Overview

The Congressional City Conference is an annual legislative forum that brings together more than 2,000 elected and appointed city leaders to focus on the federal policy issues that are important to local governments. In addition to providing opportunities to learn about innovative practices implemented at the local level, the conference connects city leaders from across the country with NLC-the organization that members of Congress, the White House, and federal agencies look to for solutions to addressing the nation's economic challenges.

Stand up for the issues that matter to cities.

As the 113th Congress gets underway, come to Washington, DC and join your fellow city leaders in calling on House and Senate members and the Administration to set aside partisan differences and break through the gridlock in order to find ways to support economic recovery and job creation efforts in our communities.

Make your voice heard at NLC's annual legislative conference, where you can share your hard-won insights with members of Congress, the White House, and federal agency representatives, as well as with your colleagues from across the country.

Key federal policy issues to be addressed include:

• Federal budget deficit reduction plans
• Federal job creation and economic development strategies
• Federal tax code reform and municipal finance
• Immigration Reform
• Water and transportation infrastructure investment
• Public safety 
• Regulatory reform and streamlining

NLC's Congressional City Conference offers city leaders from across the country a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into and influence actions in Washington that will impact local communities.

Schedule

Monday, March 11, 2013

• 11:00 am
  Innovation Clusters and Business Accelerators: Leveraging Federal Resources (Show details)

  It’s usually private sector businesses, large and small, that tap the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) for resources to develop and promote innovation clusters and business accelerators.  However, these resources are paying off for local officials and their cities too.  Join this session to learn about EDA’s investment priorities and how your community can take advantage of them.  Collaborative regional innovation; access to capital for small, medium-sized, and minority-owned enterprises; local economic adjustment; and business accelerators are among the priorities that will be discussed.  

• 11:00 am
  Building Better Water Infrastructure: Financing for Local Governments (Show details)

  Local governments construct, operate, and maintain the vast majority of the country’s water infrastructure networks, which are essential for economic development and quality of life in our communities. But cities face a backlog of projects and challenges funding much needed water infrastructure improvements. Federal mandates, along with the amount of aging infrastructure, are straining local resources to make these investments.  Meanwhile, federal options for grants and loans are dwindling. This session will explore alternative financing mechanisms for water infrastructure projects that are being considered in Congress.

• 11:00 am
  Can Government be Smarter About Housing? (Show details)

  Housing market recovery and the immediate challenge of helping homeowners prevent foreclosure have largely pushed federal rental assistance programs into the background for local officials.  However, the costs of subsidizing rents for families in need continues to climb, requiring larger shares of federal funding and squeezing federal resources available for neighborhood development programs like the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs.  In this session, experts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide an overview of housing assistance programs across the rural-urban spectrum, through the Section 8, rural housing, and other programs, and share their insights on ways local officials can help more families in an environment of fewer federal resources.  

• 11:00 am
  Reducing Gun Violence in America’s Communities (Show details)

  Every day we are reminded of the toll of gun violence whether by mass shootings, homicides, drive by shootings, or accidental gun firings.  And every day thirty or forty more Americans die because of gun violence.  Can anything be done to stop this?  In this interactive session, a panel of experts will discuss local action being taken to reduce gun violence and the effectiveness of current federal policy and proposals being considered to support those efforts.  

• 11:00 am
  Building Healthy Communities (Show details)

  Cities are healthiest when their youngest residents have access to healthy food, exercise and recreational opportunities, and health care.  This session will offer participants information about opportunities for cities to connect to federal and NLC initiatives and/or funding that promote access to healthy food, opportunities for physical activity and access to health benefits for families.  Hear from experts about what is happening in these areas at the national and federal levels, and learn from a peer city about local efforts to improve the health of children in their local community.

• 2:00 pm
  Winning Advocacy Strategies (Show details)

  In this informative and entertaining session, city leaders will learn some of the latest strategies for advocating for NLC’s legislative priorities on Capitol Hill or at home.  With Congress poised to consider legislation this year that could have significant impact for the better or the worse on local communities, you won’t want to miss out on this special opportunity to learn how to be an effective advocate for your communities during the Conference and the other 51 weeks of the year.    

