August 5, 2002

"North Coast Seafoods is a great example of our new -Back Streets- program in Boston, that reaches out to the -hidden- businesses of our city, the light industrial and back office firms that are a significant part of our local economy, and provides necessary assistance — from relocation aid to marketing to financing.

"We are proud of North Coast Seafoods. We are proud of -Back Streets.- And I know that in cities around the country, mayors are taking the initiative to create and preserve jobs, so that more and more families can thrive.

"But we are running our cities in uncertain times. Our national economy is stalled and our national government is, at best, stuck in neutral. The time has come for all parties in Washington to wake up and move forward. Cities have been working on two tracks since September 11 — to bolster homeland security and sustain the economic growth of the past decade. We cannot do that alone, but we can lead, in the hope that Washington will eventually follow.

"This morning, the leadership of the United States Conference of Mayors agreed to take our case to Washington on September 26 — Lobby Day — for America's cities. We will be inviting all mayors to join us in the nation's capital to meet with our congressional leaders and urge them to support the working families agenda that we passed in Madison last month.

"Now, in order to be a working family, you have to have work! That is why we were stunned when Congress cut $400 million in funds for dislocated worker training last week in the pending supplemental budget. In the current economic turbulence, many individuals are seeking new jobs that require new skills. They should have access to these resources, so we urge Congress to reconsider that cut.

"We also need long-term measures to bolster the economy and one of the best ways to do that is through housing. It creates jobs and shelter and we know there's not enough of it. In May, we developed our policies at the National Housing Summit. Now, we are focused on the politics of putting workforce housing on everyone's agenda.

"Today, we agreed to set up a network of regional chairs and state -whips- that will coordinate our effort to raise the visibility of our housing crisis. These mayors will lobby their members of Congress, build local coalitions for housing and attract new partners to our effort. Congress is considering housing legislation right now, and we will press them to act in order to produce new units and provide new jobs.

"We also began a discussion today around the issue of remembering the victims of September 11, as that date approaches. The United States Conference of Mayors will be working with mayors around the country so that we may speak out, with one voice, in saying we will never forget this horrible act of terrorism and we will band together as a nation to prevent future actions. We have already established a partnership with the American Association of Museums, who will be reaching out to young people on that day, and we will be looking to join with others, as America's cities speak out as one.

"This afternoon, we will be briefed on a range of national issues, such as the future of Amtrak, the reauthorization of welfare reform and the status of homeland security funding. Tomorrow, we will kick off our new partnership with the Broad Foundation, as mayors around the country get more and more involved with education reform, and we will hear from Wayne Ayres, the Chief Economist of Fleet Bank, about where our economy is headed in the months to come.