Transcripts For CSPAN3 U.S. Conference Of Mayors Winter Meeting 20180207

Talked about the White House Administration and Economic Opportunities and u. S. Cities. This event is about 90 minutes. Good afternoon, everybody. Im going to gavel the 86th winter meeting into session. Good afternoon, and welcome to the 86th winter meeting of mayors. Im michigan great mayor of new orleans conference of mayors. Thank you. [ cheers and applause ] before we start, we can start on a moment of levity. The mayor of vancouver is here, she wants us to know that today is 161st birthday of vancouver. You can welcome them and give them a round of applause for birthday but new orleans will celebrate 300th in a couple of weeks so celebrate for us too. Happy birthday madam mayor. [ applause ] it is migrate honor to introduce the Conference Leadership hospitals diaz, Vice President the benjamin from north carolina. Second Vladimir Putin rochester that i have in the meeting. Ceo and director tom cochran. Great leader, tom, thank you so much. We also have with us in the audience our past president s. Mick core net. Thank you for your leadership. Elizabeth couch of burnsville. Thank you, elizabeth. And several former mayors in the audience today and many newly elected mayors who are with us for the first time. So new mayors, can you stand up . We are tlireally thrilled to ha you. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you. We look forward to it. And to those may ors who are joining us in washington d. C. From canada, germany, italy and the united kingdom, welcome to our meeting and thank you for being here. Im going to introduce our speakers as we move through todays agenda. Just an a reminder all of your sessions are live streamed and available on United States conference of mayors youtube channel. Those of you on youtube, facebook, urks s winter 18 when posting about it or gathering. We also invite you to download and use the u. S. Official app available for iphone, ipad and android devices. Download on app store and google pay. Has winter meeting agenda. And mayors and other features that are helpful. I also want to thank all of the sponsors at this years winter meeting all of whom are appearing on the screen behind me. Thank you all. Can you give them a round of applause because we couldnt do this without them. [ applause ] and i also would like to take a moment to recognize our title sponsor, we work, give them a round of applause if you dont mind. [ applause ] and i would like to thank mastercard and sponsors of todays luncheon and invite their representatives to speak to us for a minute. First im pleased to introduce Mastercard Customer facing activities in United States and canada, including sales, Business Strategy and relationship management. Sits on the Management Committee and brings Global Experience to the role after decade for working for mastercard in the asia pacific region. Please help me welcome craig. [ applause ] thank you. Thank you, mayor andrew for that introduction. And thank you all for the opportunity to speak to you for a few minutes this afternoon. Im especially pleased to have a chance to speak to this group. Leaders who are here representing cities of all sizes from across the country. And in fact in various parts of the globe, cities that represent so much of what makes America Great. Cities that represent beacons of opportunity. Centaurs for diversity or education, culture, for the arts, for entertainment, for science, and for commerce, cities are so important to the fabric of our society. And its part of our society that we are very pleased to be able to support. Cities obviously also face their share of challenges as do all different parts of our society and industry. Changes in technology. Changes in labor pools. Changes in demographics. Things that many of you are grappling with undoubtedly in your own communities. Mastercard is happy and proud to be a private sector partner that is helping in ways in as many ways as we can to address those challenges and help ensure that our cities continue to be the vibrant centers of society that they are. And im happy to have a clans to speak with you today about a few of those things. Mastercard, i hope many of you have master cards in your wallet or in your purse. Despite the fact many people carry our cards, a lot of people arent entirely sure exactly what mastercard is. We are a Technology Company that has global scale and reach. Focuses on Electronic Payments as the core application of our technology. And to give you some measure of the scale of our business, we have about 2 billion of those pieces of plastic in circulation around the globe. Well process about 60 billion transactions this year through our center in st. Louis and those will represent about 5 trillion in values being exchanged. All within the blink of an eye from anywhere around the globe. Those are big numbers. We are excited about throws numbers. But what we are really excited about is the impact that that kind of scale and reach helps deliver to society in terms of adding value. And just to give you an indication of some of those things. We estimate not just mastercard alone but Electronic Payments in general over the course of the last ten years have added on the order of 430 billion in gdp growth in the United States and created more than 6 million permanent jobs. How does that happen . Through the benefits that Electronic Payments provide in enhances productivity, enhancing efficiency, and enabling new Business Models like digital commerce, et cetera. But in addition to that, we are also a company that is committed to extending the benefits of that economic power to as many people as possible. And we often say Electronic Payments is one of the networks that powers the modern economy. And for all people, all citizens to benefit from that, they need to be connected to that network. And as a result of this, we made a commitment a number of years ago to bring 500 Million People around the globe into the modern financial economy by connecting them to Electronic Payments. And since announcing that about four years ago, we have already brought more than 300 Million People in various pockets of the globe into the Financial System by including them as members of the electronic payment system. Thats taken on different shapes and flavors in developing markets first developed. But here in the United States largely focused on disbursement of social benefits from state and local agencies to many individuals who dont otherwise have a bank account and would otherwise be relegated to receiving those payments by check and having to deal with Check Cashing ability. As well as Education Programs around financial literacy. And those programs have been very successful and very impactimpact full to date. Its a good start but we know there is a lot of more stuff to do. In part, thats what i want to talk to you about this afternoon. Over the last year we have spent a good number of time around the countries meeting with civic leaders, leaders of religious organizations, community organizations, nonprofit organizations, to understand in more detail what are some of the challenges that cities face. And what we learned is there are a lot of challenges that cities face. But there were a few in particular that seemed like areas where we could help as a private sector partner. We heard repeatedly about the challenges of gig economy workers become increasingly p f prevalent in society earning living through piecemeal like organizations as uber, which i saw as a sponsor, lyft, airbnb and they face challenges. Which i say income stream matched against affixed set of expenses that creates challenges. We heard a lot about people facing challenges trying to start businesses. In particular, micro entertainmen entrepreneurs. We heard challenging and make sure our city remains competitive in an environment where cities compete against each for investment, for employers, cultural institutions and for labor. And, therefore, we have sort of sin thi synthesized that in a plan of action that we call the inclusive future project. And that really centers on three things. One is leveraging Digital Solutions to help manage