• 2:00 pm
  Federal Agency Round Robin (Show details)

  In this session, participants will have opportunities to connect with representatives from federal agencies about various federal programs and opportunities available to cities and towns.  The representatives will answer questions about federal resources, tools, grants, and programs of interest to local governments in a series of 20 minute facilitated small group discussions.  
  

• 2:00 pm
  DETROPIA, Film Screening and Discussion (Show details)

  This award-winning documentary by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady explores the complex challenges of globalization, race relations, urban decay and the disconnections between citizens and government facing cities today with a focus on the City of Detroit.  This special sneak peak screening of the film precedes the May release to national public television stations.  A discussion of the film and its major themes will follow the screening.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

• 9:00 am
  Educating America -- How City Elected Officials Can Influence School Reform (Show details)

  For many years business leaders, educators, politicians, and advocates have decried the “sorry state of education” in our country, and numerous reform proposals to improve the nation’s education system have been enacted or considered.  At the federal level, in 2001, “No Child Left Behind ” became law and committed millions of dollars to improve student test scores, teacher training, and school system outcomes.  Despite these investments, dropout rates remain too high, testing scores are too low, and disparate school systems are emerging.  Even though generally not responsible or accountable for the day-to-day management of their city’s school system, mayors and other city and town elected officials have been trying to help make a difference.  This plenary session will examine the state of federal education policy and efforts underway to improve it, and explore the role that local officials can play in improving their local school systems.  

• 9:00 am
  Comprehensive Immigration Reform – What Does It Mean for Cities? (Show details)

  America's immigration system is broken with the burdens falling on local governments and the failure to take action to fix the system increasingly detrimental to the livelihood of our cities and towns.  As the nation’s leaders begin to consider proposals to reform the system, city leaders call for comprehensive immigration reform to help stimulate the economy, grow the nation’s workforce, and remain competitive in the 21st century global marketplace.  A comprehensive solution also must include eliminating illegal border entry, increasing enforcement of visa overstays, strengthening the worksite enforcement capacity, supporting a process to allow undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States to earn legalized status and providing local governments with financial and technical assistance to alleviate the local impact of new immigrants.  This session will look at the current prospects for reform legislation and prepare attendees to be a champion for it.  

• 9:00 am
  Protecting Cities in the Federal Budget Debates (Show details)

  Ed Rendell - Fix the Debt
  

  As debates over how to reduce the federal deficit continue, city leaders call on Congress to adopt a bipartisan and balanced approach to address the deficit and avoid the harm that would result from automatic across-the-board spending cuts, also known as sequestration.  While eliminating or capping the federal income tax exemption provided to interest paid on municipal bonds (debt) is not part of any active proposal, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and the White House continue to consider it as a source of revenue to reduce the deficit or fund new programs.   If the federal income tax exemption is altered, cities will pay more to finance projects, leading to less infrastructure investment, fewer jobs, and greater burdens on tax payers who will have to pay higher taxes and fees. At the same time Congress is looking to close the federal deficit, it has an opportunity to provide cities with authority to collect sales taxes already owed on Internet and other remote purchases by supporting the recently introduced Marketplace Fairness Act. Come to this session to learn the latest on these proposals and others impacting the federal investments important to cities, and how you can protect your community as these debates move forward.  

• 10:45 am
  Extreme Weather Events: Preparing Cities, Engaging Leaders (Show details)

  While cities across the country are seeing the devastation associated with a changing climate, recent extreme weather events have brought renewed attention to the need for cities to anticipate, prepare for, and adapt to these events. This workshop will give an overview of the federal government’s efforts to address climate change and available federal resources. A panel of mayors will discuss their experiences in preparing for and responding to extreme weather events and share their perspectives on how these issues will impact cities across the country.

• 10:45 am
  EPA Integrated Planning and Affordability: Working with Local Governments (Show details)

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has begun efforts to help local governments meet their Clean Water Act requirements in an efficient and cost effective manner and examine the fiscal impact of regulatory compliance. This session will provide an overview of EPA’s integrated planning framework and the local government affordability dialogue and allow attendees to engage directly with Agency officials and other local elected officials on how to take advantage of these new flexibilities for local governments.  

