-- weathering of mayors, the largest of mayors -- gathering of mayors, the largest of anywhere. it will be an exciting week in washington, dc glad we are here when there is nothing else going on. basically have the media all to ourselves this week. we know we have got a job to do and that this is a great time for mayors to be in washington, dc. now more than ever washington and the country need to be reminded that it is still possible to look past party affiliation and work together and to get things done. let me introduce myself. i am the mayor of rochester hills and president of the united states conference of mayors. --is the mantra we should shed party labels. it is in our agenda. it is proven by the men and women that are standing up here this morning. i would like to -- this is the most challenging part. i would like a quick roll call to introduce themselves. the focus here is your name and your city number not your latest economic win. >> [laughter] baseballll score, team. why don't we start way down here with the mayor here. and whoever else is trying to can, -- as best we >> massachusetts. >> mayor of framingham, massachusetts. >> des moines, iowa. >> minnesota. >> dayton. >> las cruces. >> tacoma, washington. >> new orleans. >> virginia. >> lincoln, nebraska. >> largo, florida. >> ohio. >> bridgeport, connecticut. >> california. >> lillie mae, city of fremont, california. >> rochester, minnesota. >> austin, texas. >> orlando. >> dublin, california. >> tempe, arizona. >> muriel bowser, washington, dc. >> new york. >> louisville. >> steve benjamin, columbia, south carolina. >> randy henderson, fort myers, florida. >> eric garcetti, los angeles. >> michigan. >> new jersey. >> john giles. >> christine, parkland, florida. >> michigan. >> bermuda. >> ohio. walsh, boston, massachusetts. we decided to take the super bowl out this year. >> [laughter] >> we appreciate you. >> brian's little brother. >> jimmy duncan, seattle, washington. >> burnsville, minnesota. >> kris kobach them, once again. panorama shot. bryan: we also have additional mayors coming in. slide in. >> youngstown, ohio. >> we could be joined by others as well. thank you, all -- >> oakland city. >> oklahoma. >> dallas, texas. >> des moines. >> iowa. bryan: yes. basically every layer in america is here as you can tell. that winter meeting is off to a really exceptional start. we already discussed the forecast for our cities. the current state of opportunity zones with senator scott. we reviewed the mayor's water council and received remarks from the epa. we are examining ideas for economic growth in distressed communities. our attendance and engagement is strong. we have mayors from 46 states, every corner from miami to anchorage and city -- san diego to boston. tohave from 2000 residents 8.7 million. i am pleased to say the mayors from america's three largest cities are here. we will be speaking to our membership. mayor deblasio, mayor garcetti and mayor lightfoot are here. we will get a look at the innovative work transpiring in those three great cities. we will hear from presidential candidate, former mayor mike bloomberg and tomorrow former mayor pete buttigieg will be here. fans of both the hind me. both of them are proud to be colleagues of ours. hereor of favorite will be to share what americans are looking for in the national discussion. and valerie, the board chair of what we all vote will address all of us during our women mayors leadership plenary session. and i will include our week with a visit to the white house where senior meet with several members of the president staff and president trump himself to talk about transforming america's communities. we are excited to visit with the white house and appreciate the president's warm and inclusive invitation. we are on the front lines of great challenges and we know how many policy decisions affect people and our communities. this is why we are putting forward our mayors vision, the 2020 vision for america, our call for action. we are asking everyone to comment and hopefully adopt the 12 principles we hold dearly in this document. over 99 mayors participated in this reparation. i's, centered on three innovation, infrastructure and inclusion. at this player -- meeting we will year from mayors about what they are doing locally to solve the challenges of our day, addressing homelessness, housing and human rights to transportation, trade and technology centered around those three i's. but we must have a partnership between federal and local officials. that is what this call to action can provide. we will use it to engage candidates for federal office including those running for our nation's highest office. we believe we are at a historic moment. this is a year of great consequence. there are serious issues that will be debated on the biggest stages. these matter most to the residents who elected us and issues in our cities, that center around the bipartisan platform of infrastructure, innovation and inclusion. we know our conference is taking place against the backdrop of challenging times some would characterize as the ongoing dysfunction in washington, but we won't be distracted. , the son ofll iii tip o'neill, wrote that the ongoing standoff between his dad and president reagan were rare. he wrote what they both deplored more than the others political philosophy was stalemate. a country so polarized by ideology and party politics that could not go forward. there were tough words and important disagreements but there was the stronger commitment to