Obama cabinet members to speak at NLC conference
Members of President Obama’s cabinet will speak at the Washington-based National League of Cities’ (NLC) Congressional City Conference in Washington this weekend. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will speak at conference general sessions, along with other guest speakers.
The Congressional City Conference starts on Saturday with Leadership Training Institute seminars and other NLC meetings. General sessions and workshops will take place March 15 and 16. Conference participants will have the opportunity to lobby their congressional delegation on March 17. General sessions and other conference events will be broadcast on NLC TV, NLC’s Internet TV channel, at www.nlctv.org.
Donovan is expected to offer an assessment of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) and the nation’s continued housing challenges, as well as his perspective on the programs, processes and lessons learned from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). He also is likely to address HUD’s role in the cross-agency livability initiative, a partnership between HUD, the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency focused on creating affordable, sustainable communities.
Duncan is expected to speak about the administration’s commitment to increase investments in education. He also will offer insights into how city officials can more effectively partner with the Department of Education to achieve education goals.
Locke is expected to provide an update on the Commerce Department’s technology programs through the ARRA as well as the department’s strategies to advance economic growth and jobs for city residents. He also will talk about the importance of the 2010 Census.
Vilsack is expected to offer insights on the Agriculture Department’s efforts to work with local governments and the private sector to promote jobs. In addition, he will highlight the Obama administration’s priorities for the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act and advocate for the rapid passage of a strong reauthorization bill to reduce hunger and improve the health and nutrition of the nation’s children.
In addition to the cabinet secretaries, Karen Mills, administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), will speak during a general session about SBA’s efforts to increase access to credit for small businesses and provide partnership opportunities for local governments and the private sector to focus on stimulating job growth. Other general session speakers include Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Energy Secretary Stephen Chu, Adolfo Carrión, director of the White House Office of Urban Affairs, and broadcast journalist Judy Woodruff.
Read the latest information on the conference.
