By Ed Somers
January 11, 2010

The House of Representatives passed in late December a $154 billion "Jobs for Main Street Act" that closely mirrors the spending patterns of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and of which $75 billion would be paid for by redirecting TARP funds.

The Conference of Mayors has been pushing hard in the White House and on Capitol Hill for a Jobs Package that includes targeted fiscal relief for local governments, as well as funding for many key categorical programs.

A number the priorities contained in the USCM A Call to Action: Targeted Fiscal Assistance and Jobs for Cities are contained in the House bill:

• COPS funding ($1.18 billion)

• Summer Youth ($500 million)

• School Construction ($4.1 billion)

• Small Business Access to Credit ($354 million)

The bill also provides funding for a number of other categorical programs intended to benefit local governments including:

• Teacher retention – sent through the states ($23 billion)

• Firefighter rehiring or hiring ($500 million)

• Public Housing Capital Fund repairs ($1 billion)

• National Housing Trust Fund – sent through the states ($1 billion)

In the transportation area, the bill does not contain the additional funding for TIGER grants requested by USCM. Instead, the House bill directs funding through more traditional mechanisms:

• State highway departments ($18.6 billion)

• Metropolitan Planning Organizations – for local governments ($8.1 billion)

• Mass transit agencies ($8.4 billion)

• Airports ($500 million)

• Amtrak ($800 million)

The House bill does not provide local governments with any general purpose targeted fiscal assistance, but does provide the states with $23.5 billion more in Medicaid assistance (FMAP) which amounts to general fiscal relief.

The Senate is expected to begin its discussions on a possible jobs package when it returns in late January – with Senate Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin (IL) and Senator Byron Dorgan (ND) heading up development of the Senate package.

Under the leadership of USCM President Elizabeth B. Kautz of Burnsville, the Conference of Mayors has been working with Senator Mark Begich of Alaska on the Senate strategy for the jobs bill. Begich has stressed that mayors must contact their Senators directly and immediately to request the Senate to act on a jobs bill, and urge that the Senate bill not simply default to the states in terms of providing needed jobs creation funding.

A copy of the USCM jobs proposal has been sent to all Senators, and is available at usmayors.org.