The Mayors' 2020 VISION: An American Breakthrough

The United States Conference of Mayors
THE MAYORS’
2020 VISION
An American Breakthrough
August 2020
Greg Fischer
Mayor of Louisville
President
Nan Whaley
Mayor of Dayton
Vice President
Francis X. Suarez
Mayor of Miami
Second Vice President
Bryan K. Barnett
Mayor of Rochester Hills, MI
Past President
Steve Benjamin
Mayor of Columbia, SC
Past President
Elizabeth B. Kautz
Mayor of Burnsville
Past President
Tom Cochran
CEO and Executive Director
The United States Conference of

Mayors is the official non-partisan
organization of cities with each city
represented in the Conference by its
chief elected official, the mayor.
The United States Conference of Mayors
THE MAYORS’
2020 VISION
August 2020
THE MAYORS’ 2020 VISION: An American Breakthrough
The United States Conference of Mayors: Supporting, Protecting,

and Advocating for America’s Cities and Their Residents
As the leading voice of America’s cities, The United States Conference of Mayors is uniquely qualified to recommend
a strategic vision for America. Since its founding in 1932, the Conference remains the place where America’s mayors –
Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike – come together in a collegial, cooperative, bipartisan manner to
get things done.
Our Nation’s cities are platforms for human potential to flourish:
• Cities are the Nation’s Population Centers. They represent 86 percent of the Nation’s population
and 91 percent of real gross domestic product (GDP).
• Cities are Home to Most Jobs and Job Creation. The U.S. Metro/City share of total employment
increased to 88 percent in 2018, as metros added 2.1 million jobs, accounting for 94 percent of all
U.S. job gains.
• Cities are Home to the Highest Share of Personal Income. The metro share of U.S. total personal
income stands at 89 percent and wage income at 92 percent, although deep inequities in income
and wealth present significant challenges and opportunities.
• Cities are the Nation’s Incubators of Talent. Talent flocks to cities because of the accessibility,
diversity, infrastructure, vibrancy, and innovation that cities provide. Regenerating neighborhoods
while keeping its current residents makes our cities even more interesting.
On issues such as civil rights and voting rights, environmental protection, marriage equity, economic recovery from
depressions and recessions, and so much more, The United States Conference of Mayors has always leaned forward,
helping our great Nation address the most pressing issues of the day – and those of the future.
It is in that spirit that we offer The Mayors’ 2020 Vision: An American Breakthrough – a platform of 10 priorities
inspired by the Conference’s bipartisan focus on creating a safe, sustainable, and equitable future through investing
in America’s communities. Each of these priorities – ranging across economic empowerment, police reform and racial
justice, environmental stewardship, green infrastructure investments, housing affordability and homelessness, and all
the others – are essential to the American Breakthrough needed to create a better, fairer, and more equitable America
in which every person is helped to realize their full potential. During these unprecedented times, America’s mayors
are called upon to be guardians of public health, energized allies, and empathetic community members. Our cities are
catalysts for change and it is up to us, as mayors, to seize this moment with both passion and compassion, refuse to settle
for incremental improvement, and pursue a true American Breakthrough – a radically constructive breakthrough that
begins in our cities, cultivates economic growth, and operates as the heartbeat of the American economy.
The original framework for this bipartisan agenda – built around priorities that included infrastructure investment,
innovation, and equity – was released in the Fall of 2019 when the Presidential election season was in its earlier stages.
Since that time, a tidal wave of public health, economic and social forces have hit our Nation, striking at the fabric of the
cities responsible for lifting our country out of the Great Recession of 2008.
In late June – in the face of the COVID-19 public health pandemic, the resulting economic shutdown, and the national
movement calling for police reform and racial justice – the incoming Conference of Mayors President, Louisville Mayor
Greg Fischer, established five Working Groups of mayors, each charged with providing new perspectives on the potential
of America at this critical point in her history. The groups cover: 1) Police Reform and Racial Justice; 2) COVID-19 Response
and Health Equity; 3) Eliminating Poverty; 4) Dismantling Systemic Racism; and 5) Economic Recovery. (The Police
Reform group had been meeting prior to the Fischer Presidency.) The work of each group is helping to contextualize
recommendations for federal action to address some of the most pressing issues of our time. Each of these issues
requires an array of curative policy initiatives and collective action. The energy in our Nation has never been better
aligned to solve these deeply entrenched problems.
The United States Conference of Mayors 3