finances. Second is enables greater innovation and efficiency in Government Services. And third is fostering smart cities, again leveraging technology to enable cities to prepare for a digitally inclusive future. So a couple of things related to those. Digital. We are very obviously invested in Digital Technology and commerce. There is a lot that we do with organizations like uber and lyft for example to enable workers to get paid almost immediately if you were a driver for one of those organizations you can get paid multiple times a day using our in infrastructure rather than waiting a week so you can buy gas and tolls. We are proud today to announce partner to enable workers to get paid immediately digitally into a prepaid account and combining that with Digital Technology to enable workers to do things like budget, plan for expenses h forecast their income, manage their schedule, compartmentalize expenses for different purposes, and savings as well. And we are excited to be launching that with care. Com in the days ahead. There is it also work we are doing with Small Businesses, and in particular micro entrepreneurs. Another pie locality that we are announcing this time, today with square, and focusing on pilots in two cities, one of which is new orleans and the other is cleveland, to provide education to Small Business owners about the benefits of Electronic Payments and how they can connect themselves to avail themselves of those benefits. Getting improved ability to manage cash flow. Improved access to capital. Improved ability to identify new customers and increase sales. There is work we are doing in Government Services as well with respect to disbursements. We have through the direct express program at the federal level saved consumers hundreds of millions of dollars in Check Cashing fees and the federal government more than 50 billion in expenses by eliminating paper checks hand continue to work with municipalities and state and federal government to expand that. And, finally, with respect to smart cities, we are leveraging particular to have cities address challenges of all different types working with other private sector partners working our data, their data, and platforms to address challenges related to mass transit and urban mobility, optimizing tourism and Economic Activity with investments in different neighborhoods for different projects and merchant identification to anchored to Economic Activity around. Ill leave it at that because we are pressed for time. We are thrilled to work with you. And we have a demo work so stop by our demo book sometime if you would. Thank you. [ applause ] craig, thank you so frp. Now i want to welcome kathy lou. This has been Strong Partnership please help me welcome kathryn lou. Thank you mayor landrieu and thanks for this leadership of this fine organization. Im delighted to be here and lend our support to this fantastic event. Ive mentioned to you i have especially soft spot in my hearts for mayors. My fatherinlaw, tick luger, was the mayor of indianapolis in the late 1960s and 70s. And ill tell you in the stories he loves to tell our children are not about his 36 years in the United States senate. They are about his days as mayor of indianapolis and revitalizing the downtown and bringing commerce and business to the area. And launching so many programs like so many of you do around workforce training and education to better prepear tare the workn indianapolis for those jobs and commerce. And in the stories that he tells that i was just mentioning, story he tells so compelling 1968 the day Martin Luther king was shot and Bobby Kennedy was there lan took to the streets and walked the neighborhoods and met with the africanamerican rev lands and that day indianapolis was the only major city that didnt burn. So those stories so inspirational. I have a soft spot for the real challenges you have. But also for the difference that you make in peoples lives every day. So thank you for what you do and your great service. Lugar. Its also one of the reasons we are honored to be here and share with you my passion the hotel industry. Because we are partnering with you in communities. From small and independent hotels to the major Global Brands to the hotel owners of hotels, our industry is it a Major Economic driver in every Community Across this country. In fact, hotels big and small spur nearly 500 billion in annual guest spending. And we support 8 million jobs across the country. And in fact you know this story well, every time a new hotel is built in your community, your Community Reaps the benefits. Last year we worked with the conference of mayors and surveyed many of you. 1 in 5 said that the tourism and Hospitality Agency in your city is the largest sector of your ci citys economy. 9 of 10 of you said you would benefit from that. We want to work with you. We are committed to being a good host. Great employer and sub bush neighbor. Every day about 5 million guests each day walk through the doors of our hotels. They, whether its a Business Traveler who is spending a week in los angeles, whether its a couple enjoying a romantic get away, or even a family on their vacation here in washington d. C. To fall in love with our national attractions. When those visitors visit your communities they dont just stay in hotels, right, they walk across the street, they have a doughnut, some coffee. They heat in your restaurants. They shop in your stores. They visit your attractions. When you add it all up, the hotel stay, the eating in restaurants, the shopping t and even the taxes, 1. 1 trillion is now pumped into the u. S. Economy. Not only that, our induce rye is now collecting and remitting 170 billion in taxes. That is more money for your roads and infrastructure. More money for your schools and emergency responders. None of this, of course, would be possible, though, without the hard working men and women of hospitality. They are the heart and soul of our industry. And we are really proud for so many we offer more than just a job. We offer a life long career. A path towards upward mobility. That is the hallmark of our industry. In fact, so many of our ceos, general managers, started in entry level jobs. The numbers speak for themselves. More than half, over 50 of our general managers today or c suite executives started in entry level man as a bell man, dishwasher, at the front desk. The American Hotel lodging Association Shares your goal of Economic Development and this in your cities. Two initiatives we recently launched. The first one is through apprenticeships. They are not a new concept. They have been going on for years. But here in the u. S. In hospitality it is a newer concept and one that hoa has doubled down on along with so many industry leaders. Im honored to be sitting on the department of labor task force and we have made a significant commitment in this space. You see, getting a four year college degreel is not only wa to having a career track up in management and up towards the top. Its important that our young people know that or folks coming off a tour of duty from the military. We are enrolling them in our Apprenticeship Program and putting them directly into management track jobs. They are the future talent for our industry. And its a program thats been wildly successful. Last year, we committed to enrolling more than 2500 apprenticeships and thrilled to tell you that we knocked it out of the park. We exceeded first phase of that goal by more than 175 . But the second thing i want to touch on goes well beyond apprenticeships and i think it is something that so many of you deal with in your cities day and and day out. We have a new pilot we are launching for opportunity youth. The kids who are ages 16 to 24 who are out of school, who are out of work, and in many cases they dont see their path forward. We are really thrilled that we are launching a Pilot Project in four cities in the First Quarter of this year to work with Community Based organizations that connect the opportunity to youth in the hospitality industry. Rolling one in baltimore and rolling one out in washington. And i have to tell you they have been received very well. Our companies are commit go to