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From YouTube: Mayor speaks to U.S. Conference of Mayors, January 2006
Description
This is a video of Mayor A.J. Holloway’s 16-minute presentation to the general assembly of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in January 2006, a mere five months after Hurricane Katrina decimated Biloxi and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Tom Cochran, the longtime executive director of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, invited Holloway to Washington, D.C. to address the nation’s mayors after visiting storm-ravaged Biloxi and the Gulf Coast in the wake of the storm.
A
Leveled
I
found
like
Rick,
welcome,
Mayor
AJ
Holloway
from
Biloxi
Mississippi
mayor
Holloway,
hosted
our
mayor's
Institute
for
City
design
following
Katrina,
which
was
led
by
Mayor
Joseph
Reilly,
he's
already
making
strides
in
rebuilding
his
community.
We
visited
a
Biloxi
and
saw
the
devastation
there
lost
all
source
of
income
revenue.
B
Thank
you
for
inviting
me
here
today
to
speak
to
you
about
the
city
of
blessed
recovery
from
Hurricane
Katrina
before
I
begin.
My
presentation,
however,
I,
want
to
say
something
to
all
those
mayors
and
city
leaders,
leaders
from
across
this
great
country.
We
have
called
an
emailed
us
with
words
of
encouragement
or
donated
personnel,
equipment
or
money
and
have
adopted
drug
date
as
a
sister
city.
B
Thank
you
from
the
bottom
of
my
heart
and
on
behalf
of
citizens
of
blood
day.
Thank
you.
Do
gestures
and
your
thoughts
and
prayers
while
sincerely
appreciated
words,
cannot
adequately
express
our
deep
sense
of
gratitude.
God
bless
all
of
you
when
Tom
Cochrane
has
talked
to
me
about
coming
here
today.
He
say
just
come
and
tell
the
bloody
story
and
I
want
to
thank
Tom
for
all
his
leadership
and
support.
B
He
has
been
to
the
Gulf
Coast
region
on
several
occasions,
I'm
also
supposed
to
use
this
opportunity
to
give
you
an
idea
of
the
resources
and
tools
that
will
be
needed
to
rebuild
a
city
like
lucky
and
to
share
with
you
the
key
lessons.
We've
learned
from
this
experience.
I
think
any
of
you.
We
have
dealt
with
a
major
crisis
in
your
city.
We
realize
that
you
might
not
know
all
the
answers
to
all
the
questions
that
you
will
play
in
dealing
with
an
unprecedented
natural
disaster
for
the
size
of
Katrina.
B
Red
LED
Bush
made
his
first
visit
opposed
between
of
luckily
four
days
after
the
storm.
He
told
me
that
his
seen
the
TV
report
and
a
philosophical
over
the
city,
quite
before
landing,
even
slow.
He
said
you
don't
fully
comprehend
the
magnitude
of
the
destruction
until
to
use
his
word.
You
get
your
feet
down
in
it.
Having
said
that,
let
me
show
you
a
four-minute
video
to
give
you
an
idea
of
a
level
of
destruction
and
block.
D
The
first
thing
we
had
to
do
when
some
of
us
detrás
that
meant
had
to
most
of
them.
We
had
to
basically
stop
and
live
me.
We
had
toast
at
one
believe
some
of
the
newer
folks,
and
we
had
to
explain
to
him
that
we
thought
we
were
in
one
of
the
safest
locations
on
the
pros
because
of
there's
construction
of
this
building,
and
that
we
thought
that
they
were
just
as
safe
here
as
they
were
anybody
to
where
else.
C
People
and
the
things
the
life
we
hid
here
you
just
started
on
long.
The
point:
you
knew
everybody
that
was
living
here
and
where
they
came
from
and
who
they
were
and
what
they
did
for
living
call.
Fiat
macro
is
every
morning,
but
it
was
a
group
of
people
and
random.
Seeing
neighborhood
it's
just
it's
over
with.
E
F
B
In
this
video
and
that
you've
seen
that
a
national
media
reports
tells
only
a
part
of
the
story
for
us
in
government,
we
have
to
deal
with
what
we
see
and
what
we
don't
see.
Things
like
elicitation
that
pump
wastewater
to
the
treatment
plant
that
they
have
to
complain
to
everyone
about
114
limitations
without
a
service.
B
Rebuilding
a
stool
and
drainage
system
is
going
to
be
a
monumental
task
and
would
begin
and
finish
the
process
of
performing
a
comprehensive
assessment
of
the
damage
and
get
it
ready
to
receive
bids
on
repair
and
rebuilding.
We
can
see
telltale
signs
of
the
damage
where
our
underground
infrastructure,
throughout
our
city,
in
the
form
of
potholes
and
in
some
areas,
Park
to
the
collapsing
spree
the
organs
before
the
basement.
But
there
are
big
ticket
items
and,
like
I've
always
said,
you
don't
get
on
the
stick.
B
2
o'clock
news
when
you
dedicate
a
wastewater
treatment
plant,
it's
just
not
sexy
stuff
people
forget
about
it
when
they
flood
their
tolerance,
but
once
that
systems
malfunction
you
hear
about
it.
I
know.
The
big-ticket
item
is
rebuilding
our
major
roadways
and
bridges,
which
is
impossible
to
do
without
federal
assistance.
We
don't
have
the
issue
that
mayor
negatives,
dealing
with
as
far
as
having
a
city
built
below
sea
level,
but
we're
seeing
the
results
of
the
oldest
sections
of
our
city
being
built
on
a
low-lying
tip
of
a
16
mile
16
square
mile
financial
creature.
B
Now
city
got
a
double
whammy.
Many
were
originally
built
decades
and
decades
ago,
oh
no,
on
shifting
shifting
sands
and
that
back
doubled
with
already
low
water
table
myth
that
the
storm
surge
damaged
the
earth
off.
On
top
of
the
road
infatuated,
the
soil
below
the
road
we
heard
we
had
hurricane-force
winds
for
over
six
hours
and
that
winds
kept
the
tired
surge,
the
water
over
our
priest
for
over
three
hours
and
they
have
the
equipment,
that's
being
used
to
remove
the
debris
storm
Thornberrys.
B
Now
it's
good
aspirating
the
situation
creating
gadgets
in
a
pavement
and
asphalt
and
words
damaging
the
already
crumbling
sewer
and
drainage
system.
So
where
do
we
go
from
here?
The
key
to
our
recovery
is
going
to
be
reinvented
from
the
private
sector,
the
casino
resort,
the
hotels
in
villages
that
make
up
our
tourism
industry,
as
well
as
the
revival
to
small
businesses
and
our
seafood
in,
and
the
construction
of
a
portable
album.
