By Judy Sheahan
February 1, 2010

Former Anchorage mayor, now Alaska Senator Mark Begich urged the mayors at the January 20 luncheon of the Conference of Mayors' Winter Meeting to strongly push their Metro agenda and make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. He said it was extremely vital for the mayors to speak with their House and Senate delegations now as Congress crafts another jobs bill. He said the mayors must make their case as to why this jobs bill needs to give more direct money to local governments if Congress wants to see real results in a timely manner. "Mayors can deliver outcomes, more efficiently and more quickly than any other level of government," he said.

Begich noted that Congress was disappointed that the first stimulus bill did not achieve the needed results due to delivery system delays, discovering that states were taking huge administrative cuts and padding their budgets. He said that the first stimulus bill was crafted so that it favored the states because most of his colleagues are former Attorney Generals and Governors.

Begich told the mayors, "We know that if more of that money goes in your hands, it will create more jobs and help stimulate the economy, but you need to make the case and help them [Congress] understand."

When Begich first became Senator a year ago, the country faced-two wars and an international recession. This year, he said, those issues remain the same but also include deficit reduction, an energy bill, national security, and keeping the troops safe. However, the top priority remains getting out of the recession through the creation of new jobs and improving the national economy,

"The recession is not over and the one group who knew it was not over and tried to warn the country that it was not over, were the mayors," Begich said.

Begich outlined a new jobs bill that is being crafted in the Senate that will focus on the following areas:

• COPs

• Firefighters and equipment

• Summer Youth Jobs

• Neighborhood infrastructure

• Local energy projects that promote a new energy economy and jobs

• Fiscal relief in high unemployment areas

• Improving small business access to credit

• School construction

• TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grants

Begich urged the mayors to share examples on how they are using their current recovery money to stimulate the economy and create jobs and to not forget to invite their members of Congress to participate in events that highlight those successes. This will encourage Congress in the next round of money, to recognize the effectiveness of giving money directly to mayors. He said, "There are many Senators who are probably sick of hearing me tell them stories about when I was a mayor, but I'm not going to stop. The American people are asking for our help and we need to do our job and focus on what is important. My job is to help do it but I need your help."

To see a video of Begich's remarks, visit the website at usmayors.org.