hiring those youth and we are committing to work with those organizations to provide the wrap around services and some really terrific work going on. So from coast to coast hotels are committed to partnering with you to make our cities, better stronger and more vibrant. Whether working city officials in chicago to make our employees safer or disbursing grants in baltimore to train young people for hotel industry, or fostering development in new york, austin, san diego, hotels are the cornerstone of thriving communities. Hla and member communities are eager to build on the strong relationships we have with each of you. And we do believe that together we can grow Even Stronger kmet communities. Thank you again for your outstanding support and all that you do for our great country [ applause ] thank you. Kathryn, thank you so much. For the past three years the United States conference of mayors has partnered with Major League Baseball on play ball program. In 2017, more than 35,000 kids across america participated in the program. Thats a new record go ahead. [ applause ] from the peanut gallery. The Program Highlights how basketball, americas past time can teach kids the value of sports and activity in every day lives. Heres short video of last years play ball activities. This event involves the United States conference of mayors, minor league hand major league and the idea is we introduce soft ball and baseball to young people who may not have had the opportunity to play before. Im joined with mayors from across the country to make sure we are promoting baseball and soft ball to get kids out exercising and getting engaged in something that teaches them about life. I think it helps them be healthier. It starts them on the path towards a life long appreciation of activity and sports. And encourages them to be part of a team. Baseball is a team sport. And something about playing team sports that brings out the best in people. You are learning about working together. You learn about team work. And you get social skills and negotiation and conflict resolution. All of that happens. Its progressive to give them positive lead models that will lead to a healthier lifestyle. You are our future i say you are you are the future im very proud of baseball and the way they are working with our youth both boys and girls. If you really want to have that resurgence in the african community, particularly in baseball, this is where it needs to be. This is something positive for the city and community. People are excited. They have been waiting for this. And i think this can only get better. I think its going to grow. Play ball play ball thats spectacular. Play ball and flou now we have the specia guest. Commissioner of ball. Rob is with us. Hell make announcement. Mr. Commissioner, thank you so much. [ applause ] well, while i was sitting up here getting ready for the lunch to begin, i realized that i actually became the commissioner of baseball three years ago today. Im not quite sure how i lost track of that date. But from day one, one of my most important priorities was to increase the engagement of young people with what we regard to be the greatest game in the world. Shortly after i took office, doug palmer, the former mayor of trenton, and former president of this great organization, approached baseball with the idea that we should partner with the conference of mayors as part of our play Ball Initiative. We quickly decided that that was a very good idea. And it, frankly, has been one of the best decisions weve made during my brief time as commissioner. That summer, i had an opportunity to speak to your summer meeting in san francisco. And we collected 125 pledges from mayors around the United States and puerto rico to conduct play ball events. To our surprise, we didnt know how reliable mayors are, but every single one of those pledges was executed on. [ applause ] those events introduced literally thousands of children to baseball. More important they built spirit in each of the communities that participated. Our program has grown each year since 2015. And our partnership has become a truly strong one. In 2017, mayor andrew said, 255 mayors conducted events that served 35,000 children increase of 75 from just the prior year. Ill really excited to be here today to announce we are renewing our partnership for additional three years through 2020. [ applause ] im really excited under the play ball umbrella, well bring the spirit of the national pastime, the unifying spirit of the pastime to countries throughout the United States. Id like to especially thank mayor landrieu for his leadership in terms of developing this renewal and getting agreement on it. And again, thank you for giving me the opportunity to be here with you. It is my pleasure to introduce to you another one of our great partners in the play Ball Initiative, jim clark, who is the president of the boys and girls club of america. [ applause ] thank you, commissioner, rob, always a pleasure to be here with you. Boys and girls club of america is official charity of Major League Baseball for over two decades. And certainly a privilege to be with each and everyone of the mayors of the cities recommended her for your partnership and say thank you for partnering with boys and girls clubs in your communities l boys and girls clubs of america is an inaugural and signature partner of the play Ball Initiative. In our Youth Development professionals recognize the importance of the activities and the initiatives that are so important when it comes to play ball and certainly Youth Development, how it helps reduce youth obesity and certainly juvenile diabetes rates. So just like the commissioner announced, we are happy to continue our partnership and expand this year and we need your help. Last year 1,000 of our 4300 boys and girls clubs last year participated in the play Ball Initiative. We would like to commit to expanding that to 3,000 boys and girls clubs participating by 2019. But we need your help along the way. Heres what wed like to ask. If you are run ago play Ball Initiative in your community, please reach out to the boys and girls club and ask to partner in terms of that event. And if you dont have one, our executives will be in touch with you to help lead that event in your community. So we are excited about whats in front of you and what the play ball ninitiative will mean. Also year also at this conference we reviewed our proven track record when it comes to Work Force Development and initiatives around job readiness lan Skill Development programs. Boys and girls clubs want to be your unique partner when it comes to helping solve the challenges in your communities, especially the challenges that some youth have. So look forward to continuing this conversation and following the event today well be sending a note out to executives announcing this commitment and asking them to get in touch with your offices as we look forward to the summer of 2018 and the play Ball Initiatives. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you, both. Asking may tears on opening day, march 29th, to wear baseball hat 6 your fav rirt team and take a picture and post it on social media. Look out for more details soon. There you go, mr. President. George and abe will in be the hallway outside for pictures at the end of todays luncheon. Okay. You look good. [ applause ] come on. Okay. Right here. Thank you. [ applause ]. So happy to have the opportunity to meet with the president. So happy to have t opportunity to meet with the president. Ill let that hang out there for a minute. It gets curiouser and curiouser. Now im pleased to call up mayor of bowser. I want to thank her for hosting a special session at the winter evening tomorrow evening. One of the great mayors. Grayer bowser. Thank you. Ment. Well, good afternoon, mayors, and welcome to washington d. C. It is always my pleasure to open up our city to americas mayors to talk about the issues facing our nation and our cities. Let me thank you, mayor landrieu, and mayor benjamin and barnett for your leadership of our conference. I continue to think now three years in had as being mayor of washington d. C. That this Conference Provides such great inspiration and support where we can come together to share great ideas and learn from one another. And let us always remember that in doing our jobs as mayor, that retooling and getting those ideas and that sharing is also very critical to the work that we do. It is also a good thing that us mayors are here in washington d. C. During the week where the federal government shutdown. It is a reminder that we as mayors cant shut down because our people are relying on us to do the work of running our cities, providing services, answering questions, and helping the most vulnerable among us. So while federal washington was shut down, im here to tell you washington d. C. Was open for business. And im very proud of that. [ applause ] so as we go through our meeting this week, let us remember that our residents, hard working americans in every one of our cities are counting on us to come up with solutions for affordable housing. To make sure we are being creative about ways to end homelessness in our cities. They are counting on us to make sure that we are coming up with solutions to fix roads and bridges and airports and to make sure that our Public Transportation infrastructure catches up instead of falls behind. They are counting on us to stand arm in arm with each other to fight discrimination. They are even counting on us to regulate marijuana and make sure our Health Care Systems are supporting all of our residents. And we mayors know that we have the tools, the skills, and we have the ability to work together, even across the lines, all up and down all levels of government, to get the job done for our city. So, again, i want to welcome you to washington d. C. While i noi you are going to be busy feeling up our hotels, our restaurants, our shopping, our national monuments, which are open for you to see, i hope you have a chance to talk to some every day washingtonians about the progress we are making in our city, but also our focus on making sure that more washing n washingtonians are participating in our pros expert. I hope you will all join us because we will have a washington reception with our canadian ambassador and seven mayors from canada that will join us at the reception. Welcome, all. [ applause ] mayor bowser, thank you so much. And welcome to all of you who are here today. To my fellow mayors, distinguished partners, and guests, i want to thank you for being with us today and for your commitment to americas future. To tom and to the staff at the conference, i want to say thank you for your continued hard work on behalf of mayors in this room across the country and mayors benjamin and barnett, thank you for your leader sthip and continued service to our conference. And to all of you who have joined us today, especially the men and women waiting on us and taking care of us and all the employees in the hotel. Can you give them a round of applause. [ applause ] mayors, i am overjoyed and honored, pleased to stand with you as we gather for our 86th winter meeting. Despite a chaotic and confusing year in washington d. C. , even today, American Cities as you know remain the driving force in the American Economy and our countrys future. Lets make no mistake shs the Economic Growth of the last decade was driven by the hard working men and women on the main streets of our cities, not by tax cuts handed out willie nilly with no thought in washington d. C. It is clear to me that america will only be strong if working and middle class families have an opportunity for a better life, for a secure future, and for freedom. [ applause ] last january h that i know seems like a very, very long time ago, we were uncertain what the transition would bring. But we knew that the Incoming Administration would look and feel unlike anything we had not experienced in the past. And today we realize that this was surely an understatement. While we knew we were facing an administration that put a target on cities, we committed to rise above the partisanship that skews every policy debate in washington d. C. So mayors i want to thank you for your service. You is have shown up every time that we have called and you know and i know, and the country knows, we have had an impact. Our agenda for the future Guiding Principles for our cities. It is model for Bipartisan Policy Solutions for this country. And you put our agenda into action. There was not a better organized and thoughtful voice fighting to protect the Affordable Care act than mayors this summer. Our community events. Letters. Had impact on the votes last july. Our coalition on taxes fought to protect the cities like low Income Housing and historic tax credits. And fully averted state and tax deduction. And yet Congress Continues to push Unfunded Mandates and more responsibility with no additional funding down to the ground to sit sense and cities. This sa fools errand and it should stop. But now that the tax bill is law, like we have to in every issue, mayors are called upon to make this new policy work. We have to balance our budgets. We have to deliver services. And we have to put our people back to work. You mayors have had ha National Impact beyond washington. And you have carried the voices of our citizens when it mattered must. As bigotry, hatred, racism threatened our democracy, not only in charlottesville, but in too many cities throughout this country, our community of mayors organized our come paktd against hate over antidefamation league. Over 300 signed onto this compact to reject division thank you very much and to stands for justice. And as every week and every tweet goes by, it is clear that we need to remain vigilant in the face of discrimination. We need to be a voice. We have to continue to show that mayors can actually unite our country. And mayors you know this because you do it every day, you can lead the way. While the Administration Leads the future of dreamers in the balance, ill say it again, Congress Needs to find a solution to protect those whose only real home their entire lives has been america. And when we win that fight and we go on even further to urge congress to put forth a comprehensive plan for immigration reform, everyone here would agree that if we put five democratic mayors and republican mayors in a room, we could get it done, flag [ applause ] talk is cheap. The time is now. There is no reason for washington to kick the canon this issue down the road any longer. When it comes to Climate Change and resilience, mayors have organized nationally and internationally to do everything we can to protect our planet and the homes that we live in. Why . For starters, because we believe in science. Climate change [ applause ] go ahead. Climate change is not a dirty word in city halls. We see every day risk to our cities and we cannot afford to ignore it. When violent and tragic storms did he ever stated west coast, puerto rico, mayors were on the ground leading response to recovery. And for those mayors some of whom here today across florida and puerto rico directly impacted by harvey and irma, please know, please know that this conference will be with you throughout your entire recovery. And to our friends in california who continue to grapple with historic wildfires and mudslides we stand to assist you anyway we can. Through new partnerships and for Ford Foundation and business and not for profit partners, mayors are more than ever Broad Coalition that can realize americas future in her cities on every issue, mayors have spoken with bipartisan unity and pragmatic clarity. Washington should try that. I said to you in miami our job as leaders is not to resist. Its to lead. Its to engage. And i am proud to report that you have done just that. So let me take a moment to share my thoughts about where we are headed in 2018. As we gather for our annual meeting in breakouts, well cover the top challenges of the day, infrastructure, resilience, sustainability. Well talk about economic equity. Workforce. Job growth. Opioid addiction. Public health. And many more important issues. And topics that will guide the year to come for people that we represent and for our country as a whole. As we look forward, we have to prepare to both steer and to row. The challenge for all of us remains the same. How are we going to unite our communities and make the lives of the people we represent better . Looking at 2018, it has to start with infrastructure. This is our best chance to reframe the debate. To grow the economy. And provide our people with a shot at a better future. Everybody in this room knows that you cant rebuild roads. You cant rebuild bridges, airports, housing without the mayors of america. Thats what we do, on time, on task, and under budget. Its now been over 14 months since President Trump Election Night when he made a promise to rebuild infrastructure and lives of american citizens. And we have to hold him and congress to that promise. Here is what president elect trump said in that speech, and i quote, we are going to fix our inner cities, rebuild our bridges, hospitals. He said we will put millions of our people to work as we rebuild. As candidate donald trump promised, a trillion dallas in infrastructure. Nobody disputes 4. 