B
The
biggest
challenge
in
creating
the
environment
to
make
those
things
happen
is
having
money
to
make.
It
happen
plenty
of
money.
Once
we
get
those
basic
things
in
place,
once
we
were
able
to
set
that
table,
we
will
have
sustainable
economic
development
and
be
well
on
our
way
to
resurrect
lease
resurrecting
that
Renaissance
that
we
enjoyed
influxes
before
August
the
29th.
Thank
you.
A
Our
country
was
hit
by
many
hurricanes
in
this
laughs
of
season
many
cities
to
face
evacuation
and
destruction
and
loss
of
lives
and
their
worst
lessons
to
be
learning
from
all
of
these
hurricanes
that
we
have
had
and
please
that
Miami
mayor
many
ideas
is
with
us
today.
His
City
weather
several
major
hurricanes
this
past
days,
and
especially
Hurricane
Wilma,
he
has
had
hurricanes
every
year.
Florida
seems
to
be
another
favorite
spot
nine,
please
that
mayor
Diaz
is
with
us
to
share
his
thoughts
and
their
ideas.
G
Good
morning,
let
me
first
join
others
in
recognizing
the
tremendous
efforts
that
the
mayor's
Megan
and
Holloway
have
undertaken
over
the
last
few
months
for
their
leadership
and
their
compassion.
You
make
us
all
proud
to
be
married.
Okhla,
mayor
Nagin,
you
talked
about
the
fact
that
you're
in
a
real
action
campaign,
I
just
want
to
share
him
fact
with
you
in
2001
I
ran
for
office
for
the
first
time
in
the
middle
of
campaign,
we
got
hit
with
9/11
this
year.
G
As
many
of
you
know,
Miami
in
South
Florida
have
lived
through
many
hurricanes.
This
year
we
had
Rita,
Katrina
and
Wilma.
Last
year
we
have
four
storms
that
made
landfall
just
north
of
it
and
of
course,
we
all
remember
the
pictures
of
Andrew
in
the
90s.
What
was
then
the
worst
natural
disaster
that
we
had
ever
faced?
So
we
sue
have
experienced
death,
destruction,
devastation
and
suffering.
We
do
have
been
witness
to
the
tremendous
human
and
mental
toll
that
this
takes
on
the
residents
of
a
city
being
uprooted.
G
The
torille
would
last
forever
the
live
of
our
citizens
are
changed
forever
life,
as
we
know
it
will
never
be
the
same
in
our
city,
but
I
can
tell
you
that
Miami
thank
God
has
never
had
to
experience.
Nor
has
anyone
else
that
I
know
ever
have
had
to
experience
the
wrath
of
the
natural
disaster
at
the
magnitude
of
what
we
have
seen
and
heard
this
morning,
and
so
what
is
the
message
that
all
of
us
at
the
nation's
mayor's
ought
to
walk
away
with
this
morning?
G
We
can
reasonably
expect
the
Hurricanes
will
become
stronger
and
more
numerous
there
in
the
decade
to
come
during
this
decade
and
the
decade
to
come.
Just
take
a
look
at
this
path.
Hurricane
season
went
for
the
first
time
in
American
history.
We
ran
out
of
letters
and
had
to
start
using
the
Greek
alphabet,
to
name
thorns.
Who
would
have
thought
that
we
would
even
have
hurricane
alpha
and
hurricane
Gama?
G
We
did
last
year
as
such
if
your
city
is
located
anywhere
on
the
eastern
seaboard,
on
the
Gulf
in
the
Caribbean,
whether
you
are
mayor
Riley
from
Charleston
Mayor
Delaney
in
Jacksonville,
Mary
oral
and
Pampa,
or
god
forbid,
these
same
two
mayor's
in
the
next
10
to
15
years.
Any
one
of
us
could
potentially
be
staring
down
the
eye
of
one
of
these
killer
storms
and
by
the
way,
if
you
represent
a
city
that
is
out
of
harm's
way
and
think
that
hurricanes
don't
affect
you.
Think
of
this.
G
The
federal
government
has
already
spent
billions
towards
recovery
efforts
in
the
Gulf
and
will
spend
prints
of
billions
more
the
American
taxpayer.
Your
constituents
are
paying
and
will
continue
to
pay
this
time.
So
let
us
be
clear:
let
us
not
view
these
natural
disasters
as
isolated
incident,
although
clearly
the
first
order
of
the
day
is
to
rebuild
the
Gulf
Coast.
Let
us
not
make
this
the
only
order
of
the
day,
and
so
the
question
really
becomes
again.
What
can
u.s.
mayor's
do
when
faced
with
such
national
breath?
G
All
of
us
know
that,
as
mayor,
we
cannot
run
or
hide
when
our
constituents
lose
the
roof
over
their
heads
and
have
no
place
to
go.
They
come
to
us
when
they
have
no
food
water,
they
come
to
us
when
they
lose
their
jobs,
they
come
to
us
and
when
they
lose,
they
lose
a
loved
one.
They
cried
with
us,
9/11
and
the
threat
of
terrorism
showed
the
world.
G
What
many
of
us
already
knew
that
mayor's
are
on
the
front
line,
that
we
are
the
first
responders
that
mayor's
do
take
charge,
lead
and
control
our
own
destinies,
because
we
cannot
run
and
hide,
and
so,
madam
president,
Tom
conference
leadership
history
requires
that
we
step
up
once
again,
as
we
did
after
9/11.
Let
us
exert
our
leadership,
our
energy,
our
vision
and
our
superior
local
knowledge
on
this
issue
of
hurricane
respond.
G
Let
us
avoid
turf
wars
and
instead
begin
to
outline
local
state
and
federal
responsibilities
and
expectations,
not
in
the
same
way
that
we
have
a
National
Flood
program.
We
should
be
in
talking
about
a
national
wing
program.
Let
us
assume
our
responsibility
and
our
obligation
to
develop
emergency
preparedness
and
response
plan
for
our
local
community
and
share
these
best
practices
with
all
of
our
fellow
matter
as
we
did
after
9/11,
we
must
prepare.
G
A
We
have
heard
from
hurricane
experts,
those
of
us
that
live
where
we
don't
have
that
threat,
have
other
threats,
but
certainly
not
threat
the
same
as
the
hurricane
I
now
want
to
welcome
someone
back
to
the
conference,
who
has
been
at
the
conference
probably
for
longer
than
any
of
us
have.
This
is
a
senator,
a
senator
from
Louisiana
Mary
Landrieu.
A
H
H
Thank
you
for
your
leadership
through
our
country
all
the
time
decade
after
decade
and
continues
to
do
a
a
wonderful
job
in
with
advocacy
for
cities
and
communities
all
over
the
country
and
I
want
to
associate
myself
with
the
remarks
made
by
the
mayors
before
me
speaking
today,
and
particularly
the
mayor
of
Biloxi,
who
I
think
so
in
additionally
spoke
to
the
issue
of
the
job
that
mayors
and
local
officials
have
to
do
that.
