Washington, D.C.
July 22, 2005

CDBG/Senate Level Lower than House/Senate Floor Action Alert

Our coalition to fully fund The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program at HUD has been most active this summer. The goal, since the proposed elimination was announced in February, has been to fully fund CDBG and to keep the program at HUD. Over the past two weeks, the Senate Subcommittee and full Committee Appropriations have met. We were cut in Subcommittee. In the full Committee, we are thankful for Missouri Senator Christopher Bond’s successful amendment adding $125 million for CDBG formula grants, and bringing the Senate Committee CDBG funding to $3.774 billion. The House already has approved $3.887 billion. Both of these figures fall short of last year’s funding of $4.1 billion. Our effort over the next month as the Senate moves the funding issue to the floor is to restore the cut and bring our total amount to the $4.1 billion, last year’s amount.

Please pay close attention to faxes, emails, phone calls as our coalition will need your help to fully fund the CDBG program which is most important to states, counties and cities. We must not stop in our effort to get full funding for CDBG. Your response to our calls for help have been remarkable and your contacts to your Senators over the next few weeks leading in September are most vital to our continued success.

Please contact Gene Lowe, Assistant Executive Director at 202-861-6710 - email glowe@usmayors.org or Babette Penton, CDBG Coalition Coordinator at 202-332-5538 - email bpenton@thebulfinchcompany.com.

Conference President Beverly O’Neill went to Honolulu last week to address the county officials at their Annual Meeting. She joined with the county delegates assembled in demanding that Congress fully fund CDBG at $4.1 billion.

In addition, transit security was very much on her mind, as she reminded the county officials that everyday millions of county residents board public transportation to come to work in our cities and vice versa., millions now from our cities go out into the counties to work on their jobs every day. Mayor O’Neill expressed deep concern over Congress continuing to cut our funds for transit security — even with now two bombings in London.

Violent gangs in urban and suburban counties and cities is another issue President O’Neill brought to the NACo delegates. Mayor O’Neill called attention to the National Summit on Gangs in Washington, on April 27, in which we had several county teams working with our city teams to share best practices to stop the new brand of international violent gang activity, now linked with terrorists abroad, that we have seen surface over the past few years

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff announced last week he is coming forth with a new thrust of new priorities for our Homeland Security agency. Unfortunately it came at a time immediately after the London bombings when the Senate was cutting our transit security funds. Further confusion, as to what is the policy of the federal government in providing resources for transit security, was raised by a statement the Secretary made concerning the role of the federal government in providing for the security of rails and mass transit in the nation. We are seeking a clarification on these matters as so many of the American people are concerned in light of the bombings of transit systems in Madrid, Moscow, and now twice in London on July 7 and July 20. The television continues to bring these images to the residents of our metro areas. And while the federal government has raised the alert color to orange on mass transit in the nation, there is still an uneasiness due to the fact that all experts say we are somewhat vulnerable and it — a mass transit bombing — could happen here.

We have learned, and we have known since 9/11, and before, we must have a federal-state-county-city communication system that permits the intelligence of international and domestic terrorists to flow both ways from the federal government down to the city level and from the city level up to the federal level. To secure our mass transit systems and our national and local rails’ systems, we must continue to work with the Homeland Security Department to make sure that all levels of government law enforcement are truly communicating what they know about terrorist activities which will harm our citizens. .

Another issue that continues to raise concerns is the possibility of a nuclear device that could slip through our ports. Thousands of containers hit our ports every day. While dams and bridges were mentioned in the press statements coming out of Homeland Security last week, there is concern that our ports must be given more priority.

So much of what The United States Conference of Mayors advocates today in the area of homeland security comes from what we call the Morial National Action Plan for Safety and Security in America’s Cities. Mayors, police chiefs and emergency services delegates developed, adopted and presented to the nation our plan in December of 2001, just ninety days after 9/11. It is time we updated our policy, especially in light of Secretary Chertoff’s desire to develop new priorities in the terrorist war we are all fighting. We will be asking an ad-hoc groups of mayors over the next few weeks to provide new recommendations and to update the Morial Plan to meet the new challenges that need additional emphasis in 2005 and beyond.

We are continuing our effort to remove the MTBE liability exemption/waiver that was passed by the House earlier this year on Earth Day. We were successful in the Senate and the Senate-passed bill does not contain the MTBE liability waiver.

At issue, aside from the harm the additive does to our surface and ground water, is the tremendous cost to local taxpayers that will be passed down as an unfunded mandate to our local governments.

We must remove the MTBE liability waiver now. Congress is reconciling the two bills now so they can send the energy bill to President Bush for signature.

This week Piscataway, N.J. Mayor Brian Wahler was most fierce in a press conference here in Washington. He characterized this liability waiver as a multi billion dollar shift down to local taxpayers and he told Washington this is the largest unfunded mandate coming down to hit local governments in years. Mayor Wahler reminded Congress that “it’s the cities responsibility to protect the health and well being of our citizens, as well as protect our water systems. The nation’s Mayors strongly urge Congress to remove this unjustified MTBE provision from the energy bill.”

Please contact Debra DeHaney Howard of the Conference staff at 202-293-7330 or email her at ddehaney@usmayors.org as to how you can help us to stop this unfunded federal mandate that is heading your way now.

Conference President O’Neill has appointed a special USCM Task Force on Tax Reform for the purpose of developing our policy and strategy to have an impact and respond to the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform Chaired by former Senators John Breaux (LA) and Connie Mack (FL) that is now mandated to issue its recommendations to President Bush around the end of September.

Our goal is to have an impact on the Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform before the release of the recommendations. And once the recommendations are given to President Bush, we will work with the White House and our President to ensure that any changes in the tax code does not negatively affect or impair the economic development of our cities. And we will also be suggesting positive changes in the tax code to provide us with new incentives and tax credits— new economic tools to use in keeping the economic development of metro/economic regions strong so that our national economy is strong.

President O’Neill has put this question on the agenda during our September Leadership Meeting in Long Beach. We will then move forward as President Bush has announced he will propose tax reforms for early next year.

Officers, Executive Committee Members, Advisory Board Members, Standing Committee and Task Force Chairs and Vice Chairs are reminded to sign up now for our Long Beach Meeting, September 22-25. A number of key issues will be considered and our new President, Mayor Beverly O’Neill wants you to come and see for yourself what she has done to make Long Beach what it is today. And, of course she wants you there to climb aboard to help us as she leads our organization forward for what promises to be most successful as she continues to get her message out — that strong cities make a stronger America.

Please contact Carol Edwards at 202-293-7330 to register now for our September Long Beach Leadership Meeting.