By Yuriy Dyudyuk, USCM Intern
February 6, 2006

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke at the January 27th Plenary session of the Conference of Mayors. Pelosi, daughter of and sister to two former mayors of Baltimore, praised Conference President Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill's leadership and stewardship of the organization, and Conference Executive Director Tom Cochran's unflagging work, as well as The Conference's contribution to our cities.

“Cities are America's centers of commerce - traditionally, they have also been our centers of opportunity, and they must continue to be," Pelosi said, as she spoke about a new Democratic Innovation Agenda that she said will reach out across party lines in order to "maintain America's leadership and innovation" in the world economy.

Pelosi said that House Democrats have been working with leaders in business and the academic community to put together an aggressive plan to maintain America status and to unleash the next generation of discovery, invention and growth.

The proposed initiative has four major components. First, Pelosi said, the agenda calls for investment in science and engineering education, and in research and development. This would be done by training more qualified teachers in the sciences from kindergarten to high school in the form of Teach Act and the Strengthen our Schools Act. Pelosi also stressed the need for the opportunity of every American to learn outside of the classroom and suggested better Public/Private partnerships in order to provide broadband internet "from coast to coast, from home to home." Pelosi praised the efforts of Fort Wayne Mayor Graham A. Richard. Fort Wayne is the first city in the Midwest to have fiber optic broadband services for nearly 100,000 households, small businesses and schools. This, she said, makes Fort Wayne a "national model for innovation and a strong city for a strong America. "The third component calls for energy independence through the use of bio fuels or hybrid and electric vehicles, because "energy money should be spent in the American Midwest, not the Middle East." Lastly, Pelosi said the agenda called for maintaining America’s entrepreneurial spirit through technical assistance, financial support and health care costs to small businesses.

In addition to supporting education and energy independence, Pelosi added that cities must also be safe, recounting the shortcomings of American emergency services as highlighted by the 9/11 Commission's final report card. She said these emergency services will receive heavy funding cuts in the 2007 budget; seven percent from the State Homeland Security Grant Program, 30 percent from FIRE Act programs and six percent from the Emergency Management Performance Grants, just to name a few. "We need the help of the US Conference of Mayors to fight for homeland security funding in the 2007 budget that truly addresses the needs of our cities," she added. Pelosi said she was confident that the mayors and senators could win such a fight, alluding to the success of the coalition against the dismantling of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program last year.

Pelosi said the CDBG program was one of the few remaining initiatives that get direct federal funds that go to those who know how to make the best use of them – the cities.