Just
really
make
government
work
and
communities
thrive
and
people's
dreams
come
true,
but
that
sometimes
get
overlooked
at
the
national
level.
H
And
that's
what
I
wanted
to
talk
about
just
this
morning
and
to
just
share
with
you
some
of
the
solutions
that
we're
putting
forward
at
the
federal
level,
but
most
certainly
because
of
the
anemic
and
sluggish
responds
with
the
federal
level.
We
do
need
to
step
it
up
and
I.
Think
the
leaders
that
are
in
this
room
can
help
us
to
push
that
accelerator
down
and
move
forward
to
rebuild
laws
and
dreams.
H
I
want
to
thank
Joe
Riley
for
his
particular
health
to
our
city
and
the
Gulf
Coast,
and
to
all
the
mayors
and
resources
that
he
brought
from
this
organization
and
the
great
expertise
I
want
to
thank
Tommy
for
coming
down,
like
the
cavalry
to
try
to
get
a
foothold
on
the
Gulf
Coast.
To
help
I
want
to
thank
all
of
the
mayors
that
opened
up
your
own
homes,
your
own
community
shelters,
your
own
arenas.
E
H
Own
places
that
sometimes
great
expense
to
your
cities
into
your
state
to
take
in
the
largest
mass
migration
of
people.
Since
the
Civil
War,
a
million
people
sought
shelter
on
the
Gulf
Coast.
They
could
not
find
dry
ground
or
a
warm
meal
or
a
drink
from
clean
water
out
of
a
bottle,
a
cup
or
bucket,
and
the
mayors
and
the
governors
of
this
country
understood
without
having
to
read
a
script
or
jacket
textbook.
H
What
to
do,
and
you
all
did
it
included
many
of
the
businesses
large
and
small,
around
the
country
that
opened
up
their
doors,
their
pantries,
their
cupboards
bare
drug
counters,
to
give
people
the
medicine
and
the
food
they
needed
to
survive.
But
now
the
emergency
is
over,
but
the
rebuilding
has
begun.
H
The
question
is
whether
the
Gulf
Coast
and
the
mayors
in
this
room
and
the
governor's
representing
the
coast
will
do
it
alone
or
whether
we
will
have
a
federal
partner,
that's
responsible,
that's
there!
That
cares.
That
does
more
than
talk
but
delivers
and
gets
the
job
done
for
the
millions
of
Americans
that
want
to
return
to
their
homes,
to
their
churches,
to
the
synagogues
to
their
pools
for
the
adults
that
have
told
their
children
about
the
grandparents
and
the
great-grandparents
that
lived
in
these
neighborhoods
that
they
would
grow
up.
Here
too.
That
is
a
question.
H
H
The
mayor
that
talked
about
the
destruction
of
Hurricane
Andrew,
but
just
to
put
it
in
perspective,
it
was
the
worst
natural
disaster
until
Katrina
and
Rita
deadly
storms
that
hit
Louisiana
in
Texas.
To
put
it
in
clearer
perspective,
we
lost
28
thousand
homes
in
Florida
in
in
Andrew
was
the
most
expensive
storm.
Forty
billion
we've
lost
two
hundred
and
eighty
thousand
homes
in
Mississippi
and
Louisiana
from
Rita
and
Katrina
in
Louisiana
alone.
In
one
weekend,
18,000
businesses
were
destroyed.
This
is
more
than
about
New
Orleans
as
greatest
city
as
my
hometown
and
Ray
Nagin's
hometown.
H
H
Just
like
the
mayor
of
Miami
shared
with
you,
everyone
in
this
room
has
a
stake
because
in
the
year
2015
two-thirds
of
all
Americans
will
live
within
50
miles
of
a
coast.
If
you
count
the
Great
Lakes
and
so,
besides
being
general
tax
payers
that
need
to
make
sure
the
money
that
our
government
spends
is
spent
wisely
unless
you're
right
smack
in
the
middle
of
Kansas
for
Iowa,
which
you
may
be,
or
Oklahoma
or
North
dimecaco,
your
city
may
be
pretty
close
to
a
coast
and
that's
the
view.
H
H
And
if
the
mayor
said,
we
talk
about
there's
a
natural
disaster.
If
was
a
man-made
disaster,
at
least
as
far
as
New
Orleans
and
Plaquemines
and
st.
Bernard
Parish
were
concerned
in
Louisiana,
because
it
wasn't
the
Gulf
that
came
out
of
a
20-foot
foot
wave
as
horrible
as
that
destruction
was
that
you
saw
beautifully
on
that
video.
But
it's
12-foot
lake,
where
the
ways
normally
don't
get
more
than
about
three
and
a
half
or
four
feet.
I've
been
swimming.
H
When
you
Orleans
was
founded,
we
didn't
set
it
on
a
beach.
We
put
it
a
hundred
miles
inland
to
protect
it,
one
of
the
great
courts
in
America
and
that
great
fort
helps
to
build
this
nation.
Thomas
Jefferson
bought
the
Louisiana
Purchase
for
three
cents,
an
acre
he
leveraged
the
Treasury
to
do
it
because
he
knew
the
nation
could
not
be
great
and
Leslie
secured
the
great
mouth
of
the
Mississippi
River
and
with
our
partners
on
the
Gulf
Coast.
We
have
contributed
mightily
to
the
great
strength
of
this
nation.
H
H
The
ominous
speak
briefly
about
some
of
the
solutions
and
get
credit
to
a
man
who
deserves
a
lot
of
credit.
I
serve
on
the
Appropriations
Committee
and
I
can
promise
you
if
it
wasn't
prepared
Cochran.
The
Gulf
Coast
would
probably
not
have
gotten
even
the
Community
Development
Block
Grants,
which
you're
a.
F
H
We
need
highway
money.
We
need
for
money,
we'd
loans
for
people
that
want
to
get
back
in
business,
who
want
to
work,
who
were
not
lazy
and
shiftless
who
are
desperate
to
get
back
to
work,
and
if
it
wasn't
the
bad
program,
you
sit
up
and
said.
The
fill
is
not
enough
and
built
a
better
one.
I
don't
know
what
these
mayors
and
governors
would
have
today.
H
So
I
want
to
thank
him,
but
we're
going
to
do
more
on
Community
Development,
Block
Grant,
and
these
mayor's
know
how
important
Community,
Development
Block
bread
shared
fairly,
can
help
to
lift
up
a
community
and
give
you
the
flexibility
you
need,
but
I
want
to
mention
two
or
three
other
things
very
quickly.