get things done. that is what america's mayors are doing here and at home. we have more in common and agree on much more than what we disagree. we remain optimistic and we are bullish on america's future. i look forward to working with the men and women standing with me beside -- beside me here today. i am confident we will get it done. i appreciate you being here. we were we get to questions, we have asked a few leadership mayors to send -- have some messages. this is led by the second vice president, and we are fortunate to have a fantastic team. the first vice president is the tremendous mayor of louisville, greg fisher. we would like him to share his thoughts. mayor fisher. [applause] >> thank you, president barnett. good morning, everybody. referredent barnett to, there is a small proceeding going on across town right now. what is most important to the citizens of america is what happens with this bipartisan group of leaders at the local level. we know that when americans are surveyed about who they trust the most to get the job done, it is this group might appear. the realityn business. we have to keep our eyes on the prize. that is making sure each and every one of our citizens are connected to a bright and hopeful way of doing that. there is not a republican or democratic way of doing that. we heard news that highlights the job we are in. doesn't look like we will have a recession. that is what the experts say. this recovery is long in the tooth, but our jobs are easier with a healthy economy. but too many people don't feel like they are connected to that prosperous economy that is going on. we celebrate the big picture, but what we are working on is the picture of the folks that are being left behind and left out. when you look at the longer gdp growth of our country, we are seeing the impact of the decline in the number of immigrants being let in. you improve gdp through population. we are seeing a population decreased forecasted for america . the reality of getting immigration fixed has never been more important. from a moral standpoint, the people in our cities, documented and undocumented and for the productivity reason. those are the kind of issues we are working on here today to make sure the health of our cities is vibrant and alive for a great future. i could not imagine doing it with any greater group of folks than these bipartisan americans, these mayors right here. thank you. [applause] i would like to ask our second vice president, a beloved leader for many years, dayton come up.n whaley, to [applause] nan: thank you. it is always a pleasure, even in these interesting times, to get together with the people who get it done, fellow mayors from across the country. as we think about the history of the conference of mayors, this is our 88th mentor weeding -- winter meeting, we started in a time of great action, when mayors were saying we need partnership and advocacy for the work of the people in our committed. we are doing that today. we continue to have frustration from the lack of partnership we see from the city. we continue to call for action around gun violence invention, opioid epidemics and money quality -- and inequality. .his group is getting it done besides mayor bowser, we don't see a lot happening in this city. we look forward to the opportunity to advocate, and we stand ready for a partnership that means we will move our communities forward and move america forward along with it. it is a pleasure to be here with you all. [applause] so fortunate to have a few of our vice -- our past presidents here some of both mayor benjamin from columbia and mayor counts from burnsville. i would like mayor counts to come up and give some remarks. >> thank you. it is great to be in washington with my fellow mayors. we do get things done as everyone has spoken to. one of the things with the three i want to talk about is inclusion. we have to get things done with partners at home. each and every one of us have a business community we work with. each of us have residents we work with. it is important to be inclusive and caring so that when we talk with our people, they know we are listening and we will work together to get things done. whether that is working with businesses to reduce their carbon footprint, that is happening in burnsville, when we work with excel energy, who has -- april 13,l 2013 traini saw the last coal coming in various these are the things we do to get things done because we don't get help from washington. in minnesota we work together. the mayors of greater minnesota and the metro cities work what areto learn about the issues in greater minnesota and how do we work together to get those things done? that is how we are becoming more inclusive, to make sure we work together, to get things done low we can't depend on washington. -- done when we can't depend on washington. there is so much we have done without washington because we need to serve the people who elected us to office. and we are nonpartisan. when people ask me, what party do you long to, i say the burnsville party. they are the ones who elected me to office. [applause] our next mayor to give remarks is a strong advocate for mayors nationally. he comes from the city of los angeles. town about 1700 miles south of rochester hills. he is a great friend and strong leader nationally on many topics. eric garcetti. much.thank you so president barnett, for the geography lesson and your leadership. thank you to you and our officers and mayor bowser hosting us every single year. a are