U.S. Conference of Mayors

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The U.S. Conference of Mayors is an official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more and was founded in 1932. The council is currently comprised of 1,200 cities. The council serves to promote development in these cities, strengthen the relationship to the federal government and enact federal policy for urban areas.

[edit] Purpose

The stated goals^[1] of the U.S. Conference of Mayors are to

• Promote the development of effective national urban/suburban policy;
• Strengthen federal-city relationships;
• Ensure that federal policy meets urban needs;
• Provide mayors with leadership and management tools; and
• Create a forum in which mayors can share ideas and information.

The conference also aims to create a strong business community in cities by promoting public-private partnerships for strengthening the economy^[2].

[edit] Budget and Funding

[edit] Crowd sourcing 2009 proposals

In 2009, the Conference of Mayors changed the format of their website to allow citizens to write on wiki-style pages about whether or not they supported proposed programs.^[3]

[edit] Lobbying Initiatives

[edit] Economic Stimulus Package

The price tag for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act recently passed in the House Appropriations Committee is on the calendar for the Senate. The USMC has a which details the $150 billion worth of projects this bill should appropriate funds to which are “shovel-ready” and estimates that these projects would create 1,640,371 jobs during the next two years.^[4][5] The USCM has been insistent to President Obama and the Congress that the money should go directly to cities, and should not be funneled through the states ^[6][7].

The USCM is also supportive of the creation of green jobs through the stimulus package ^[8]. Citizens Against Government Waste identified the following projects within the proposal:^[9]

$780 million for museums $110 million for golf courses $87 million for bike paths $30 million for tennis courts, including one in Santa Barbara

$1 million for a catwalk for a Los Angeles convention center $350,000 for an Albuquerque, New Mexico fitness center $6 million to heat a swimming pool in Maui $1.5 million in order to reduce prostitution in Ohio

[edit] Legislation

There are currently thirteen areas of legislation the USCM focuses its lobbying efforts on. Nine of these have standing Committees that discuss, debate and draft the Conference of Mayors' positions ^[10]. The legislation areas are:

[edit] Health care

Legislation concerning health care and human service initiatives at the local and national level are one of the priorities of USCM. Programs included in this area are the "Career Tracks" program in Denver, Colorado, which placed those on welfare into other government jobs such as social service eligibility technicians, and child care workers.^[11]

The USCM has also supported National Health Care, which was noted when they passed a resolution supporting the "National Health Insurance Act", also known as H.R. 676.^[12] Since passing this resolution Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, City of Los Angeles, has been appointed to Obama’s Economic Advisory Board.^[13]

[edit] Economic legislation

• Taxes & Budget

• Community & Economic Development: The standing committee for this legislation area is Community Development and Housing which is chaired by Ron Dellums (Oakland, CA).
  

• Housing

[edit] Security

• Crime & Homeland Security: The standing committee for this legislation area is Criminal and Social Justice which has Robert Duffy (Rochester, NY) as its chair.
  

• International: The standing committee for this legislation area is International Affairs, chaired by Juan Carlos Bermudez (Doral, FL).
  

• The US Conference of Mayors supports flexible immigration policy with room for security measures. The USCM submitted suggestions for immigration law to the Obama-Biden Transition team that include adding thousands of new border patrol agents, reimbursement to states and localities for costs of detaining illegal immigrants, expanding guest worker visa programs, and a focus on family unification, among others^[14].
  

[edit] Environment

USCM proposed over 11,000 new environmental project in 2008, with the expect total reaching $73 million in spending over the next two years.^[9]

[edit] Community

• Education: The relevant standing committee for education is Jobs, Education and the Workforce, chaired by Francis G. Slay (St. Louis, MO).
  
• Employment Training & Workforce Development: The standing committee for this legislation area is Jobs, Education and the Workforce with Francis G. Slay (St. Louis, MO) as its chair.
  

• Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment & Sports: The standing committee for this legislation area is Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports with Mufi Hannemann (Honolulu, HI) as the chair.
  

• The USCM is supporting the city of Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympics^[15]. This is for the purposes of increasing the U.S. share of international travel and to curtail the disincentives of traveling to the U.S. generated by strict immigration policy ^[16].
  
• The USCM calls for $20 billion for Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). The CDBG, provided for by the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD), "is a flexible program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs" ^[17]. This grant money can be used for cultural projects^[18]. In addition to that, the 2008 Mayors' 10-Point Plan suggests a Cabinet level position for a Secretary of Culture and Tourism "charged with forming a national policy for arts, culture, and tourism" ^[16].

[edit] Transportation

• Transportation & Communications: The standing committee for this legislation area is chaired by John W. Hickenlooper (Denver, Co).

[edit] Programs

There are nine programs the USCM has drafted and supports. These are:

Brownfields City Livability Clean Air Community Trees Council for the New American City

Mayors Climate Protection Center Mayors Water Council MWMA Recycling at Work

[edit] Task Forces

The President of the Conference can create a Task Force for the purpose of addressing individual issues requiring the immediate attention of a select group of mayors. Task Forces are not permanent and when a Task Force mission is completed, the Task Force is disbanded and the issue it addresses is typically assigned to a permanent Standing Committee for continued monitoring.

See List of Task Forces

[edit] Affiliates

Elected Affiliates

• National Conference of Democratic Mayors
• Republican Mayors and Local Officials
• Women Mayors' Group

Non-Elected Affiliates

• The Allied Membership Program
• The United States Conference of City Human Services Officials
• Workforce Development Council
• Municipal Waste Management Association (MWMA)
• U.S. Conference of Mayors Urban Water Council

[edit] External links

• U.S. Conference of Mayors official website

[edit] References

	v • d • e Lists of taxpayer-funded lobbying associations
By type	Cities • Counties • Schools • Police • Universities
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