We
also
need
for
the
Gulf
Coast
a
revenue
sharing,
because
we
are
the
nation's
only
energy
Coast,
we're
proud
to
be
an
energy
Coast.
H
We've
been
drilling
for
oil
and
gas
off
the
coast
of
Texas,
Louisiana,
Mississippi
and
Alabama
since
before
we
were
born
and
we're
happy
to
do
it,
but
their
cost
associated
with
that
contribution.
We
send
billions
of
dollars
just
right
off
the
shores
of
Grand,
Isle
and
Biloxi
and
Waveland
to
the
to
the
national
government
and
get
none
of
that
money
shared
in
return.
I
hope
that
our
Gulf
Coast
will
step
up
and
say
we're
proud
to
keep
the
lights
on
and
from
Florida
to
New
York
to
California.
But
please
share
those
revenues
with
us.
H
We'll
build
our
own
levees,
we'll
manage
the
water
batter
will
litigate
against
these
storms
and
yep.
We
may
have
to
rearrange
some
neighborhoods
and
some
communities
speak
smarter
about
the
way
we
build,
adopt
greater
codes,
and
maybe
we
all
have
to
pay
a
little
bit
more
to
do
it,
but
it
can
be
done.
We're
gonna,
press
revenue
sharing
for
the
Gulf
Coast.
H
We
are
proud
to
be
America's
energy
coast
and
I
know
that
some
areas
don't
want
to
drill
and
that's
the
discussion
for
another
day,
but
we
do
contribute
to
the
energy
independence
of
this
nation.
I
do
believe
that
we
have
to
step
up
not
just
for
flood
insurance
reform,
but
maybe
you
know
general
disaster
insurance
reform
so
that
whether
you're
hit
by
a
tornado
or
a
mudslide
or
an
avalanche
or
hurricane
or
tornado,
you
know,
if
you
play
by
the
rules
in
America,
you
paid
your
taxes.
H
There's
a
system
there
that
helps
you
to
get
back
on
your
feet.
I
think
we
need
to
prep
forward.
For
that.
We
report
the
Louisiana
extremely
disappointed
that
the
White
House
yesterday
decided
that
they
didn't.
Like
the
consensus
plan
that
we
put
forward
for
the
Louisiana
recovery
district,
we
tried
to
explain
to
the
administration
as
respectfully
as
we
can
the
tools
they
have
given
us
are
not
strong
enough.
They
don't
work.
They
are
insufficient
to
rebuild
the
Gold
Coast,
so
they
ask
us
to
put
a
consensus
plan
together.
H
We
did
the
Louisiana
Recovery
Corporation,
which
would
be
a
new
corporation.
That
would
borrow
money
from
the
national
capital
markets
and
come
and
help
get
these
huge
swath
of
land
that
you've
seen
on
these
videos
back
into
commerce
to
give
homeowners
choices,
help
them
recover
their
equity
and
get
property
back
moving
from
Louisiana,
and
if
Mississippi
and
Texas
and
Alabama
wanted
to
participate.
Fine.
H
We
were
told
yesterday
that
the
White
House
can't
support
such
an
effort.
It's
too
expensive,
so
we're
going
to
take
the
constructive
input
that
they
have
given
us
and
go
back
to
the
table.
But
let
me
end
this
comment
in
this
way:
the
tools
we
have
a
FEMA
that
was
created
in
1974,
a
flood
insurance
programs
that
doesn't
really
work
to
help
people
get
back
on
their
feet
and
rejection
by
the
consensus
plan
that
Louisiana
put
up
and
having
to
pull
Community
Development
Block
Grant
money
out
of
this
administration
and
get
his
barely.
H
H
Ladies
and
gentlemen,
I
suggest
that
that's
not
a
philosophy
that
will
work,
it
hasn't
worked
for
us.
It
won't
work
for
you.
We
need
an
honest,
effective
lean
and
strategic
government
with
the
resources
to
be
a
true
partner
with
the
private
sector,
relying
on
our
faith
and
reaching
out
to
our
faith-based
communities
for
Bill,
the
Gulf
Coast
region
and
the
United
States.
We
can
be
proud
of.
Let's
get
to
work,
god
bless
you
all.
I.
A
Think
the
speakers
that
we
had
bringing
this
to
our
attention
has
given
us
the
greater
awareness
things
that
we
need
to
do
things
that
we
need
to
be
aware
of
things
that
we
need
to
work
on
and
directions,
hoping
our
our
our
awareness,
level
or
adrenalin
level
has
raised,
has
been
raised
to
a
point
where
we
want
to
be
involved.
We
want
to
see
things
change.
A
A
A
I
know
many
of
you
through
your
work
on
standing
committees
and
task
force
win
the
conference
have
both
it's
on
key
issues
related
to
this
effort,
mayor
of
Agosta,
Bureau
goes
and
I
look
forward
to
you.
Continued
participation
in
this
effort
before
I
came
to
the
mayor
for
his
initial
thoughts.
I'm
also
pleased
to
announce
that
and
I
think
you
have
a
brochure
on
this.
The
summit
that
will
be
in
Los
Angeles
cities
for
strong
america
summit
on
gangs.
A
It
will
be
in
Los
Angeles
on
March
31st
and
they
are
very
cosa,
is
hosting
this
with
the
conference's
mayor.
We've
already
confirmed
that
an
attorney
attorney
general
Alberto
Gonzales
will
participate
in
the
summit,
so
please
plan
on
being
at
this
important
event,
also,
but
I'm
so
pleased
with
us.
For
the
first
time
he
has
been
in
public
service
for
a
long
time,
but
just
recently
elected
as
mayor
of
the
second
largest
city
in
the
United
States
Los
Angeles.
I
J
J
A
friend
it's
a
thrill
to
be
here.
Thank
you
all,
it's
an
even
greater
privilege
to
be
able
to
say
why
I'm
here
to
announce
the
formation
of
the
US
Conference
of
Mayors,
Task
Force
on
poverty
and
opportunity
in
America
I
want
to
thank
Richard
Daley,
a
mayor
of
Chicago
I,
said
to
him
privately
and
I'll,
say
again:
there's
not
a
better
run
big
city
in
the
United
States
of
America,
and
it's
because
of
his
leadership
and
I.
Thank
you.
I.
J
Thank
you
for
your
pivotal
role
in
conceiving
this
idea
and
I
want
to
thank
my
friend
and
neighbor,
our
president
of
Beverly
O'neill
of
Long
Beach,
for
helping
to
bring
the
task
force
to
life.
I'd
also
like
to
thank
Mara
Williams
for
hosting
us
in
this
beautiful
city,
as
he
has
so
many
times,
and
mr.