The most glaring and persistent of our entrenched problems is racism, a complex, self-defeating system of beliefs
and behaviors grounded in the presumed superiority of the white race. These beliefs and practices are conscious and
unconscious, personal and institutional, and result in the oppression of people of color. The United States Conference
of Mayors finds that institutional and structural racism must be addressed at base levels. To do this, we must engage
both the government and the private sector in efforts to dismantle the accumulation and incorporation of long-standing
racialized practices.
• Not long after the at-times uncontrollable coronavirus began its deadly sweep across the Nation,
it became apparent that not all people were equally victimized. Persons of color were experiencing
significantly higher rates of hospitalization and death from the virus than whites – Blacks and
Latinos three times as likely as whites to contract the virus and nearly twice as likely to die as
a result. In low-income neighborhoods, underfunded and understaffed hospitals and other
local public health infrastructure may not be equipped to provide the care required to survive
an infection.
• Beyond the threat to lives posed by the virus was the threat to livelihoods. Throughout the months
of the pandemic, the Black and Latino/Hispanic unemployment rates have been consistently
and significantly higher than the white rate. Ironically, a significant number of those who have
continued to work are disproportionately found in front-line jobs requiring close contact with
coworkers and the public – jobs putting them at higher risk for the virus. Clearly, the inequities
exposed by the coronavirus have their roots in institutional racism. And clearly, we’re not “all in
this together.”
• With the deadly virus still spreading across the country, the deaths of several Black men and
women at the hands of police officers triggered public protests in cities across the country that
drew police into sometimes violent confrontations with protesters. These protests called attention
to evidence of systemic racism in policing and criminal justice, with Black Americans more likely
than white Americans to be arrested, convicted, and sentenced to lengthy prison sentences.
• Continuing into the summer, the protests evolved into a nationwide, multi-racial movement
focused on broader, underlying race-based and systemic inequities long crippling our society and
economy – inequities in health care, educational opportunities, housing, and income and wealth,
among others.
Each of these reflections of the systemic racism we are now confronting is described in greater detail in the section on
dismantling systemic racism and advancing civil and human rights that follows in this document, as well as in many of
the other priorities of the American Breakthrough also described.
Today, many city residents – regardless of their race, creed, color, sexual orientation, or differing political affiliations –
are uncertain about the future of the virus, their economic security, and our promise of fairness and justice for all.
We are at a point today where key questions must be answered if all Americans are to move forward and build a better
country for themselves and future generations:
• “How can we make our economic, educational, health care and other systems work for everyone?”
• “How do we transition to a society that protects our most marginalized community members?”
• “How do we leverage our resources to dismantle systemic racism and create a more equitable
society?”
• “How do we help workers transition to a new job market in the face of the pandemic, globalization
and digitization?”
• “How do we improve the quality of life of our most disadvantaged communities?”
• “And how do we do all of this while safeguarding our planet?”
4 The United States Conference of Mayors

Without genuine change and compassionate leadership, all of these struggles will grow even more burdensome to our
citizens, our communities, and our country. The challenges are serious, but through collective action emanating from
our neighborhoods and city halls, through bold leadership, and through a true local-federal partnership, they are
solvable. America has shown its ability to produce greatness time and time again. It is time to draw upon this spirit
once again, and to act.
The 2020 Election: The Need for Partnership and Action

The 2020 Election must be about solidifying the partnership between the federal government and America’s communities
to change policy and systems to better serve ALL of the American people. The federal government must be an engaged,
active, and collaborative partner. From Maine to Alaska, OUR people need to hear from all candidates how they are going
to address the future, embrace change, and work to address our common challenges.
The United States Conference of Mayors was founded on a strong partnership and common agenda with the federal
government. Tragically, in this time of both great challenges and great opportunities, the partnership with the federal
government that is so desperately needed is threatened by dysfunction in Washington. THIS MUST END. America needs
a federal government that will work with its cities and metro areas on an agenda for ALL the people of America.
The Opportunity and Our Invitation

