The news release below was issued by the Office of the Mayor this morning and details Mayor Sayles Belton's trip to Washington D.C. to participate in the National Summit on Investment in the New American City. Mayor Sayles Belton to Join Mayors and CEO's From Across the Country to Meet with President Bush at the White House Mayors, CEO's to Convene "National Summit on Investment in the New American City"; Groundbreaking Poll on Small Business Owners' Economic Outlook to be Released April 4, 2001 (Minneapolis, MN)- Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton will be in Washington D.C. on April 4th and 5th to participate in the "National Summit for Investment in the New American City." The Summit, sponsored by the US Conference of Mayors (USCM) and Mortgage Bankers Association of America (MBA), will convene 60 Mayors and corporate CEO's to focus the current economic strength of America's cities, and on specific areas in which public and private investment strategies could remove barriers to continued growth in cities, and create new opportunities and resources. Issues which will be covered at the Summit include addressing the skills shortage in America's workforce; brownfields redevelopment; the need for more affordable housing in cities; and rebuilding aging infrastructure in cities. On Thursday, April 5 at 9:00 a.m. EDT, Mayor Sayles Belton will be a featured panelist for the plenary session, "Housing America's Working Families." "As a Trustee of the US Conference of Mayors, it has been my pleasure to help promote the Council for Investment in the New American City," said Mayor Sayles Belton. "One of the goals of the Council is to bring public and private partners together to create a national housing investment agenda through increased federal and private sector investment in housing. We need to build affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families. Wages are not keeping pace with rent and mortgage costs. Congress must step up to the plate and increase the federal commitment to housing." "Mayors today are as much entrepreneurs and CEOs as Fortune 500 executives are," said USCM Executive Director J. Thomas Cochran in announcing the Summit. "That's why our cities are more exciting places to live, with greater opportunities and quality of life, than ever before. But to keep the economy growing, we've got to talk about continued investment in our cities. By convening this Summit we're bringing a strong message to the new Administration and Congress: Mayors have innovative ideas about what policies will help our nation continue to grow, and our ideas have the support of corporate leaders across America." For the first time in his Presidency, President Bush will meet with the Mayors on Thursday, April 5 at the White House. During the meeting with the President, Mayors and CEOs hope to discuss ways in which the federal government can partner with cities and business to encourage investment in cities. In addition, HUD Secretary Mel Martinez and EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman are scheduled to participate in the discussions on Thursday. At the Summit the Mayors will also release a groundbreaking poll that documents the views of hundreds of small business owners from across the nation on prospects for their local economy and the national economy, as well as their opinions on what strategies their local, state, and federal government can employ to bolster small business in America. This poll will be used to set a benchmark by which, in future years, small business owners' economic outlook can be measured. "Local Mayors aggressively advocate for small business development and growth in their cities," said George Cloutier, CEO of American Management Services and founder of Partner America, a public-private partnership between the Conference of Mayors and AMS. "If we invest in our small businesses, we are investing in the future success of our cities. This poll will help to educate us what small businesses feel they need to succeed in our cities." For more information about the Summit, Contact: Jubi Headley, (202) 861-6766 or (202) 744-9337; Karen Hinton, (703) 798-3109 The United States Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are about 1,100 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. ### Ann Freeman Communications Director Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton (612) 673-2156 _______________________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - Minnesota E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