6 trillion backlog we need to restore our country. But heres the thing. Identifying the problem without a proposal, proposing a new solution is no solution at all. If reports are correct that the president s plan would only devote a small fraction of the funding we need to rebuild america, then hes committing our country to further erosion and decay instead of fulfilling. The good news, our good news, the mayors are already doing their part. Look across the country for proof. Imagine a line that become a circle that goes from coast to coast from top to bottom and everywhere in between from boston to boulder. New york to new orleans, asheville to austin. Santa fe to sarasota. In los angeles the mayor passed 120 billion proposition for roads and mass transit. Over half of what the president is proposing for the entire nation. In san diego, the mayor is working hard to expand his port. Last year in denver, mike city approved general Obligation Bond over 460 Capital Infrastructure projects over ten years. The ft. Worth mayor price is redesigning incentives to drive development and rebuild the citys urban core. Right here in our nations capital, mayor is working on the academy as a key part to reduce africanamerican unemployment. Every mayor in this room can talk about what investing in infrastructure to our economy and work force. So many careers are built while we invest in our cities and connect them to our brothers and sisters in rural areas. Here are some of the reals, the facts that we should live by. Metropolitan populations will grow by 24 over the next 30 years. Placing further strain on our already distressed infrastructure. 65 of roads are rated in less than good position. Were not talking about bumpy roads or potholes. Here is where were linked to our leaders in washington. We will not rebuild this country infrastructure unless cities lead the way. We also understand for the country to reach its potential mayors must have a true partner in washington, d. C. Today, as the conference that represents over 1400 cities across america, lets launch our effort to rebuild america. This is the best opportunity to prove that we still have the capacity to do big things in this country. Lets offer our promise that if Congress Works with mayors, not against us, well make sure every tlar will create a circle that will butt people back to work. There was a time when investing in the nations infrastructure was a top priority for both political parties. 39,370 schools improved or renovated. 1,050 airports. 500 Water Treatment plants. 1,000 tunnels dug. 639,000 miles of road work and nearly 1 million miles of sidewalks, curves and street lighting. If thats not good enough think about 1956 when republican president Dwight Eisenhower in a Democratic Congress dedicated 26 billion for a new 41,000 mile interstate highway systems. These change the way that we live. Ladies and gentlemen, we cannot be strong abroad if were not at home. Now is the time to invest at home. Mr. President , with the greatest respect that i can muster and the members of congress, the mayors of america are not interested in you telling us what you cannot do. We are here to tell you what you must do if you want to put americans back to work, to give america her competitive advantage. Th to put america in a position to win. In other words, on infrastructure, our message is really simple. Go big or go home. Lastly, i want to discuss how the labels wu put on each other trooifs drives us apart. We talk about people as categories, educated, elite and establishment. Coastal versus rust belt or the south. Old versus young. As leaders its our duty to put aside these labels, reject them and take time to understand those who come from different backgrounds, different places, different killtucultures. We need to see and hear each other better in this country. Were so much more than the rhetoric that we spout today. American cities are full of honest, desent working people that share the same dreams and hopes for their parents and communities. They are parents, police officer, teachers, Small Business owners, employee, factory workers, health care providers, truck drivers, construction workers, laborers and millions of working families who are looking to our elected officials to stay focussed on therapy priorities to secure their future and freedom. Americas mayors will lead along side our federal partners or in spite of them. Mayors were looking forward to visiting later today and talking about the issues that are so important to all of us. We will continue to push forward as americans stand up and are counted. Later today well have a recession dealing with the issue of the date relating to women in the United States of america. The mayors womens conference will lead that to us. We look forward to engaging as well. Unfortunately, the trump administrations decision today that happened at 12 00 to threaten mayors and demonize immigrants yet again and use cities as a political prop in the process has made a meeting at the white house attenable for some of us. The u. S. Conference of mayors is proud to be a bipartisan organization. We will be honored to join him. Hold this administration accountable, protect immigrant communities and everyone else with or without washingtons help. I wish to be clear about that. We will not be intimidated. We will not be divided. These times may be confusing. They may be chaotic. They may be frustrating. This is the environment where leaders are called to act. Political stress caused by an economic inequities and rigid activists on both margins may rule washington. I still believe america can win in the future through addition and multiplication. We must reject the division and subtraction thats winning the day. Im confident youll continue to define what is great about america and set the example for what it means to be a public ser vants and what Public Service means. Let he end with this. To those individuals who cannot find a way to make it work, what you burn down, we will rebuild. Will you seek to divide, we will seek to unite. [ applause ] all right. Watch how fast we do this. We just started another one. Think about what is accomplished as the president of this conference. It still exists. It remains our responsibility as americans. The challenges of inconnect. Many people back and too many communities. [ applause ] serves as the Vice President she has an extensive background. Michelle ebanks. [ applause ] here in washington. Support it and i really excited to be in the conference. How are its off. Its present day america. The course of the mayors and the sponsors participating. What does it mean to look at those issues of racial and economic inequality. Ill start with you mark and mayor. Thank you. Im fwlglad to be here. People moved from cities. Many moved from cities to suburbs in the 60s and 1970s. Civil rights and School Integration and neighborhood integration drove fear, exploited by politicians. Move people to the suburbs. Public policies like the creation of the interstate system, accentuated that move. Now 50 years later, 40 to 50 years later, what we have is 4. Testing. We have thank you. We have the urbanization of the suburbs. The