Executive Director's Column

March 24, 2011

Washington, DC


CDBG/Impacts on Metro Economies

Over the past two weeks, Conference President Kautz, officers of the Conference and staff have led a relentless effort within the halls of the United States Senate to save the Community Development Block Grant program, CDBG, now threatened with the 62.5 percent cut passed by the new House of Representatives.

We have joined with The National Association of Counties and The National League of Cities in this effort. Both organizations held their Spring legislative conferences back to back. During this period we have joined with NLC and NACo on Capitol Hill. Our efforts culminated in a joint press conference event in the Hart Senate Office Building on March 16. At this event the three organizations released our first-ever survey, Community Development Block Grants: Impacts on Metro Economies, on the leveraging aspect of CDBG funds which have done so much towards increased economic development and jobs in our cities and counties of the metro areas of our nation.

Mayors and county officials are together in stating that now is the worst time ever for Washington to cut CDBG funding below current funding levels. As some cities are turning the corner toward economic recovery in 2011, they are telling us that a draconian cut in CDBG funds at this time would damage the ongoing local recovery and put these economies back flat on their backs as they were when this economic crisis hit us.

At the press conference on March 16, NLC President James Mitchell stressed the need to keep CDBG funds because they are a catalyst for growth that links private sector dollars to federal government dollars.

NACo President Tarrant County Texas Judge Glen Whitley stressed that local government in his Texas County has put up $15 million and coupled $18 million of federal funds for a total of $33 million for infrastructure investment.

Conference President Kautz stressed that cuts in CDBG would simply result in “shift down” to local governments causing us to raise property taxes to replace CDBG funds.

It was a strong united front press conference with officials telling Washington for the first time that the CDBG funds are indeed an economic engine because mayors and local officials leverage the federal funds to increase successful private sector growth and jobs for thousands throughout America.

City and county officials were all on the one message of leveraging CDBG funds. Davenport, Iowa Mayor Bill Gluba took a slightly different note and came out of nowhere in a most passionate manner challenging the consciences of Congress. He spoke not only to CDBG, but took aim at those who had cut programs for the poor. His remarks had a religious tone.

“To quote the scriptures, ‘Whatever you do to the least of my brethren, that you do unto me.’ In this case, the least of us are our homeless families with small children, low-income elderly and displaced veterans who nightly seek out a place to sleep in our homeless shelters in many of our major cities that are funded with CDBG money and are often staffed by volunteers. These draconian cuts proposed by Congress in HR1 [to cut CDBG funding] are clearly cruel and vicious assault on the least of our brethren; these cuts are truly immoral and make a mockery of the Judeo Christian values that are talked about on the floor of Congress of the Unites States; and these cuts are also job killers since a great deal of the CDBG funding goes to job creation and economic development and transportation so that low-income people can get to work. It is outrageous for Washington to have bestowed more than a trillion dollars in TARP bailout funds for big banks and Wall Street and now cut CDBG funding.

Congress took care of them; why don’t they take care of the working people of this country? And these are the same Wall Street bankers and hedge fund managers who are responsible for causing the worst economic meltdown in this country since the great depression. What an insult to the American people. Bonuses for Wall Street, jobs for Wall Street barons and soup bones for us. How hypocritical and tragic of our Congressmen to do this to our American people. This [the proposed budget cuts] demonstrates just how out of touch they really are. May God have mercy on their darkened souls unless they come through for the American people who need it the most!”

Mayor Gluba’s remarks drew cheers from the NLC delegates assembled. They stood and cheered. He gave us the benediction and we left thankful to all those who are working the Senate to save CDBG. The fight continues. It’s not over yet. With your help we can make a difference to keep CDBG in place providing economic growth and jobs in the metro cities and counties of America. Keep talking to your Senators. Don’t let up. We will prevail.

Executive Director's Column

March 3, 2011
Washington, DC

On February 24, at our Winter Leadership Meeting in Washington, Conference President Kautz stood with the leadership of The Conference of Mayors in what I consider to be the strongest press conference of The United States Conference of Mayors in recent history.

Mayors faced 13 cameras and 30 reporters. Some reporters tried to bait the mayors and get them off track of what they were there for - to fight those in Congress who want to gut our most successful federal initiative ever - the Community Development Block Grant program.

When asked if there were Republicans present after four Mayors had spoken, Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett, glared at the cameras and said, “I am Mick Cornett, Chair of the Republican Mayors, what is your question?”

Reporters were reminded that three out of the four previous mayors speaking were Republican. With that he buried the question of partisanship in the ground.

Every time the reporters tried to get President Elizabeth Kautz off message she threw a hard ball right down their throat. She was tough, focused and a joy to watch.

Philadelphia Mayor Mike Nutter called H.R.1, the 62.5 percent cut of discretionary programs “un-American” and he said that those in Congress are attacking our own people. For a moment it sounded like he was talking about what’s going on in Libya.

The barnstormer was the Mayor of Davenport, Iowa, Bill Gluba. Mayor Gluba said that we are The United States Conference of Mayors, the fathers and mothers of our cities. He shouted loud and clear that this cut will not stand.

Across the board mayors from every region were about as good as it gets. They come to Washington once again to vividly demonstrate that the mayors of this nation, more united than ever, are the last bastion of hope for bipartisan political activity left in America.

They came with energy; they gave each other energy and this organization with mayors throughout our nation are more energized than ever.

We started with a Senate head count in our meeting and we have continued to contact mayors via phone, emails, and all forms of communication.

President Kautz brought consensus in conference calls before the mayors came to Washington that our strategy is to devote our force and power to the Senate. There are 100 Senators and there are thousands of mayors, city council members, county execs, and county commissioners.

We have been to town twice already this year, January and February. This week Mayor Kautz is back in town with mayors up on the Senate side walking the halls and confronting Senators. Next week Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa leads another team of mayors to the Senate. On March 16, we will stand on the Capitol grounds in a united event with the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties. Thousands of elected officials will be there to express our outrage over the irrational cuts that have been made in the House devoid of hearings and bereft of any opportunity of citizen discussion. As Mayor Nutter said to the press assembled here last week, this process is “un-American.”

As U.S.Mayor goes to press, the President and Congress have agreed on a two-week continuing resolution that will keep the government going and provide time for negotiation. The fear is that the deals will not be cut in the light of day and our only choice is to take our concern and political force into the face of the Senate. We must not stop until every Senator on both sides of the aisle, Republican and Democrat, has been told in a most direct way, as Davenport Mayor said to the press last week, “this cut must not stand.”

We must remind them as Mayor Nutter said, “the damage of H.R.1 would be an attack on our people.” We also must remind the Senate that their duty is to correct this injustice.

With individual profiles of courage they must act to stop the devastation to our people and our cities that will be inflicted if there is silence, indifference, and inaction at this critical time in this nation where we are living through the worst troubled economic times since the ‘30s. Without a doubt, it is the worst time to gut the twelve percent discretionary portion of the federal budget. They are afraid to touch Medicare, Medicaid, defense, and social security. And so in the name of reducing the deficit they come after us slashing away, cutting the lifeline to our cities and our people. Every study shows that gutting discretionary programs will have little effect in reducing the deficit.

We are asking Senators to stand with us. Keep the pressure strong. We must not give in or give up. We have no choice. And with your help we will prevail with our friends in the Senate to prevent further economic distress to our people and our country.