always here and you do great job posting us. i am proud to be a part of this rather and sisterhood of mayors. when two officers are shot and killed in honolulu, we reach out to mayor caldwell. when we have shootings in dayton and chattanooga, parkland, we reach out. americans know that there are 50 states in the union. but some say there are 52. most americans know that there are 50 in the union. there are 19,000 communities that comprise the united states, just as important. this is where democracy is alive and well. at a moment of division, disunity, too many words of hate , of us clinging to our tribal allegiances over our national ones, come here and feel what it means on infrastructure and immigration, jobs. what it means to come together and not put america first but americans first here. i am proud to be a part of this group. i look forward especially to continuing to push washington forward, to copy what cities are doing on infrastructure, with a $2 trillion, some say $3 trillion, deficit. we want everybody running for president whether incumbent or challenger to adopt that and pass that and put us on attract to rebuild a great country -- on a track to rebuild a great country. and what we do this decade will define life as we know it, a moment to act and take action together. spanish] with that, i want to pass it over to our host mayor to close us out. she is an amazing leader among mayors and we are so proud to be in her town. mayor bowser. iel: good morning. i want to welcome you all to washington, dc, your nation's capital and my hometown. i almost agree with everything mayor garcetti said except reminding everyone we should be 51 states in our union. i represent 700,000 taxpaying americans who are just like every one of your citizens except our congresswoman doesn't vote and we don't have the cheek senators pre-we know, we have more senators that do the right thing, we could get more things done. know.rs -- and we we have more senators. i want to join and say how conference ofu.s. mayors is to us, our leadership and sharing best practices. how important the conference is to us in banding together about issues that are important to americans, not democrats or republicans issues but issues that are important to americans. on us we are very focused making sure our city is safe, making sure we band together on common sense reforms for gun safety in our cities. i love visiting, but i don't want it to be become of rampant gun violence in her city. i don't want to go to neighborhoods in my city where easy access of guns across the border is taking the lives of people. countryrom across the are concerned about housing and making sure we are dealing with a housing crisis in our nation. we can do a lot on the local level but we can do more with national policies that make sense for all of us. we know and we have been before talking about infrastructure. we have been promised national policies that will not only build our country but put people to work. there is nothing more important than making sure whether you are in a city or a small town having a good paying job, and safe and affordable housing and provide for your family. infrastructure is one way to do it. i join with our president in calling on everyone who cares about our country and wants to lead us to stay focused on the mayors' plan. a mayor -- none of us, whether democrats or republicans or without a party, can go out to the grocery stores, go out to churches or synagogues and not be able to tell our residents we are getting things done for them each and every day. welcome to washington. [applause] you, mayor bowser. we continue to be appreciative of your generosity in opening your city to us each and every year. we all stay at her house. really pretty exceptional. i think what you are seeing here must be fairly unusual in this city, which is to see so many republicans and democrats and independents standing together, getting along and talking about working together. we wear that proudly and hope we stand in stark contrast to the other things you cover in the city. members behind me will vote for six or eight different candidates to the end of the year. ist we will continue to do work together. we feel a shared success. i want to see every other player succeed because the more they do, the more our country succeeds. we stand here to work with a hopefully willing federal partner, to showcase what we have been able to accomplish and what cooperation looks like. we are happy to answer questions at this moment. i want to say one other thing. one reason we work so well is because we have great leadership and a great team. that is led by our ceo and executive director over there in the corner. and an incredible team of staff, support all of the areas we dive into. we have a busy agenda but have a few moments to answer questions. the gentleman in the blue. announce who you are with. >> [indiscernible] about [indiscernible] that seems to be a growing issue here in washington. muriel: it is true we saw in the district alone and increase over a three-year period of 25 ghost 100. in 2015 and now over they are guns that can be purchased over the internet in different parts and then assembled. right now our laws nationally don't address them. we all can do our part with our , but this we know it is an issue that needs national attention. ghost gun'sanned in olympia, south carolina and we will -- in a moses me -- it amazes me when many of our cities have seen gun violence on an individual level or a mass scale, if a good