HUD Secretary Cuomo began his remarks in a plenary luncheon to the Mayors in New Orleans by giving the Mayors credit for the progress that his Department has made. He spoke of a partnership that has gone beyond rhetoric to prove to the American people what was said could actually be done. It was not just a case of ì wishful thinking" the Secretary said, it was what could "actually be done."

The Secretary said that HUD was working with a new breed of Mayors: ì Mayors who can actually get the job done. To the extent that HUD has transformed itself from a bureaucracy to a vehicle of facilitation, it’s only because we follow your lead."

Commenting on the President Clinton’s release of the Third Annual State of the Cities Report, the Secretary said that this is the first time that such a report has been done on an annual basis. It is, he added, "the last piece in our equation."

The Secretary said: ì... to get done what we needed done, we had three essential steps. First we had to communicate the need to the American people. We had to expose the need and we’ve done that. Second we had to prove our competence, prove that we could solve these issues and we’ve done that. And now thirdly we have to put together a winning coalition. We need a coalition that can actually get these things accomplished. Whether it’s the State legislature, or a United States Congressman, a willing coalition that can make these initiatives and these dreams a reality. And we see that in this report because we have a real opportunity in my opinion that we can smooth a partnership with the outlying counties and the newer counties that we could never have done before. Five or ten years ago if somebody said we really believe we could put our hands out across the border and join forces with city and county, I would have said it’s a nice thought but not a political reality because there is too much between them."

The State of the Cities Report says that where there is good news it is getting better and where there is bad news it is getting worse. The stronger, larger cities that are doing well in the economy are now doing better. "They have improved," the Secretary said. More people are working in central cities than ever before, unemployment has been reduced, and more people are working and earning more. "Two-thirds of our cities increased their population between 1980 and 1996,î the Secretary said.

"We also happen to have the highest homeownership rate in history 66.7 percent. More Americans own their own home today than ever before. And, we have the highest homeownership rate in cities, 50.3 percent For the first time in history more than 50% of the city residents are homeowners," the Secretary said.

"I told the President of the United States that there may be a coincidence that I am the Housing Secretary and the homeownership rate is at its highest point in history. But to tell you the truth, I am going to take the credit for it. Because if the numbers were going the other way, I would be getting the blame for it," the Secretary added.

HUD Secretary Cuomo continued: "So the strong are getting stronger. The cities that are doing well are even doing better and that’s half the story. The other half of the story are those cities that are not doing so well are getting left behind relative to the high performance. In one out of three cities, poverty is 50 percent higher than the national rate. One out of six cities unemployment is 50 percent higher than the national rate. One out of 5 cities are actually getting smaller -- five percent smaller at a time when the nation actually grew by 17 percent."

"The suburbs are also experiencing the same phenomena. The inner-ring suburbs now look like the inner cities. An alliance must be formed with the older suburbs as well as the newer suburbs which are experiencing sprawl. The problems are the same. The solutions are the same for inner city, inner -ring suburbs and the newer suburbs."

To equalize the playing field between those who are strong and those who have been left behind, the Secretary cited a number of existing programs such as Empowerment Zones, Section 108 and the FY2000 budget request for APIC. He also announced several initiatives that will reduce the homeownership gap that divide American cities and suburbs, which he called "a four-part Cities 2000 Agenda:

• Help more teachers become homeowners to help revitalize communities where they work through the new Teacher Next Door Initiative.
• Cut HUD’s Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance premiums for first-time homebuyers who buy homes in central cities and participate in housing counseling programs.
• Increase capital investment in cities and increase the availability of affordable mortgage financing for low and moderate income American families.
• Mobilize thousands of volunteers around the nation to rehabilitate deteriorated and abandoned housing on Oct. 16, through a new volunteer initiative called Raise The Roof Day. This will maintain the supply of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families in many cities.