• 10:45 am
  Proper Venue? The Courts’ Effects on Local Authority (Show details)

  In addition to advocating on the Hill, cities increasingly have turned to the court system to preserve local authority and ensure judicial deference to policy determinations made by local governing bodies.   In this session, attendees will get an update on cases important to cities pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, including the FCC “shot clock” case, and those already decided that involved public official immunity, takings, and local government taxing authority.  Attendees also will learn about the state court battles against online travel companies and how the decisions in those cases affect local tax revenues.  

• 10:45 am
  Welcome Home: Ensuring Veterans Are Successfully Reintegrated in Your Community

• 10:45 am
  America’s Multi-modal Transportation Network: What’s Ahead? (Show details)

  America’s interconnected, multimodal transportation network supports economic growth and community vitality.   Our national system of airports, ports, railroads, transit systems and highways move goods and people with substantial contributions from local governments and their citizens.  What is the federal role in supporting these vital networks?  How do we ensure that the local voice is part of the decision making process so that these crucial transportation infrastructure investments fit into larger community goals such as economic development and creating vibrant downtowns?   Congress will take up several important transportation programs this year including reauthorization of Amtrak, sustained transportation funding for highway, transit and bridge programs and renewal of the nation’s federal aviation system.   Come learn what these key legislative proposals mean for cities and how to make sure your voice is part of the debate.

Hotel/Travel

Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, DC
(202)328-2000

Book your room

Presenters

1. Rendell, Ed

   Fix the Debt
   After 34 years of public service, including 24 years as an elected official, Governor Rendell continues to pursue many of the same issues he was passionate about while serving. His commitment to making America a cleaner, more efficient place and to fostering investment in our nation's crumbling infrastructure is as strong as it ever was. Rendell has become a champion for progress in the area of alternative energy, and now serves as a consultant or board member for several green and alternative energy firms, including Own Energy, Element Partners and Ocean Thermal Energy. He has also remained heavily involved in the campaign for government efficiency and strategic cost cutting through his work with entities such as Government Sourcing Solutions, Public Financial Management and Greenhill Advisors. Perhaps no other issue has been and continues to be as important to Governor Rendell as America's dire need to rebuild and reinvest in its infrastructure. As Governor, Rendell worked with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to create an organization called "Building America's Future." The organization focuses on the need for a more significant investment in American infrastructure projects to ensure that America maintains its place as a global economic power. Governor Rendell currently serves as Co-Chair of the organization and travels throughout the country speaking about this issue. Rendell served two terms as Governor of Pennsylvania (2003-2011) and oversaw a budget of $28.3 billion as the chief executive of the nation's 6th-most-populous state. As Governor, Rendell was committed to making government more responsible and responsive to the public's needs, and he successfully cut wasteful spending and improved efficiency leading to savings of over $1 billion. His legislative agenda focused on commonsense political reform and putting progress ahead of partisanship. Through his unprecedented strategic investments, he energized Pennsylvania's economy, revitalized communities, improved education, protected the environment, expanded access to health care to all children, and made affordable prescription drugs available to older Pennsylvanians. During his two terms as Mayor of Philadelphia (1992-2000), Rendell eliminated a crippling deficit, balanced the City's budget, and generated five consecutive budget surpluses. Philadelphia's renaissance, which The New York Times called "the most stunning turnaround in recent urban history," is largely attributed to his determination, inspiration, and energy. Before serving as Mayor, Rendell was elected District Attorney of Philadelphia for two terms from 1978 through 1985. Rendell also served as Chairman of the Democratic National Com - mittee during the 2000 Presidential election. He currently sits on several boards, is a Brookings Fellow and teaches government and politics courses at the University of Pennsylvania. Rendell recently finished his autobiography, A Nation of Wusses. It is scheduled to be released in early June. Advanced copies are available at: http://www.wiley.com/buy/1118279050 An Army veteran, he holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Villanova Law School.