suburbs are no longer the old suburbs. The suburbs have urban challenges. Witness Prince George county in the suburbs of washington, the suburbs of chicago, Jefferson Parrish in new orleans. The ring around atlanta. The opportunity. What it demonstrates is you cant avoid, run away from the challenges. Youve got to con front them in the head on in a very direct way. People are moving back to americas urban communities. I think everyone can celebrate that. Within that, new challenges are raised. The challenges of removal and gentrification. The challenges of spikes in housing values which has a good side to it because it increases tax receipts and sometimes. Theres a tough side to it in that it price many people out of neighborhoods that they have a historic relationship with. It isnt an easy issue for mayors to deal with. It isnt an easy issue for communities to deal with. I think we need to have a vision of the city as a place for everyone and a city should have an approach to equitiable growth and development. Mayors have to Pay Attention to how they spend their operating budget and how they deploy resources. Where they place Economic Development incentives. If they are broadly available to all neighborhoods and all communities in a city. I think a mayor can drive that. Above and beyond we heard hay your landru in a compelling way. The mayor can articulate this vision of us and we versus i and them and division and subtraction and replace it with multiplication and addition. Thats just a few initial thoughts that i have. Mayor hancock. I thank you s, michelle. I want to applaud for his powerful words this afternoon. I believe he reflected the conversations that we had in october and then again today with mark. Discussing the issues of equality and inclusion. I think theres two things i want to say about this. The issues and opportunities around inclusion and equality not be program. They ought to be values that every mayor no matter what city they live in must consider when making policy decisions first and foremost. Sometimes we forget that. As i was working to bring out city out of recession and return it to economics stablts, those are values that we should never forget but yet we did. What impact do certain Development Decisions have on minority communities or communities that are struggling along the economic margins. Communities that have been overlooked and neglected. If we decide to place a company there, rec centers, parks. Those have not only great amenities but have implications. We must measure those implications in terms of now were working to improve the neighborhoo neighborhoods. People want to move in and price is rising and people being prized out. Its a sticks and stone that hurts vulnerable populations. As mayors we have to be conscious of those decisions and be ready to counter act that, those impacts. I had the audacity to believe we can improve overlooked and neglected neighborhoods. We got to fight with regards to our budgets and putting in those safety net features that two in and protect those neighborhoods. We got to make sure people do not get subtracted and divided out because were trying to improve neighborhoods. I want to wish you congratulations. When you think about the collective buying power of africanamerican community, somewhere over 1. 5 trillion and black women central to that and were thinking about as later on, womens leadership. This is a special time for black Women Leadership in this country with mayors in atlanta and new orleans. In baltimore and washington, d. C. I wonder how youre writing and reading and how youre consumers of essence are really looking at this moment and what are opportunities for the mayors in this room. Thank you very much. Im honored to be here at this conference and especially here with these two mayors. When i think about essence and it was an exciting moment when essence returned from our 12 years of being Public Company and now back to being independently owned. They were over 7 billion impressions. The community of women, black women of color were over the moon. For us at essence really show this excitement of action. Were going to take ownership and not wait for someone to do something for us. The equity discussion here and inclusion is critical. Im proud of the work with the Essence Festival in new orleans with then founding mayor took what was an idea of the 25th anniversary of essence and make it an annual event that became the largest in the country attracting 500,000 people. When we faced our real point of decision with the tragedy of hurricane katrina, mayor rebuilt the festival in new orleans. Now it drives 250 million annually. Thats economic empowerment. Its a great time but its an opportunity to have a discussion with women and families about how they can be included in the growth with the community and be economic economically empowered. Its an opportunity to show how women can win and families can win. Were doing it in new orleans. We want to do it all over this country. Women of color are the Fastest Growing group of entrepreneurs. Have the highest rate of labor participation. Vote at the highest levels. Want to do more and earn more and are ready to lead. Ill be here after the conference because i want to talk to every mayor in here. We have a lot that we need to accomplish. I want to have you jump in here as the president of the u. S. Hispanic chamber. How are we making sure that the focus and the needs of the Hispanic Community remain paramount in these conversations. Thanks for having me. To so many of us for invietsing me to be here. Id like to add two other statistics to the statistics michelle added about women of color. They remain disproportionately underrepresented in corporate boards even though they are the top consumers of everything in this country. Sadly, they remain around 4 of corporate boards in this country. We need to change that. I know essence will lead the way. Secondly, women of color, on average, earn about 55 cents to every dollar that their male white counterparts earn in this country. Thats wrong. That needs to change. I know essence will lead the way in that as well. I didnt want to pass up the opportunity to mention that. The hispanic chairman represents a little over 4 million hispanic owned firms in this country. Were starting up new businesses at rate of three to one when compared to the general market. When we looked at being part of this movement and this conversation, i looked, first of all at who was leading the charge. I want thrilled to be part of it. I am one voice of many. My partners here from the u. S. Black chamber, the national gay and Lesbian Chamber of commerce. The u. S. Pan Asian Chamber of commerce. They are here and engaged as i am. We are excited about being part of this because of way its being looked at. Mayo mayors, in our opinion, are municipal ceos. A mayor has a huge budget, a huge staff. Is the chief marketing guy or woman, the chief hr person, the chief strategist but unlike corporate ceos, they dont have the private jet. They dont have golden umbrellas. They dont have the Stock Options and they dont have the amazing salaries. Heres another thing that makes them difference from corporate ceos. The municipal ceo said another way, the mayor has to worry about everything from weather to strikes to trash pick up and even to potholes. Everything lands on the mayors desk. Literally his future depends on t the bredth of those accountabilities. We know anything that comes out of this town in terms of legislation or regulatory issues lives or dies and is successful or not when it lands on the desk of the mayor. Its the mayor who ultimately executes on a policy whether its a good one or a bad one. The mayors point, it really isnt about complaining. As a mayor, you dont have that luxury. The only option is to lead. The people in this room, the hay yours that are in this room were thrilled to be part of this. Were excited about the way they are looking at their work and it encompasses everything from bigotry, access to education, access to capital all the way to appreciation for the critical importance of american Small Business. Its creating new jobs of that community. Its owned by