06/19/98

(6/19/98) President Clinton to Address U.S. Mayors at Annual Meeting in Reno, NV

PRESIDENT CLINTON TO ADDRESS U.S. MAYORS
AT ANNUAL MEETING IN RENO, NV

City/ County Joint Center Releases Metro Economies Study to National Audience;
Metro Economies Data to be Used in Comparing Economic Output to Federal Investment

The 66th Annual Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors, to be held June 19-23 at Reno's Hilton Hotel, will feature several top administration officials, including an address by President Bill Clinton. President Clinton will be joining approximately 300 mayors (via satellite) on Friday, June 19, to recognize the remarkable job mayors are doing as the CEOs of cities in a U.S. economy that is surpassing all projections.

President Clinton might also refer to the forthcoming State of the Cities report which will be officially released by HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo on Saturday. Last year, the President proclaimed that "cities are back" when he visited the national event for mayors in San Francisco.

Later, an important session displaying the cooperative efforts of cities and counties through the Conference of Mayors/National Association of Counties' Joint Center for Sustainable Communities will take place. The session will feature a joint report recently released by mayors and county officials that analyzes economic output by city-county region. The report, The Role of Metropolitan Areas in the National Economy, is a first ever comprehensive comparison of metro economies with international and state economies using gross metropolitan product data. The conclusive data show the productivity of large metro areas driving the strong U.S. economy.

Supported by the data in the Metro Economies report, Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell will be joined by Fulton County (GA) Commissioner Michael Hightower in launching the ISTEA "Fair Share" Campaign, the next step in ensuring that cities and counties get their fair share of the $217 billion transportation funding.

Early Friday morning, mayors will participate in the wall-raising of a Habitat for Humanity House. This event is a joint effort of Freddie Mac, Truckee Meadows Habitat for Humanity, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Habitat for Humanity International and The U.S. Conference of Mayors.

There will also be workshops and forums on: Breast Cancer Awareness and Outreach, Out of School Youth, the Urban Water Council and Community 2020. The Solid Waste Advisory Council and Employment and Training Councils will also be holding annual meetings.

The Federal Resource Center will also be available for the first time at a U.S. Conference of Mayors event. Representatives from federal departments and agencies will be available to meet with mayors and their staff in the new in what has been coined "one-stop shopping" for federal resources.

Information on the agenda, mayors participating, new reports and press registration is available from the Office of Public Affairs, 702/328-1500 through 1503 (in Reno, June 19-23); 202/293-7330 (in Washington after June 23). Annual Meeting information is also available by visiting the Conference of Mayors website at www.usmayors.org/uscm.

The United States Conference of Mayors

J. Thomas Cochran, Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006
Telephone (202) 293-7330, FAX (202) 293-2352

Copyright © 1996, US Conference of Mayors, All rights reserved.