We’re starting the conversation by offering our strategic platform, The Mayors’ 2020 Vision: An American Breakthrough,
and by welcoming all presidential and congressional candidates to outline their vision for strengthening our Nation’s
cities and metro areas through a platform that allows all residents to thrive. We look forward to a positive and productive
partnership with those elected in 2020 as we work together to guide our great Nation through a challenging period in
pursuit of an American Breakthrough that strengthens our cities and our Nation for generations to come.
Sources for Economic and Demographic Data: U.S. Metro Economies, GMP and Employment 2019-2020; HIS 88 Markit; USCM

THE MAYORS’ 2020 VISION:

Foster Economic Recovery for a Stronger America
Dismantle Systemic Racism and Advance Human and Civil Rights
Achieve Public Safety and Justice for All
Provide Equitable Quality Healthcare and Human Services
Rewrite the Tax Code to Help Hardworking Taxpayers and

Reduce Economic Inequality
Make Housing More Affordable and Address Homelessness
Build Modern, Resilient Infrastructure to Address Climate Change,

Promote Environmental Justice, and Enhance Opportunity and
Productivity: Transportation, Water, Green Energy, and
Technology Systems
Strengthen Education, Improve Career Pathways, and Develop

the Workforce of the Future
Fix Our Broken Immigration System
Promote American Business, Goods, and Tourism to the

Global Economy

Foster Economic Recovery

for A Stronger America
The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated the U.S. economy and continues to threaten the lives of millions of Americans.
Meanwhile, long-standing systemic health and social inequities have shown members of racial and ethnic minority
groups are at increased risk, exacerbated by the fact that they make up a disproportionate share of essential workers who
can’t work safely at home during the pandemic. The crisis has also exposed how infrastructure financing and investment
practices governing our most basic services and networks – including transportation, water, and energy systems – too
often impose additional burdens on underserved and underrepresented people and their families.
The societal inequities exacerbating this crisis for many Americans are deep and multifaceted. Our response must be as
well. If economic recovery is to be complete, no group of Americans can be left behind. Accordingly, the Nation’s mayors
recommend the following strategies to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitate a rapid economic and employment
recovery, and cultivate a more equitable distribution of income and wealth.
Direct Fiscal Relief for Cities

Cities of all sizes across the country are experiencing significant revenue shortfalls as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
and are in dire need of immediate and near-term infusions of direct, flexible federal aid.
Thus, mayors call for direct and significant federal aid to cities on the order of at least $250 billion of fiscal assistance,
over and above state aid, which must be provided immediately to get cities through budgeting for the next fiscal year
(FY 2021). The funds must be distributed by formula to all municipalities – not just those with populations exceeding
500,000 people.
COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Distribution

The current HHS and FEMA testing blueprint leaves most responsibility for funding, designing, and executing of COVID-19
testing plans to individual states. This strategy has unfortunately proven inadequate to meet the enormous public demand
for testing, resulting in insufficient testing capacity nationwide.
Therefore, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must work with the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to coordinate and increase the nationwide availability of testing
and testing supplies to mitigate supply gaps across the country and ensure proper acquisition, distribution, and
adequacy. Federal assistance on testing and eventual vaccine distribution must come directly to local areas to support
the local public health infrastructure. Local health partners are critical to address language and cultural barriers in
testing, contact tracing, and vaccine distribution to adequately curb the pandemic.
Contact Tracing Service Corps

To suppress the COVID-19 epidemic to manageable levels and return the country to economic health, the U.S. must
increase nationwide efforts around contact tracing.
This is why mayors urge swift passage of the National Pandemic Response Opportunity Through Service Act (S. 3624) to
create 300,000 volunteer positions that could serve as the basis for a Contact Tracing Service Corps across the country.
This effort should prioritize funding for activities directly related to the Nation’s response and recovery, including: Public
health services (with an emphasis on contact tracing), programs to support economic opportunity, education support
(including for adult learners), and services to combat nutrition insecurity, with an emphasis on expanding programs and
services in rural and high poverty communities. Further priority should be placed on local hiring in partnership with local

community-based organizations, with an emphasis on out-of-work residents and opportunity youth. Development of the
Contact Tracing Service Corps must be structured to create career pathways for underserved populations and facilitate
long-term employment all while addressing public health needs in our Black and Latinx communities.
Extend UI Benefits, Emergency Relief Payments for Workers,