a person who identifies. Appreciation in an understanding for the criticality. Mayor, were having a conversation inclusion. Starting with you, what does inclusion for mayors or what does inclusion for you look like on today. We had huge buy in power as mayor. I run a billion dollar budget all in on operations and cal toll. Every day im sieng contracts. On the issue that michelle talked about to get like way in the weeds on this, certain entities standing up to generate tourism and jobs et cetera. So, the issue got to be why take some Economic Development and put oint this money that was an africanamerican festival in new orleans and whats it going to yield. Besides the fact they deserve every opportunity that everybody else deserves, the power this can turn into is dramatic. Those of you interested in creating Economic Development out of culture, essence went from a little old music on one stage over 25 years to being now an event that has somewhere between 300 and 500,000 people. A massive economic engine that produces jobs and income and creates a space. Thats why they call it a party with a purpose to have lots of discussions during the day before you go. The best entertainment that the world has to offer and put a lot of people to work on the issues of the day. If someone wasnt asking the question way up here dolling out the money, is everybody included. Once you finish making sure that everybody has a chance and do people have chance to participate in equity which is not the same thing as equality, then you never get to the thing because its not intentional or purposeful. You have to through the nuts and bolts of the resources that you have make sure that people have chance. As you noted, time and time again, when that occurs and people fwifen chance to compete, you know who shows up . Everybody. Everybody. You know who wins . Everybody. If theres a system thats quote, unquote rigged and you start to notice that a rise in tide, think the tax cut, does not lift all boat, think the reality. Then you begin to understand that you have to redirect and refocus and you cant do it unless you ask the question, does this include everybody and does everybody have fair shot. Ill add to that because i agree fully. I would encourage these types of thoughts. One of the first things, this is many years ago, i did when i got elected mayor is i mapped out our cdge spending. I did mapping. I wanted to know which neighborhoods the money was spent in. It categorized the organizations to whom the money went and found that it was a lopsided approach. I analyzed. I put together a complete physical map grid of all of our capital expenditures. Color coded it by neighborhoods so i could visually see where we were spending our capital dollars. What i found is that baked into the system run by the bureaucrats is that there were inequities that were systemic. If i didnt interrupt the way in which we approached the community money, the same people would get the same money on an ongoing basis. The same people could get the money and the same neighborhoods would continue to get investments and other neighborhoods would get left out. We had a very aggressive program. This is a small thing to plant flowers in trees. I wanted to look at it mapped out. People say youre just being nitpi nitpicking. I want to see where were spending money. I can ensure that neighborhoods that are locked out, left out and people who are bureaucrats could see what i thought. That is see what i see. Look at the map. The way in which youre spending the money is not equitiable. Youre doing things the way things have been done. Sitting in the chair, a mayor can impact things in a significant way. When you look at where you give tax abatements. Where are the projects . Where are the programs . If you have Loan Guarantee programs, where are the projects . One of the things i found out about mie yonority business own is minority Business Owners were not even aware of many of the opportunities that existed. It was a closed little club of people meeting for lunch and sharing information and keeping it close and it was never ever understood until we put transparency and light on it. These are practical things. I really believe that at this point in time, the most one of the most important things mayors can do about equity is you have to preach it. You have to lead it by example. You have to talk to people why a city that is inclusive is going to be stronger than a city thats divided. Lets keep ongoing down the line. Michelle. Inclusi inclusion. I can say without any doubt in my mind that essence, today, and now global, growing multiplatforms would not exist if these two mayors did not practice inclusion. It would not exist. This business. That festival has allowed us to thrive through secular changes in media. Thats inclusion. When i think about the impact of working with mayors and ceos who understand inclusion, theres a piece of Carnegie Research that just struck me. Its Carnegie Research talks about what are the steps to improve any situation. It was six steps. The first step was whats the issue from that users perspective. Not from everyone one problem but for every one to be included those segments, if its not working, whats the issue from their perspective. Then its not what works . One solution. Its what works for whom. Then how is that solution developed and how is it scaled. That to me is inclusion. Taking the time to understand what works for whom. When you think of women of color, 67 single head of household. Twice that not hispanic, caucasian women. Whats going to work for this community of women is going to be different. It takes that understanding and focus. Conclusion can have extraordinary benefits but it takes that change to know what works for whom. Quick looking at your iphone for just a minute and look to your right. Your other right and look to your left. That is inclusion. If you think about the conference of mayors. Im looking at you right now. I see women, asian, africanamerican, young, old, larger populations, urban populations. Look at this panel. I speak to like 95 of the time business audiences. If this was an audience of corporate ceos, not municipal. This crowd would be vastly different. I would say the conference of mayors is a living illustration of inclusion. Keep it up. Youre going a good job. We use a term called Disruptive Technologies or industries. Itd requires us to slow down and ask. We have to acknowledge those barriers. Theres a history of exclusiveness for the resources. We must sit there and ask the question. The first question they said is here are folks were going to allocate money to. My first question is why did you do it this way . Their response is weve always done it this way. I said, well, after this year youre not going to do it this way anymore. Youre going to have a vision, a justification of why youre doing it. Were going to allocate these dollars. Were going to lift up vulnerable communities. If this is truly a value of us, then the people were doing business with i expect to have those values as well. Let me tell you how disruptive we have been in denver. On our new mwbe policy, i wanted to insert and we got it successfully inserted in our policy asking the private sector before you do business with the city, i want to know what your diverse inclusion is. What happens is theyre willing to, many of the generals are willing to partner with minority and women owned subs where they are coming for public money but they wont do it for private. Now before you bid on a city project you must annually file Diversity Inclusion report with us so we can see who carries our values and who doesnt. We now evaluate our proposals based on that. Thats ground breaking. Were saying we want you to share the values of this city. The last thing ill say this is that its also makes business sense. If i have strong women in minority businesses in my city, Small Businesses. We have a deeper bench and were able to with stand the volatility of the economy. Big business gets that. They need to also understand that Small Business sector is important to strengthening the economy of the local community. I dont have to do much selling but this is how