the Promise Zone Initiative
Adopted at the in 2014
WHEREAS, President Obama launched the Promise Zone Initiative to help communities with high concentrations of poverty to bolster local revitalization efforts in order to ensure that hard work leads to a decent living for every American in every community; and
WHEREAS, the Administration s intensive partnerships with local stakeholders will better enable communities to implement economic and community development strategies with federal support and coordination at the local level; and
WHEREAS, local leadership in Promise Zone communities will focus on creating jobs, increasing economic activity, improving educational opportunities, increasing access to quality, affordable housing and reducing violent crime; and
WHEREAS, Promise Zone communities will receive priority consideration and preferred access to federal programs and resources within the Department of Education, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Agriculture to supplement local efforts as they work toward their goals; and
WHEREAS, President Obama has proposed tax cuts on hiring and investment in areas designated as Promise Zones to attract businesses and create jobs; and
WHEREAS, the Administration selected five communities to receive the designation in the first round last year, including the City of San Antonio, TX; the City of Los Angeles, CA; the City of Philadelphia, PA; Southeastern Kentucky; and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; and
WHEREAS, the Administration plans to designate fifteen more communities over the next three years, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced that the Administration will broaden its eligibility criteria for selecting those new communities in these next rounds of designation,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the U.S. Conference of Mayors commends the Administration for Promise Zone Initiative and supports its plan to designate an additional fifteen communities using broadened criteria in the next three rounds; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress to take action and enact President Obama s Promise Zone tax incentive proposal.