guy with a gun was there -- you must pass good laws. seven of the council members, six are gun owners. iran the second-largest lawn or smit agency. i support gun rights but there also come response abilities. it is illogical to suggest that serial numberst are illegal but firearms with no serial numbers, untraceable by law enforcement, should be legal. we decided we would ban the assembly of ghost gun's in our city and we are, probably will have interesting dialogues with our state. some say -- we disagree. but it is so important as we look at 400 million guns in this country, 325 million citizens, we work on a local level to push for common sense rules that an over numbering -- an overwhelming number of republicans support, democrats and gun owners. we have got to keep pushing. [applause] steve benjamin, columbia, south carolina. >> i heard about you. bryan: mayor benjamin and mayor bowser gave a really wonderful example of local leadership in the absence of federal leadership. yes. >> [indiscernible] my question is for mayor bowser. [indiscernible] furthermore what are you doing to work with other local law enforcement agents to address the problem of gun violence? muriel: i think the answer i am going to give you, many mayors are facing similar issues. frequently people ask me, you have strict gun laws in washington, d c. how are there so many? we are surrounded by states who have a different view how to regulate guns. that is why i am so encouraged that in virginia, they are now taking up a review and hopefully vote in this session on common sense gun laws. that is one way. but we know that we need the congress to act on a national policy for common sense gun regulations. i have a certain view about this. i want the congress to be able thatss a sensible bill protects us, allows for it to really be focused on straw purchases which we worked with virginia on, to be focused on background checks and oak is on what happens at gun shows. that will take the district safer. >> files and want to give great credit to the conference of mayors. -- i also want to give great credit to the conference of mayors. after el paso, nearly 400 mayors signed onto a letter calling for congress to act. we came to congress to call for the passage of hr8, an up or down vote in the senate. we continue to advocate for this congress folks who have cosponsored this. mayors are active in this. we are seeing no movement out of the capital. our communities are begging for this change area mayors on the front line of this issue, we .ill continue to be we have no other choice. we get the calls at night when someone has died from just insane gun violence. i appreciate the support of the conference of mayors and these great mayors who fight every day for common sense gun legislation in this country. [applause] this is an issue that, as mayor whaley mentioned, the conference has taken the national lead in. not only having the bipartisan letter to leader mcconnell and schumer, but being here to advocate for it. friday morning we will have a session i wish we did not have schedule but i am sure it will be highly attended. we will have a meeting led by lori lightfoot talking about violence in our cities, specifically how to prepare for and respond to mass shootings. it is unfortunate this is a topic, but i think 13 mayors will speak on personal experience from having had to go through this in their cities. it is a real issue and something we will continue to be on the front lines. we have time for one last question. >> [indiscernible] bryan: the question was, looking through our 12 point plan, looking at the tax credits and how do you pay for a plan like this? theever want that to end discussion because there is a complicated answer. the men and women behind me have implemented local solutions to many of these by finding innovative ways to fund these initiatives. the absence of infrastructure funding from washington, we found innovative ways whether through public partnerships or unique ways to ask residents to support. for money to stand in the way. it cannot be the barrier to communication. it can't be the barrier to starting conversations were, unless you can find a full solution, we will not go down that road. more you get a chance to talk and see the innovative chance to talk, the more we will see these solutions happening. thank you so much. we have got a busy agenda. we will see you all shortly. thank you for being here >> live campaign 2020 coverage of the presidential candidates continues today in new hampshire at 6:00 p.m. with tulsi gabbard in claremont. on sunday, senator elizabeth warren in cedar rapids, iowa at 5:15 p.m. eastern. watch live campaign 2020 coverage on c-span, on at c-span.org, or listen on the go with the free c-span radio app. ♪ >> the house will be in order. >> for 40 years, c-span has been providing america unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and public policy events from washington, d.c. and around the country so you can make up your own mind. created by cable in 1979, c-span is brought to you by your local cable or satellite provider. c-span, you're unfiltered view unfilterednt -- your view of government. next, a hearing on conditions at immigration detention facilities and child deaths. the homeland subcommittee meeting focused on steps taken to improve border facilities, to provide medical care, as well as medical evaluations given to migrants once they are in customs and border protection custody.

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