we will do business. We have 5 billion kas kacascad rolling through the city today. We met with the gcs and said business as usual is over. People will participate and we will make sure and do this were going to lift up small minority and women owned businesses through these opportunities. You have to lead that as a h mayor. If you believe in the strength of your economy and there for all people, you will make that statement. For our last question, we know that there may be some concerns about who our federal government partner is. If you have the opportunity to send a tweet or Facebook Post to our federal partners about this session, what would you say . Martin, you set it off. Why dont you make America Great for everyone. Might not be able to be captured in twitter. Facebook then. Or facebook. We had facebook, wooeed have a little more space. What i would try to convey is that the long ark of history demonstrates that president s that bring people together. President s that appeal to the best interest of people. President s who have a vision for america that is inclusive. President s that succeed. President s that are well recognized in history. I often wonder because were all mayors or leaders. Those of us in the civil rights base, we have to play a leadership role. Theres a lot of friction. Its hard ball. It is difficult, but i often wonder what motivates people and the great progress that comes from bringing people together. Bringing people together doesnt mean unanimity. It doesnt mean unanimous consent on Public Policy or positions. What it really does mean is you work and you try to the best of your ability and you do it not only in words, you do it in deeds. I would try to convey that because sometimes my heart is torn and heavy by what i feel and what i see. I couldnt convey anything other than lets make America Great for everyone. Thats very different than the vision that hes conveyed. [ applause ] i have the opportunity to meet with the president and weve clap raollaborated where could. My message to him would be something dr. Kings 50th and really celebrating the life and legacy of dr. King. It struck me at that moment that our nation is were at a transit point. Were fighting for the very soul of our nation. He was called upon to lead and to lead all of us. Were all americans. This language of divisiveness to deconstruct at a time we need leadership. I would continue to urge him as ive been doing to step up to this moment, to live up to the legacy that was handed to him by those that know how to lead. That our entire nation even though of us who were dead set against him would line up if he would do that and lead this nation in a fashion that is commensurate to being the great leader in the world. Ill just preface this by saying my College Thesis was on the executive office of the presidency. I have a tremendous affinity for the office, the influence of the office and how americans really viewed prior to this president , the office of the president. Whether it was a president you didnt support or not. I never forget when Ronald Reagan came to my college. We were just as enthusiastic to see Ronald Reagan opini. He was the president of the United States. I just preface it with tremendous respect for the office and say donald trump has irreparably changed the image of the president of this country all over the world. For that, ooas americans, we out to be embarrassed by that. If i had a chance to tweet him, i would say what i said at the Martin Luther king luncheon this denver. Mr. President , either you honor all people who want to live in this nation, native or foreign, or you need to leave the white house. We want to thank our panelists. Thank you so much. [ applause ] before you leave, we have one mr. Speaker before you go. Youll want to hear him. Mayor manual who is leading one of the great cities is here with us. Hes implemented several initiatives that brought growth in jobs in chicago neighborhoods. The mayor wants the next generation to have more opportunities and a passion add voe c advocate for children and wants to address us on the quality of schools. Help me welcome mayor Rahm Emmanuel from the city of chicago. Ill be quick. I know its been a great panel. Look, we live in a period of time where you earn what you learn. I dont know everybody in this room but i guarantee we have two things in common. The love of our parents and a good education. We cant do something about one but we can do something about two. We decide in chicago were going from a Kindergarten High School to a prek to college model. Our Graduation Rate has grown from 56 to 78 last year. Were on track for 85. By 2019 to get your walking papers and well help you. Every child has to have a letter of acceptance, community college, branch of service or a trade school. Everybody will have a posthigh School Education plan. You cannot succeed if you do not have that. We have to help you to plan for that. We have accomplished in chicago the chicago star scholarship. You get a b average, chicago is free. Dreamers can get it. 72 to 74 of the kids that take it are the first ones in their family to go to college. You want to make sure they can see the world and be part of that world that they see around. The last piece we went to universal full day kindergarten. Were on our way to full day prek. Education, success in the 21st century require starting earlier in life and going longer in life when it comes to education. I would say whether a child is from rose lynn on the south side or on the north side, wildwood on the north side or wood lawn on the south side. They see the image of chicago back to itself. If they think that city has their future, nothing will hold us back. If they think its a separate city, we will never get to where we have to go. If we make sure that every child knows through education that they have the seeds and the foundation for success then i would just say to london, new york, berlin and beijing, watch out, chicago is coming for you. The key to inclusive Economic Growth is the one thing thats a passport for all of us to sit in this room was the education that we have. We have to make sure that every child not when they get out of school, not when they graduate high school, all of a sudden at 20 figures it out. They have plan. They have plan, theyre more likely to execute it. Today by 2019, 50 of the kids graduating high school will have a Ready College credit under their belt. They are more likely than not to go to college. Those are what we can talk about housing and im for it. Transportation and im for it. They got to be comprehensive. Having a universal plan where every child knows they have a posthigh school because thats the bare minimum of what the economy requires and making sure that every one of the kids in the city of chicago cannot be excited when a new Company Moves in. They can be excited because they think they can get a job there. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you for sticking with us. We have a break now. Well be back in the room. Thank you so much. The senates Top Republican says the Senate Agreement on a two year, almost 400 billion budget deal that would provide pentagon and domestic programs with huge spending increases. Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell announced the pact joined on the senate floor. However, negotiations continue on Government Spending which ends after midnight on thursday. Watch live coverage on cspan, cspan2. Well look at the possible budget deal that could avoid another government shutdown. With us will be shi of the bipartisan center. Be sure to watch cspan washington journal live at 7 00 eastern thursday morning. Join the discussion. Saturday, American History tv on cspan3 is live beginning at 9 00 a. M. Eastern with all day coverage from the new museum of the bible in washington, d. C. With a symposium of historians exploring the bible and the founding of america. Speakers include Baylor University history professor thomas kid. American University Public Affairs Professor daniel dresboc. Watch live on saturday morning starting at 9 00 a. M. Eastern. The Justice Department hosted a summit to address human trafficking. Representi