Jackson.
For
his
words,
thank
you
Tom
for
bringing
it
all
together
today.
J
I
know
I
speak
for
the
married
assembled
here
when
I
say
that
your
cities,
we'll
be
back
stronger
than
ever
and
I,
know
that
you
can
count
on
the
men
and
women
in
this
room
to
work
with
you
and
to
fight
for
you
side
by
side
each
and
every
step
of
the
way
to
ensure
that
Washington
honors
its
commitment
to
the
communities
still
struggling
to
survive
the
storm.
As
mayor,
we
understand
that,
while
the
floodwaters
may
have
receded,
we
still
need
to
move
to
higher
ground.
J
J
Above
all
else,
patrina
exposed
the
deepening
gulf
and
our
larger
political
discourse,
a
goal
and
our
understanding
of
our
obligations
to
one
another
as
Americans
and
in
our
shared
conception
of
the
common
good.
As
mayor's
I
think
we
can
all
agree
that
we
saw
reflections
of
all
our
cities
in
the
faces
of
the
people
stranded
on
the
rooftops
of
the
Lower
Ninth
Ward.
You
certainly
don't
need
to
go
to
New
Orleans
and
you
don't
need
to
be
from
the
south
to
understand.
The
crippling
effects
of
persistent
poverty
in
this
country.
J
Come
with
me
to
South
Los
Angeles,
go
to
the
south
side
of
Chicago,
go
to
the
South
Bronx
go
to
Southeast
Washington
and
you
see
the
same
faces
and
the
same
stories.
You
see
more
children
growing
up
in
poverty
in
America
today
than
in
any
other
leading
industrialized
nation.
My
city
of
Los
Angeles,
the
undisputed
commercial
and
cultural
capital
of
the
richest
wealthiest
nation
in
the
world.
You
see
close
to
10,000
homeless
children,
thousands
of
kids
arriving
in
our
public
schools
every
day
and
they
don't
have
a
bed
to
go
to.
At
night.
J
Competition
conspire
with
young
for
giving
laws
of
market
economics
to
force
the
very
people
with
the
least
money
to
pay
the
highest
prices
for
the
most
inferior
goods.
We're
too
many
people,
access
to
capital
is
limited
to
the
pawn
shop
and
the
payday
loan
service,
and
we
know
that
the
problem
is
even
deeper
than
that.
We
know
that
any
meaningful
discussion
of
the
of
the
working
poor
can't
be
confined
to
the
outdated
paradigm,
describing
some
other
America
some
distant
America,
separate
from
our
lives,
unconnected
to
our
concerns
and
remote
from
our
values.
J
We
know
that
the
tired
old
myth
describing
the
poor
is
victims
of
their
own
lack
of
imagination
and
drive,
is
both
factually
and
morally
wrong.
We
know
that
most
poor
people
in
America
today
work,
and
we
know
that
growing
numbers
of
working
Americans,
who
we
don't
technically
define
his
for,
are
dancing
on
the
razor's
edge
of
subsistence
with
savings
rates
at
historic
lows.
J
The
defining
thread
of
our
common
national
story-
the
idea
that
in
America
hard
work,
earns
real
rewards
that
work
build
individual
wealth
that
yield
generational
progress,
that
if
you
work
hard
as
Mary
nagging
said,
and
you
pay
your
taxes
and
you
take
care
of
your
kids,
you
ought
to
have
a
reasonable
expectation
of
a
good
life.
What's
more,
you
should
be
able
to
look
forward
to
the
future,
secure
in
the
knowledge
that
your
children
will
have
greater
opportunities
than
you
had
mares.
J
We
need
to
restore
this
faith
and
keep
this
basic
American
promise.
We
need
to
change
the
terms
of
the
debate
about
the
working
poor.
We
need
a
return
to
a
set
of
civic
values
in
which
we
once
again
measure
ourselves
as
a
people
against
our
greatest
moral
challenges
and,
above
all,
we
need
to
recognize
that
the
single
greatest
issue
of
poverty
in
America
today
is
the
poverty
of
our
aspirations
and
the
paucity
of
our
ideas.
J
It
is
a
question
of
will
and
fellow
mayor's
I
know
that
it
may
sound
like
an
obvious
thing
to
say,
but
we
should
never
hesitate
to
remind
ourselves
what
a
great
country
America
is.
You
see,
I
know
something
about
poverty
and
I
know
many
of
you
do
too
I
wouldn't
be
here
today
of
this
great
country,
hadn't
been
there
for
me.
J
If
a
man
named
Herman
Katz,
a
great
public
school
teacher
in
a
struggling
urban
school
hadn't
reached
out
and
offered
me
his
hand,
a
man
who
literally
gave
me
a
second
chance
who
paid
for
my
SAT
exams
and
show
me,
and
he
showed
me
that
I
could
aspire
and
that
I
could
make
it
to
one
of
California's
great
public
universities
and
I
did
I
graduated
with
a
degree
from
UCLA,
but
only
with
the
sustaining
support
of
federally
black
loans
and
grants.
This
is
a
great
country,
I
know
in
America.
J
You
can
make
it
from
the
lowest
rung
of
the
ladder
to
the
highest
office
in
the
greatest
city
in
the
world.
It
is
a
question
of
will
and
that
individual
will
alone,
I'm
speaking
of
collective
will
and
I
will
tell
you
this
I
believe
if
the
mayors
of
America
are
unique
to
provide
the
leadership
on
this
issue
that
has
been
so
sorely
lacking.
J
Cities
are
not
only
the
places
where
the
greatest
concentrations
of
poor
exist.
It's
in
cities,
where
you
see
the
greatest
concentration
of
creativity
and
innovation
in
public
service
today
and
cities,
have
always
been
the
places
where
the
miracle
of
American
tourism
has
drawn
of
the
breath
and
taken
life
merits.
We
need
to
take
this
challenge
head
on.
We
need
to
dream
again.
We
need
to
be
bold.
We
need
to
be
willing
to
take
risks.
We
need
to
be
unafraid
to
upset
the
orthodoxies
of
the
left
and
the
right.
J
We
need
to
transform
the
debate
from
inside
the
beltway
to
across
America's
heartland.
Poverty
is
not
a
democratic
issue
or
a
Republican
issue.
It
is
an
American
tragedy
and
the
erosion
of
our
middle
class
and
the
declining
living
standards
of
our
working
poor
is
not
a
matter
of
partisan
politics.
It
is
the
first-order
question
of
our
global
competitiveness
and
our
common
national
interest.
J
Fighting
poverty
is
not
just
the
responsibility
of
government
alone,
or
families
alone,
or
religious
institutions
alone,
or
the
private
sector
alone.