Workforce Development
Hundreds of thousands of frontline essential workers are at risk of being laid off and families are struggling to feed their
children and pay their bills. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 relief measures delivered in previous stimulus bills are set to expire.
To address this, Congress must pass the Unemployment Insurance Extension to continue the current $600 a week
unemployment benefits boost until March 2021. Additionally, Congress must pass the Monthly Economic Crisis Support
Act (S. 3784) to put money directly into the hands of those hardest hit by the pandemic.
Providing additional resources to the Nation’s workforce system now is another critical step in relaunching America’s
workers and businesses as the Nation begins to recover from the COVID-19 national emergency. The Nation’s mayors urge
swift passage of the Relaunching America’s Workforce Act as a desperately needed investment in workers, employers, and
our economy.
Childcare
As businesses begin to re-open and working families need childcare, many providers across the country remain
shut down due to COVID-19 or are struggling financially and operating with significantly reduced staff.
The Nation’s mayors call on Congress to pass the Childcare is Essential Act which would create a $50 billion
Child Care Stabilization Fund within the existing Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program
to address this critical need.
Housing Assistance
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs and many homeowners and renters are struggling to pay their housing
bills as a result of deep economic uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic.
To prevent exacerbating the pandemic crisis with the further devastation of a housing crisis, mayors urge Congress
to pass the Emergency Housing Protections and Relief Act.
Small Business Assistance Through Local Governments

Small businesses across the country are facing grave economic hardship and many have already been forced to shut
their doors for the last time, resulting in lost jobs and shockwaves to local communities.
Thus, Congress should provide new guidelines to spend the remaining $130 billion left in the Paycheck Protection
Program and provide $120 billion to restaurants through the bipartisan Real Economic Support That Acknowledges
Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed To Survive Act, or Restaurant Act. Further, the federal government must provide
targeted assistance to provide direct compensation and debt forgiveness to businesses in the Nation’s farming and rural
communities, as well as Minority and Woman-Owned Businesses Enterprises (MBWEs) that are struggling to stay afloat in
the pandemic.

Dismantle Systemic Racism and

Advance Human and Civil Rights
The historic disruption of life and work in America in 2020 has cast a spotlight on the depth and breadth of systemic
racism in the Nation and awakened a conviction among the American people that, for the good of both our society
and our economy, it must be dismantled. The late Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis said that, “When you
see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something. You have to do
something.” We owe it to his memory to seize the moment.
Dismantle Systemic Racism

Racism is a complex system of beliefs and behaviors grounded in the presumed superiority of the white race. These beliefs
and practices are conscious and unconscious, personal and institutional, and result in the oppression of people of color.
The United States Conference of Mayors finds that institutional and structural racism must be addressed at base levels.
To do this, we must engage both the government and the private sector in efforts to dismantle the accumulation and
incorporation of long-standing racialized practices. This system of bias across institutions and society, the foundation
of systemic racism, gives privileges to white people that result in long-term disadvantages or disparities among other
groups, and in disproportionate levels of poverty, unemployment, incarceration, and policing and criminal justice abuses
in communities of color.
Passing the midpoint of 2020, our Nation is confronted with the most graphic evidence imaginable of the destructive
impact of systemic racism on a modern society. Not long after the at-times uncontrollable novel coronavirus began its
deadly sweep through cities and states across the Nation, it became apparent that not all people were equally victimized:
Persons of color were experiencing significantly higher rates of hospitalization or death from the virus than whites.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Blacks and Latinos are three times as likely as whites to
contract the virus and nearly twice as likely to die as a result. In low-income neighborhoods where Blacks, Latinos,
immigrants, and essential workers are concentrated, underfunded and understaffed hospitals and other local public
health infrastructure may not be equipped to provide the care required to survive an infection.
Beyond the threat to lives posed by the virus was the threat to livelihoods. Advised by trusted public health experts,
governors and mayors issued sweeping orders for residents to isolate themselves in their homes and for all nonessential
businesses to close. And while the economic shock of measures taken to minimize the spread of the virus was experienced
by families and individuals immediately, it was not experienced evenly. Throughout the months of the pandemic, the
Black and Latino/Hispanic unemployment rates have been consistently and significantly higher than the white rate.
Ironically, a significant number of Blacks who have continued to work are disproportionately found in front-line industrial
jobs, retail sales, public transit, trucking and warehouse jobs, postal service, health care, child care, and social services –
all requiring close contact with coworkers and the public, and all putting them at higher risk for the virus.
Clearly, the inequities exposed by the coronavirus have their roots in racism. And clearly, we’re not “all in this together.”
In late May, with the deadly virus still spreading across the country, the deaths of several Black men and women at the
hands of police officers triggered public protests in cities across the country that drew police into sometimes violent
confrontations with protesters. Initially a response to a series of deaths of Black men and women at the hands of police
officers, these protests called attention to evidence of systemic racism in policing and criminal justice – Black Americans
more likely than white Americans to be arrested; once arrested, more likely to be convicted; once convicted, more likely
to experience lengthy prison sentences. Black adults are about six times as likely to be incarcerated than whites;
Hispanics are three times as likely.

