStreet Stimulus.” At our leadership meeting in Florida on October 4, Stamford (CT) Mayor Dannel Malloy proposed that we should have a Main Street stimulus for our cities and small businesses on Main Street America. Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums echoed Mayor Malloy’s recommendation and there was consensus for us to develop the MainStreet Stimulus proposal. Conference President Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, directed me to develop a jobs and infrastructure proposal with short-term “ready-to-go” projects for our cities and metro-economies.

Conference staff and I returned to Washington to do what the mayors told us to do. Using expert information and the best advice we could get, we worked for several days together to develop an $89.9 billion jobs and infrastructure proposal in 10 sectors. It is a balanced plan and would provide federal money to cities, counties, and states. In addition, other measures call for stimulus funding to the states for Medicaid, food stamps, and unemployment benefits.

The MainStreet Stimulus was adopted by our USCM Leadership on a conference call meeting on October 20. On October 29, Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson, before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Trenton Mayor Doug Palmer, before the House Ways and Means Committee, simultaneously and boldly launched our MainStreet Stimulus before these two powerful committees. Both Past-Presidents did a masterful job and our MainStreet Stimulus proposal was well received.

Since the hearing we have not stopped with meetings on Capital Hill and conversations with allies to gather further support.

What makes the USCM MainStreet Stimulus package different from the $60 billion stimulus package passed by the House and the Senate package receiving 52 votes last month? While we applaud the components of the previous package, we have added three changes. First, we are proposing that a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Green Jobs Energy Block Grant must both be added for Main Street America. Further we are demanding that all highway spending be distributed through the Surface Transportation Program to ensure that local metro officials have the flexibility to tailor needed short-term projects to meet local metro needs. All three of our components give money to Governors. The CDBG and Green Jobs components would provide 30 percent of all funds to the states. Further, the STP Transportation Program provides even more than 30 percent to the states. We assert that Main Street, cities and counties are most capable of starting immediately on ready-to-go projects that will lessen the economic downturn.

To further document our MainStreet Stimulus, Conference President Diaz asked me to conduct a survey across the board to our cities hitting all ten sectors of our MainStreet Stimulus proposal. We will prove we can effectively utilize stimulus funds in short-term deferred maintenance, repair, and reconstruction projects that will meet the test of providing immediate economic relief and jobs for cities, counties, states ­­– and our nation. We will release our survey findings next week and it will be most important as we go forward to Capitol Hill when Congress returns on November 17.

We can also use this information for additional measures President-elect Obama will propose after January 20. A special thanks to all of you as you help us with this survey and continue to give us the ground support we must have when Congress comes back. Next week you must continue to reach out to your Congressional delegations. We have the answer for what they need. The American people are demanding action. We have the answer; it’s our MainStreet Stimulus. We need your help now. Please Help.

6.5 Unemployment Highest in 14 Years

Today’s unemployment announcement of 6.5 percent is the highest in 14 years. 240,000 jobs lost last month and thousands of jobs will be lost before President-Elect Obama takes office on January 20. This worsening situation proves the point that Main Street America needs our MainStreet Stimulus.

President-Elect Obama

We reflect on what Senator Obama’s election means to American and to the World. So much has been said. Not since World War II ended, have we seen such jubilation on the streets of our cities. This wasn’t about a sports event such as winning The Super Bowl or The World Series. It was a political decision made by the American voters that caused thousands to pour onto our streets with sheer joy.

President-Elect Obama won’t have time for a honeymoon or a boxed-in 100 day agenda. The new government is coming at us fast. Rahm Emmanuel is the best choice for Chief of Staff. He was the person behind the congressional victories two years ago. He is fearless and focused. We thank him for giving up so much at this time in his life. He could stay there in Congress and be Speaker of the House. He could be a United States Senator from Illinois. Devoted to his family, all of them will have to sacrifice their time with him because the Chief of Staff to the President of the United States is a 24/7 way of life. None are small measures. The President called. He came. He is a pragmatist and he will help us get things done. President Obama is smart in getting his White House Staff established as his first order of business. They can and will help him during the most challenging economic decisions he has to make now.

There has been a lot of discussion about those who “paved the way” for us to elect an African-American as our 44th President. I must mention the significance to this event that came from the election of the first mayors of African descent. It came from Carl Stokes of Cleveland when he beat a Taft in 1967. Then came Dick Hatcher of Gary, Indiana. And on and on the change, the election of African-American mayors, swept across our cities with the one and only Maynard Jackson of Atlanta and “She Makes Us Proud” Shirley Franklin. The Morials of New Orleans, Bradley of L.A., Wellington Webb of Denver, Washington of Chicago, Dinkins of New York City, and Palmer of Trenton. For the first time, with the election of the African-American mayors, a change in the mindset of many voters of all races began in our great cities through the decades before Senator Obama’s hope and change movement mesmerized us into this defining and historical moment. Today, we are so proud of our new President for our great nation and the world. And today, I pause to reflect and say that the election of all African-Americas played a part. I know that Carl Stokes and Maynard are up there in Heaven with a big smile and thinking they played a small part for America to arrive in 2008 last Tuesday night at 11:00 p.m. when the televisions all over the world witnessed Senator Barack Obama, the son of Kenya and Kansas, being proclaimed and elected to be the most powerful person on Earth.