It's
all
of
us
so
I'm
asking
for
the
active
participation
of
every
mayor
in
this
room
and
across
the
country.
I'm
asking
you
all
to
take
part
in
the
work
of
the
Task
Force
on
poverty
and
opportunity
and
I
can
show
you
that
the
work
of
this
task
force
will
not
be
dictated
by
chair
has
only
been
mayor
for
six
months.
We
need
your
voices
and
your
vision.
J
It
is
my
hope
that,
together
in
partnership,
we've
been
willing
to
ask-
and
we
will
be
eager
to
find
the
honest
answers
to
the
hardest
questions.
Questions
like
where
can
we
agree
as
mayors
that
passed
gratitude
who
failed
us?
Where
of
the
recent
innovations
been
both
inside
and
outside
of
government?
Does
the
federal
government's
measure
of
poverty
bear
any
relationship
to
the
lives
of
families
struggling
to
survive
in
the
economy
of
the
21st
century?
J
We
will
be
missing
the
meaning
of
this
moment
if
we
do
not
take
this
as
an
action-oriented
effort,
it
is
my
hope
that
America's
marriage
will
be
able
to
stand
together
on
the
foundation
of
our
work,
to
lock
arms
together
to
speak
together
with
one
voice
to
articulate
with
commanding
moral
authority,
a
pragmatic,
problem-solving
agenda
for
change.
My
hope
is
that
we
will
draw
on
the
best
ideas,
no
matter
where
they
come
from
and
without
regard
to
party
affiliation.
We
will
take
up
the
president's
challenge
to
confront
poverty
with
bold
action.
J
We
will
look
for
ways
to
create
a
genuine
ownership
society
with
working
people
enjoy
greater
opportunities
to
expand
their
assets
and
build
their
wealth.
We
should
examine
the
Senate
Republicans
call
for
the
expansion
of
individual
development
accounts
that
help
working
people,
save
for
a
down
payment,
pay
for
college
and
start
small
businesses.
We
should
consider
the
idea
of
providing
housing
vouchers
to
working
families,
allowing
them
to
move
physically
from
the
margins
into
the
economic
mainstream.
J
We
should
look
for
ways
to
maximize
the
impact
of
charitable,
giving
and
the
fully
engaged
our
religious
partners
in
this
conversation,
and
we
should
challenge
the
private
sector,
the
state,
the
greater
claim
in
the
futures
of
our
cities.
We
should
examine
how
we
can
better
leverage
our
public
pension
portfolios
to
build
wealth
in
our
neediest
areas.
J
We
should
find
ways
that
we
can
make
better
uses
of
the
resources
we
already
have,
but,
fellow
mayor's,
we
all
need
to
ask
the
fundamental
questions,
whether
it's
fair
to
set
the
minimum
wage
at
a
level
where
no
family
can
get
by
whether
it's
really
in
our
economic
interests
to
favor
tax
policies
that
reward
investors
and
punish
the
people
who
work
whether
we
can
be
truly
healthy
as
a
nation,
when
48
million
people
don't
have
health
insurance,
and
we
need
to
face
the
biggest
question
of
all.
How
can
we
rescue
our
failing
public
schools?
J
We
know
that
one
of
the
greatest
predictors
of
a
child's
chances
in
life
can
be
counted
in
the
number
of
books
in
his
parents
homes.
We
know
that
the
greatest
anti-poverty
program
in
American
history
has
been
the
universal
adoption
of
free
and
compulsory
public
education,
and
we
know
that
across
America
our
schools
are
failing
to
reach
the
very
kids
most
in
need.
In
my
city,
and
here
this
over
70
percent
of
middle
school
students
are
consigned
to
failing
school
mayors.
J
We
need
to
take
the
issue
of
education
reform
to
the
front
center
of
the
debate
about
poverty
and
opportunity,
it's
time
to
get
past
the
partisan
cultural
wars
that
move
us
and
move
us
beyond
the
divisive
distractions,
about
teaching
intelligent
design
and
perceived
as
a
fundamental
question
of
how
we
can
intelligently
design
our
schools
in
a
way
that
gives
all
our
kids
a
shot
at
a
better
life.
I
know
that.
J
I
know
that
there
are
many
related
issues
that
it
didn't
have
time
to
touch
on
here
this
morning.
I
look
forward
to
discussing
them
with
you
in
detail
as
the
work
of
this
task
force
gets
underway.
I
believe
that
America's
mayors
are
up
to
the
task.
Hurricane
Katrina
may
have
reminded
us
of
the
great
unfinished
work
of
our
democracy,
but
it
also
illuminated
the
way
our
people
responded
as
the
community
and
our
nation's
cities
reached
out
as
good
neighbors.
Let's
seize
the
moment
that
changed
this
debate.
Let's
lead
the
way.
Thank
you
all.
A
E
J
chief
poverty,
because
we
see
it
on
a
personal
basis.
We
know
about
it.
We
understand
it.
We
see
the
gap
between
rich
and
poor
growing,
as
a
mayor
pointed
out,
but
during
1973
to
2004
the
last
three
decades
our
national
power
being
is
increased
from
an
all-time
low
of
11%
to
over
12%.
Let
me
put
the
other
words
during
their
period,
the
Dow
Jones
Industrial
Average
increase
from
Iran
900
in
1973
to
over
10,000
and
2004.
J
J
As
a
result,
too,
many
of
our
children
are
unable
to
compete
to
fill
them
are
being
trained
in
high-tech
industries.
For
the
future.
We
need
to
rebuild
the
education
infrastructure
of
America.
When
we
talk
about
poverty
literally
beginning
with
all
our
school
buildings,
the
federal
government
puts
little
or
nothing
into
school
construction
work
in
all
our
local
governments
to
find
money
for
modern
science,
labs,
school
libraries
in
classrooms.
J
In
the
last
decade
we
have
spent
in
the
city
of
Chicago
four
and
a
half
billion
dollars
on
steel,
construction
and
repair
in
Chicago.
Yet
we
still
have
buildings
more
than
100
years
old
science
labs
in
the
1950s
libraries
that
that
had
entered
digital
age.
The
federal
government
should
set
a
goal
of
modernizing
every
school
building
in
America,
in
partnership
with
state
local
governments.
The
federal
government
also
needs
to
play
a
stronger
role
in
the
national
effort
to
improve
all
of
our
ISIL.
J
It
needs
to
fully
fund
Julie
amico
tutoring
requirements,
call
for
the
No
Child
Left
Behind
law
in
Chicago.
We
have
more
than
200,000
children
who
qualify
for
tutoring,
but
we
are
only
enough
money
for
56,000.
Next.
We
should
challenge
the
federal
government
to
expand
one
of
the
most
successful
programs
called
Head
Start
to
every
child
who
needs
it.
