Nation’s Mayors Share Infrastructure Priorities with President Trump, Vice President Pence and Other Cabinet Officials During White House Meeting
Washington, D.C. – At the conclusion of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) 87th Annual Winter Meeting on Friday, January 25, 2019, where mayors unanimously passed an emergency resolution calling on Congress and the President to re-open the federal government, President Donald Trump invited a group of bipartisan mayors, including USCM’s President Columbia (SC) Mayor Steve Benjamin and USCM’s Vice President Rochester Hills (MI) Mayor Bryan Barnett, to meet with him and Vice President Mike Pence at the White House.
The invited mayors attended President Trump’s press conference in the Rose Garden where he announced the end of the government shutdown. They then met with President Trump, Vice President Pence, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson. Among the issues discussed were the ways in which the Administration could work with mayors to help address the country’s pressing infrastructure needs.
“We were pleased to be invited to the White House and appreciated the opportunity to share our perspective on what should drive a national infrastructure package with both the President and Vice President. Cities continue to be the economic engines of the country and mayors have taken the lead to leverage infrastructure investments to create jobs and promote lasting resilience. We welcome the conversation with our federal partners and look forward to getting to work on a plan that benefits all Americans,” said Mayor Benjamin.
“It was an honor to be invited to the White House, particularly on such a pivotal day. While America’s mayors work to find solutions to complex issues facing their cities every day, collaboration with our federal partners only stands to strengthen our efforts. We appreciate the honest conversation we had with the President and Vice President about our infrastructure priorities. We are ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work on ensuring the health and economic vitality of our cities and our country,” said Mayor Barnett.
USCM will be convening mayors in Washington, DC in early February to engage with Congressional leaders to ensure that a federal infrastructure package is comprehensive and focused on the cities and metro areas that drive the national economy. Currently, 80 percent of American infrastructure is funded by state and local governments with only 1.5 percent of that coming from the federal government.