Continuing into the summer, the protests evolved into a nationwide, multi-racial movement calling public attention
to the broader underlying race-based and systemic inequities long crippling our society and economy – inequities
in health care beginning with birth and continuing through life; educational opportunities: from pre-school through
higher education; employment: in hiring, advancement and income opportunities; housing: where it is available after
generations of exclusionary zoning and segregation, where “redlining” makes it unreachable, how it is financed, how it is
taxed, whether it is subject to environmental health hazards. Dramatic reflections of the cumulative effect of race-based
inequities are found in the Nation’s wealth gap: The Federal Reserve reports that in 2016, mean Black household worth
was $138,200, or about 15 percent of white household worth; mean Hispanic household worth, at $191,200, was about
20 percent of white household worth. In terms of life expectancy, white men are living well over four years longer than
Black men and white women are outliving Black women by three years, according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
Technology, in particular, has played an outsized role in this Nation’s adaptation to the continuing presence of the
coronavirus. It has helped people stay connected to each other and greatly assisted in the transition to working from
home. It has supported continued schooling through remote learning and helped health professionals keep hospitals
safe by transitioning many in-person doctor visits to virtual visits. For all of these benefits, however, racial disparities
remain. The “digital divide,” which has long existed along income and racial lines, continues to limit many children’s
ability to learn remotely and many adults’ ability to work from home. Just five years ago, more than one-third of lower-
income households with school-age children did not have a broadband internet connection. The continued lack of
quality broadband or internet access, in addition to discrepancies between wealthier school districts providing tablets
and laptops to students and lower-income schools that cannot do this, has exacerbated what is referred to as the
“homework gap” in minority communities.
In recent years, cities have contended with the “digital redlining” of lower-income neighborhoods by telecommunications
companies delivering high-speed fixed and wireless broadband services. Since 2017, the Federal Communications
Commission also has downgraded the definition of “broadband,” disproportionately impacting lower-income and rural
communities by allowing access providers to sell a fixed broadband product that is slower and that does not adequately
match today’s work-from-home, remote learning, and telehealth needs. Beyond access issues, the technology that public
safety and government institutions procure can have dramatic impacts on minority communities. Bias is prevalent in
artificial intelligence, with technologies such as facial recognition being unreliable when used in communities of color.
Surveillance technology is more likely to be implemented in neighborhoods of color, both commercial and residential,
than in wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. The technology employed in civic engagement is more likely to yield opinions
and feedback from white residents than others.
To tackle systemic racism successfully we must account for its causes and its linkages. Redlining and exclusionary zoning
funneled Americans into separate communities and different neighborhoods based largely on race, and structurally
directed far fewer resources and opportunities to them. Neighborhoods born of those segregationist policies have seen
much lower property tax revenue and, it follows, inadequately funded schools, parks, active transportation, healthcare,
and other services and infrastructure. The direct result has been society-level disparities across areas including income
and accumulation of wealth, educational attainment, entrepreneurship, safe policing, and broadband access.
The policies producing these disparities were never thrust upon our cities; from their beginnings a century ago, they
were pursued by cities, complicit with our federal and state governments and the banking industry. While this makes
for a hard mirror to look in today, it is what dismantling systemic racism demands that we do. It also demands our
acknowledgement that systemic racism in our cities is as serious a public health crisis as the violence or the pandemic
that daily claim so many thousands of our people’s lives
Advance Human and Civil Rights

