Washington, DC
May 9, 2003

Fiscal Relief/Snowe/$20 Billion

Republican Senator Olympia Snowe from Maine is championing fiscal relief amounting to $20 billion that will be equally split between state and local governments, and she is winning. The Senate Finance Committee approved the amount last night and the floor action will be early next week. Contact your Senators now and urge them to vote against any amendments on the floor that would restrict the flexibility of the Snowe proposals as adopted by the Senate Finance Committee.

Many of you will recall that the Snowe proposal was presented to the mayors at our Winter Meeting this past January.

Senator Snowe joined with New York Senator Charles Schumer, and of all the fiscal relief proposals, this was the only bipartisan proposal to surface at that time. We have been working with Senator Snowe since then. We need more of this bipartisan mayors working with bipartisan Senators to get things done to help state and local governments through this economic downturn.

Conference President Thomas M. Menino, Mayor of Boston and Vice President Jim Garner, Mayor of Hempstead (NY) issued a press release commending Senator Snowe and the Senate Finance Committee, and urging the Senate to act. Now.

Mayors across the nation are coping with the budget cuts at the state level.

Cities today are taking the hits ... state cutbacks, a national unemployment rate of 6 percent, and less travel means a loss of revenue from tourism and conventions.

States continue to face the worst fiscal crisis since World War II and mayors went on record at our Winter Meeting last January supporting fiscal relief to our states with the understanding that a federal infusion of cash to our states will stop further cuts to our cities. We also supported fiscal relief for cities and counties and the Snowe proposal provides relief to all three levels of local government, states, counties and cities.

She needs your help to fight back any attempt to delete or earmark these funds as the bill heads to Senate floor action. See my fax sent to you, "Senate Panel Approves $20 Billion for State and Local Aid in Economic Stimulus Bill - $10 Billion for Local Governments" on May 9th. We can win this one and it will help you and your city and state as you face budget cuts and layoffs during this period of time in our nation when the economy is worsening.

Mayors and Business Leaders

A large number of mayors will go to Las Vegas on May 18th and be with Conference President Thomas M. Menino, Vice President James A. Garner and Advisory Board Chair Donald L. Plusquellic ... our top three officers ... at the national meeting of the International Council of Shopping Centers as we engage with thousands of business leaders to bring new business to our cities.

We have been working with our partner Michael Kercheval, President of the International Council of Shopping Centers and his team to design a special event as well as working sessions that will produce results and strengthen your local economy. For a number of years a small number of mayors have attended this meeting and have come away with tremendous success. The Executive Committee of the Conference has directed me to engage further with a larger delegation of mayors. We look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas as we continue to bring mayors and corporate America closer together for the good of your metro economy and indeed our national economy.

It's not too late to register and be with us. Contact Carol Edwards at 202-293-7330 for lodging and our schedule.

Mayors In Washington

Over the past few days mayors have been active on several fronts here in Washington. On April 30th President Menino spoke at the National Press Club to a packed house. Mayor Menino called on Congress and the Administration to act now on your Economic and Homeland Security agenda you adopted at our Winter Meeting.

On May 5th, with the help of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, mayors joined with our Human Service officials to release a policy agenda supporting working families, along with a catalogue of Best Practices.

On May 6th, Conference Vice President James Garner presided as we joined with our partner The Japanese Association of Mayors from Tokyo to bring Japanese and American mayors together for working sessions on international travel and tourism, economic development, public schools, arts and culture. Our goodwill missions with JACM began in 1989 and we are most proud of this sustaining relationship. The Japanese mayors continue to be shocked over how little control USA mayors have over their public schools. They agree, as we do, that it makes no sense since public schools, in addition to educating our youth, are so important in attracting new residents and new businesses.

We rounded off the activity with a stellar performance by Mayors Victor Ashe of Knoxville, Elizabeth Flores of Laredo, Greg Nickels of Seattle and Beverly O'Neill of Long Beach, who all testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation, Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines, advocating balanced transportation legislation. At issue is the Reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) bill which will provide billions.

We must continue to push for a balanced bill that will make certain the state governments are aware and instructed to use the billions of federal dollars wisely to relieve us from the traffic congestion that changes our daily lives, keeping us away from time with our loved ones and continuing to pollute the air we breathe. We thank the mayors who came here to testify on transportation. We also thank a mayor who was not there. He is former Fort Worth Mayor Ken Barr who as our Transportation Chair started working last year with his committee and all mayors to prepare them for this week's event. The road is long before this mammoth transportation legislation is passed and signed. But it will be an easier road and we will excel because of the leadership and absolute professional preparation he provided that will continue to prove successful for us as we go forward. Thank You, Ken Barr.

71st Annual Meeting - Denver - June 5-10

We are getting down to the wire as we are less than a month away from our 71st Annual Meeting in Denver.

Social activities are listed here.

President George W. Bush will have his people there. Democratic candidates are invited. Mayors from around the world will be there. Conference President Menino will give his report to the mayors and continue to push our economic security and homeland security agenda. We will salute outgoing Mayor Wellington E. Webb, presenting him with our Distinguished Public Service Award in a special luncheon. And we will be in Denver ... now a world class city ... thanks to the leadership and vision of Mayor Wellington E. Webb and his team.

Register now. It's never too late. It is the meeting this year you must not miss. Contact Carol Edwards at 202-293-7330 for more information on our 71st. And, if I can be of service to you as it relates to our Annual Meeting, please let me know at 202-293-2354.