Head
Start
has
put
millions
of
American
children
into
preschool,
but
millions
more
are
yet
enrolled.
J
That
means
they
are
not
ready
to
learn
when
they
enter
school
at
the
age
of
five
from
preschool
on
one
end
to
high
school,
on
the
other,
there's
a
great
opportunity
for
the
federal
government
to
show
more
leadership
and
education,
even
if
we
move
forward
reform
and
all
our
local
levels
beside
the
education.
One
of
the
biggest
concerns
is
that
so
many
low
and
moderate-income
families
fail
to
take
advantage
of
all
the
financial
assistance
that
available
to
each
and
every
one
of
them,
I
think
we're
all
familiar
with
the
Earned
Income
Tax
Credit.
J
Last
year
the
EITC
provided
refunds
average
about
$2,000
to
low-income
working
families.
It
has
been
credited
with
lifting
thousands
of
families
out
of
poverty,
yet
10
to
15
percent
of
potential
AITC
dollars
go
unclaimed
each
year,
partly
because
people
aren't
aware
of
it,
partly
because
the
application
forms
are
too
complicated.
Many
people
end
up
paying
$150
or
more
to
commercial
tax
bearers
to
fill
out
the
forms.
So
there
goes
a
big
chunk
for
that
$2,000
refund.
Then
they
waste
more
money
and
a
higher
high
interest
loan.
J
So
if
you
walk
out
the
door
with
a
refund
check,
many
poor
people
offer
are
failing
to
take
advantage
of
food
stamps.
According
to
a
recent
study,
more
than
120
million
dollars
in
food
stamps
went
unclaimed
in
2003,
just
in
the
Chicago
area,
the
F
scenario
eleven
hundred
and
forty
dollars
a
year,
that's
being
left
on
the
table
by
150
7,000
of
the
neediest
residents
of
the
City
and
surrounding
suburbs.
J
There
is
no
doubt
that
your
own
local
economies
are
losing
millions
of
dollars
each
year,
simply
because
you're,
low-income
families
are
not
receiving
all
the
federal
assistance
they're
entitled
to
in
keep
in
mind
that
this
money
will
be
plowed
back
right
back
into
local
economies
and
that's
spent
on
foreign
travel
or
offshore
investments.
In
Chicago
we
have
subsidized
food,
not-for-profit
organizations
that
provide
free
tax
preparation
for
families
making
under
thirty-eight
thousand
a
year,
making
sure
they're
getting
their
AITC
refunds.
J
We
also
operate
three
Family
Assistance
centers
we're
poor
and
working
families
can
learn
about
all
the
federal
state
and
local
programs.
We
are
sponsoring
a
series
of
community
service
fairs
that
help
out
our
own
residents
in
much
the
same
way,
we
helped
out
the
victims
of
Hurricane
Katrina,
but
we
could
use
more
help
than
the
federal
government.
Poor
people
shouldn't
have
to
hire
tact
advisors
and
they
shouldn't
have
to
basically
find
their
way
through
government
bureaucracy
just
to
fill
out
a
form.
They
can
only
call.
Basically
a
lawyer
DeBakey
basically
understand
these
forms.
J
They
should
be
able
to
go
to
a
single
office
to
get
get
the
help.
They
need
entitled
to
I
believe
it's
time
for
the
federal
government
to
simplify
and
modernize
its
financial
assistance
programs
and
do
a
better
job
of
publicizing
them.
I
can
guarantee
you
that
the
rich
get
every
dollar
of
federal
aid
they're
entitled
to
poor
people
should
do
they're
the
only
ones
who
really
need
this
money
and
I
believe
the
majority
Americans
from
both
political
parties
Distillery
want
to
reduce
the
size
of
the
gap
between
rich
and
poor.
J
A
Thank
you
very
much
mayor,
Daly,
I
think
we
have
this
afternoon.
The
first
meeting
of
the
poverty
section
of
spending
from
Earth
a
tres
force
and
I
think
we
have
the
challenge
and
it
covers
everything
in
our
cities.
I'd
like
to
introduce
George
clotee
a
right
now.
One
of
the
things
that
can
strengthen
us
is
our
small
businesses.
We
have
small
businesses
in
our
communities
that
are
the
mainstay
of
our
business
environment.
A
Partner
America
is
in
his
sixth
year.
That
brings
the
small
businesses
with
the
mayors
so
that
we
can
add
to
our
strength
of
small
businesses
in
our
community,
and
we
have
just
renewed
our
commitment
to
fostering
those
relationships
between
mayors
and
small
businesses
by
signing
a
20-year
agreement
with
the
American
management
to
continue
the
partner,
America
programs.
A
So
the
man
that
is
leading
the
nation's
foremost
fields
of
nation's
foremost
expert
on
small
business
is
George
glooty,
a
chairman
and
CEO
of
American
management
services
and
there's
really
no
better
advocate
than
George
heading
up
the
24
million
small
businesses
across
our
nation
he's
making
through
that
we
connect
with
them.
As
mayors
I'd
like
to
introduce
to
you
one
of
our
platinum
partners,
George
Cuvier.
E
J
K
I'm
the
only
thing
between
lunch
between
us
and
line
so
we'll
zip
right
through
this
Thank
You
mayor
O'neil.
Thank
you,
Tom
Thank,
You,
mayor
Palmer,
mayor
Nagin
and
my
good
friend
mayor
guide.
Oh
wow,
20
more
years
together,
the
next
time
Tom,
cork
and
I
are
on
the
stage.
Renewing
our
fund,
America
Lions
for
small
business,
we'll
probably
both
be
in
rocking
chairs
I
already
have
mine
picked
out
and
Tom
wants,
is
to
be
motorized,
so
we'll
be
in
20
years.
K
Over
the
past
seven
years,
our
strategic
small
business
partnership,
part
America,
has
contributed
more
than
three
million
dollars
to
the
Conference
of
Mayors
for
its
important
projects.
That
probably
the
best
thing
that
we
can
do
when
idea
the
stories
about
how
the
mayor's
went
out
and
helped
mayor
Nagin
in
Louisiana
and
along
the
Gulf
Coast.
Well
I
applaud
you.
K
As
we
look
forward
to
an
unprecedented
twenty
more
years.
We
can
predict
with
a
reasonable
amount
of
certainty
that
we
will
contribute
an
additional
15
to
20
million
to
your
projects,
not
to
my
projects
for
projects
that
you
deem
are
the
most
important
I'd
like
to
take
this
opportunity
to
thank
a
few
people
who
have
helped
to
make
the
program
a
major
success:
Tom
Coughlin's,
Katherine
Whelan
and
their
staff,
who
first
believed
in
American
management
in
me
and
make
made
for
in
America
reality.