Our Nation’s strength and vitality lie in the fact that our cities are home to diverse residents from all over the country
and all over the globe: it’s why our regional economies are the engines that power the largest economy in the world.
Throughout our country’s history, that diversity and dynamism have at times also been attacked, and as mayors we take
seriously the need for government (federal, state, and local) to protect our residents and promote inclusion. To this end,
The United States Conference of Mayors for decades has taken a strong position in support of civil and human rights, and
in opposition to racism and discrimination of all kinds whenever and wherever it occurs.

Tragically, extremism and violent bigotry continue to rear their ugly heads in America and, in recent years, at an alarming
rate and scale. We are now witnessing efforts in our states and at the highest levels of our government to gut existing
civil rights laws and reduce their enforcement. We have seen an increase in hate violence, xenophobic rhetoric, and
discriminatory actions that target Muslims, Jews, African Americans, Latinos, and others. Intolerance, lack of respect for
those with differing opinions, and incivility have risen to crisis levels. Damaging rhetoric and a dramatic shift away from
collaboration have often left us unable to solve the challenges confronting our communities and our country.
To protect constitutional civil rights and encourage inclusionary practices that support our efforts to grow our cities and
local economies in ways that benefit everyone, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Promote inclusive, compassionate, and equitable communities and an inclusive, compassionate,

and equitable Nation that recognizes, respects, and values all people, regardless of race, ethnicity,
religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
• Oppose any policies, actions, or comments that in any way discriminate against people because of
their race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual orientation.
• Acknowledge the profound impact of structural and systemic racism on communities of

color, and look toward policies that remedy long-standing inequities, including promoting
Black male achievement.
• Establish a federal commission to study and consider a national apology and proposal for
reparations for the institution of slavery as well as subsequent de jure and de facto discrimination
against Black Americans through the present day.
• Work to foster tolerance and prevent hate crimes, with a particular focus on the increasing trend
of violence toward individuals and institutions based on faith; and condemn such incidents
whenever they do occur.
• Support and work to achieve passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and the implementation
of policies that ensure genuine economic equality for women.
• Support LGBTQ rights and work toward guaranteeing them in every city and in the Nation
as a whole.
• Oppose violence and discrimination against transgender individuals.

• Revive civility and respect by listening respectfully to people who have different views, supporting
efforts to work together across ideological and political lines, and working to rebuild civic trust
through civil discourse – particularly during election seasons.
• Consistently and unreservedly enforce the federal Fair Housing Act, which helps local governments
address discrimination and segregated housing patterns and take action to remedy past
housing discrimination.

Achieve Public Safety

and Justice for All
In May, the public response in the aftermath of the deaths of several Black men and women at the hands of police officers
rekindled and intensified the national call for police reform and racial justice. The Conference’s Police Reform and Racial
Justice Working Group has produced and is advancing meaningful reforms that mayors and police chiefs across the
country can adopt to address police violence and patterns of racial discrimination. Their recommendations, along with
the set of principles rooted in the goal of better public safety they developed to shape the police reform framework,
were adopted as policy by The United States Conference of Mayors. They take into account the urgent need to address
racially-biased practices, as well as concerns that there are public functions that have, for far too long, fallen to police
departments by default but that can be better addressed by others.
Mayors and police leaders must meet the moment. Now is the time to renew the compact between people and the police,
to restore trust and accountability, to rebuild legitimacy, and to reimagine policing in our country.
While there has been progress in making America’s cities safe, much remains to be done. Although homicides and other
violent crimes continue to decrease in some jurisdictions, some cities still grapple with high crime levels, and some have
seen an uptick. Firearms account for nearly 40,000 deaths a year and guns are readily available on our streets. Until the
pandemic hit, mass shootings had become almost a common occurrence.
While improvements have been made in the criminal justice system, and these are a good first step, much remains to be
done to make the system equitable, fair, and accountable.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently reported that the Nation “faces an increasingly complex, and
evolving, threat of terrorism and targeted violence,” and that while “foreign terrorist organizations remain intent on
striking the Homeland...the Nation also faces a growing threat from domestic actors inspired by violent extremist
ideologies, as well as from those whose attacks are not ideologically driven.”
Achieving public safety and justice for all requires decisive actions by mayors and police chiefs in their cities and by the
next President and Congress:
Police Reform
• A set of principles for policing, attributed to Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel in England, is often cited
as the foundational framework for modern policing in a democracy. They stand for the ideas that
the police exist to prevent crime and that the legitimacy of the police derives from public consent
and trust. Peel’s Principles state that policing must be based upon a reciprocal relationship of trust
between the police and the public. This moment calls for both reaffirming and updating these
principles of policing:
» Redefining the Role of Local Police and Public Safety. The current moment calls into
question, but also provides a unique opportunity to discuss, the first principles of policing and
requires a community conversation on the proper role of police in addressing the needs of
residents. Building healthy, safe and vibrant communities requires many other tools than law
enforcement alone.
» Trust and Legitimacy. Public approval and acceptance are the basis of effective policing.
The public and police must find common ground on which to trust each other. Police must
earn their community’s trust and cooperation, and, in turn, the public must respect officers as
faithful guardians of the community who both follow and enforce the law.