K
The
current
co-chair
is
mayor,
Barnes,
Mammal,
Malloy,
balmy,
cheers,
mayor
Johnson
and
mayor
plus
bullet
and
all
the
mayors
who
participated
in
the
dozens
of
pardon
America
events
around
the
country.
Our
future
alliance
is
all
about
small
business.
Today,
the
23
million
small
businesses
that
generate
more
than
60%
of
the
jobs
in
this
country
are
facing
an
unprecedented
competitive
challenge
at
every
corner.
A
small
business
is
the
driving
force
behind
any
economic
turnaround,
including
this
one.
K
It
is
historically
been
small
business,
large
port,
not
large
corporations
that
are
full
the
nation
out
of
economic
ones,
but
they
are
the
Forgotten
majority.
Unfortunately,
the
reality
is
that
these
there
have
been
major
budget
cuts
at
every
level
or
the
federal
government
which
directly
affect
programs
that
benefit
the
23
million
small
businesses.
Look
at
some
fact.
More
small
businesses
are
closing
than
opening
from
2003
to
2004
federal
contract
dollars
rose
by
13
percent,
get
the
amount
of
contracting
dollars
that
went
to
small
businesses
went
down.
Okay,
the
big
business.
K
This
benefit
was
again
small
business
took
it
on
the
short
end
of
a
stick.
Even
the
tax
cut
went
bust
for
small
business.
The
average
small
business
owner
was
supposed
to
receive
according
to
government
projections
$2,000
at
least,
and
it
turns
out
that
almost
2/3
of
these
will
receive
only
$500
I,
find
it
difficult
to
believe
that
$500
to
a
small
business
person
is
going
to
pursue
way
down
to
expand
their
business,
to
pay
more
taxes
willingly
to
buy
new
equipment
or
add
to
their
employee
base.
It's
just
not
enough
aid.
K
The
SBA
established
specifically
for
small
business,
has
taken
the
biggest
budget,
yet
the
cutbacks
have
been
incredible.
The
2006
budget
number
for
the
SBA
has
been
set
at
450
million
dollars,
which
is
approximately
a
half
a
day
of
what
we
spend
abroad,
down
that
123
million
from
2005
in
nearly
60
percent
from
2001.
K
Just
this
year,
all
funding
was
eliminated
for
the
7a
program,
a
program
that
is
responsible
for
30%
of
all
learn
small
business
lending
in
the
country.
Borrowers
and
lenders
are
now
faced
with
the
dramatic
height
in
fees
to
cover
what
the
government
claims
is
a
public-private
partnership.
We
simply
cannot
afford
these
cuts.
Nor
can
your
cities,
a
healthy
small
business
sector,
means
healthy
cities.
Our
economic
well-being
and
job
growth
depends
on
an
empowered
small
business
community
in
every
city
across
the
nation
city
in
town,
another
example.
K
The
consequences
of
these
budget
cuts
is
a
fact
that
in
Louisiana,
300
businesses
have
received
federal
disaster
assistance
out
of
tens
of
thousands
that
have
either
applied
or
would
like
to
apply
what
am
I
missing
here.
What
is
going
on
that?
We
can't
give
these
people
the
appropriate
money
to
get
that
sector
going
again
because,
in
mayonnaise
case
the
Gulf
Coast
in
general,
those
small
businesses.
K
You
pointed
out
have
disappeared,
they've
just
disappeared,
they
disappear
because
they
have
no
money
and
they're
not
coming
back
until
they
first
get
the
money
to
get
the
lien
of
building
a
business.
To
start
that
business
again,
you
can
bring
the
half-million
people
back.
You
can
bring
a
million
people
back,
but
if
you
don't
put
money
into
those
small
businesses,
they're
not
coming
back,
they're
gonna
go
somewhere
else
or
they're.
Gonna
disappear
just
disappear.
Frankly,
there
has
been
a
great
deal
of
lip
service.
K
Maiya
Negin
on
national
television,
put
a
little
differently
and
very
little
acting
taken
under
both
past
and
current
administration's
by
more
funding
of
small
business
loan
programs.
New
jobs
would
be
created
in
the
economy
would
benefit
in
each
and
every
community
example
for
300
to
350
million.
Virtually
all
the
programs
could
be
funded
at
levels
authorized
by
Congress
from
other
numbers.
It
fully
funded.
The
SBA,
7a
and
504
loan
program
would
be
creating
an
estimated
seven
hundred
and
forty
three
thousand
jobs
across
the
country.
K
Imagine
we
actually
put
a
billion
dollars
out
what
it
could
do,
because
it's
a
total
multiplier
effect
if
fully
funded
the
SBA
Small
Business
Development
Center
could
create
90,000
jobs,
another
half
a
billion
to
create
450,000
jobs.
If
the
SBA
were
fully
funded,
the
government
could
meet
his
contracting
goals
and
increase
the
number
of
contracts
to
HUBZone
firms
by
10
billion
to
women-owned
businesses
by
6
billion
into
service
disabled
veterans
to
8
billion
a
year.
What's
long
was
spending,
as
someone
once
said,
cappen
a
half
a
billion
dollars
to
make
all
that
happen.
K
If
small
businesses
grow
and
prosper,
we
need
to
increase,
not
decrease
funding
for
the
SBA.
For
more
than
70
years.
The
mayor's
the
US
Conference
of
Mayors
has
been
the
voice
of
America's
cities,
a
leader
in
setting
the
nation's
metropolitan
agenda,
I'm
asking
the
mayors
and
the
conference
to
endorse
the
increase
in
funding
for
small
business
and,
more
specifically,
to
at
least
restore
the
funding
to
to
a
desperately
needed
meet
agency,
desperately
in
need.
You
have
been,
and
you
remain
today.
You
have
mold
effective
bridge
between
local
needs
and
federal
policymakers.
K
You
more
than
any
other
group
understand
that
a
strong
metro
economy
requires
a
robust
small
business
sector.
It
is
vital
that
our
nation
states
and
cities
rally
behind
the
cause
of
small
business,
but
strong
small
business,
means
that
strong
economy
for
all
of
us,
small
business,
is
the
true
heart
of
the
American
economy,
see
in
20
years.
A
I.
Thank
you
all
this
is
it's
a
session.
Doesn't
get
your
blood
going
to
make
a
difference,
because
you
are
in
a
position
to
do
so.
Nothing
will
we
have
about
four
plenary
sessions
during
this
conference.
I
hope
you're.
All
part
of
that,
because
this
is
this-
is
the
face
of
America
the
face
of
the
mayors
of
the
United
States.
We
have
a
luncheon
for
the
Arts
following
at
12:30,
we'll
see
you
there.
Thank
you
very
much
for
being
here.