» Sanctity of Life. At the core of a police officer’s responsibilities is the duty to protect all human
life and physical safety. To ingrain this fundamental principle, use of force policies must clearly
state this requirement, with specificity, and require officers to intervene when a fellow officer is
using disproportionate or unnecessary force.
» Equality and Due Process. Police conduct must not vary on account of race, religion,
national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or other status. Every person
is entitled to equal treatment, respect for his or her constitutional rights, and due process of
law. To ensure equal and just treatment of all persons, departments must provide consistent
training on impartial policing, anti-discrimination principles, and cultural literacy.
» Community. Departments must strive for a sincere belief among officers that respectful,
constitutional engagement with the community is the most powerful tool they possess,
over and above a gun and a badge.
» Transparency and Accountability to Reinforce Constitutional Policing. True police reform

will not come about through improved policies and training alone. We must ensure that police
fulfill their commitments to protect the residents they serve and that police build trust and
legitimacy through transparency, engagement and accountability.
First Responders
• Maintain and increase funding for key first responder programs, including COPS hiring grants
and other COPS Office programs, Byrne JAG grants, and SAFER and Firefighter Assistance
Grant programs.
Community Policing
• Increase financial assistance to local police departments that can be used for promoting
neighborhood-based policing; providing officers needed training, body cameras and other
equipment; and improving department reporting and accountability practices.
• Aid local efforts to build and maintain trust between the police and the community. This could
include providing sensitivity, cultural, and ethnicity training, as well as training in how to
defuse incidents.
• Establish community review boards to enable the community to provide oversight through
transparency and inclusion.
Gun Violence
• Make background checks universal and strengthen the background check system.
• Strengthen the regulation of gun sales and dealers so that guns don’t end up in the hands of
people who may misuse them.
• Reinstate a strengthened, effective ban on military-style assault weapons, their component parts,
large-capacity magazines, and bump stocks and related devices.
• Support local efforts to reduce and combat gun crimes.

• Encourage cities to purchase guns from responsible gun manufacturers and dealers by using city
procurement processes to influence and increase responsible behavior of gun manufacturers and
dealers who sell guns to cities.

• Endorse the use and adoption of Extreme Risk Protection Orders and urge Congress and state
legislatures to introduce and adopt Extreme Risk Protection Order (Red Flag) laws to bring this
potentially life-saving tool to as many communities as possible.
• Treat violence as a public health problem.
Criminal Justice Reform and Reentry

• Continue efforts to make the criminal justice system fairer and more equitable, including in the
areas of fines and fees and bail, sentencing, and prison reform.
• Provide criminal justice diversion programs that provide preventive and social service assistance
for nonviolent offenses, rather than punishment and alternatives to arrests, such as civil citations,
diversions, and warnings.
• Increase support for reentry programs, including the provision of substance abuse and mental
health services and of housing, education, and employment assistance to better serve the various
needs of those leaving prison, and revise employment, health care, and other policies that impede
the ability of people released from prison to reintegrate successfully into their communities.
• Establish a national criminal justice commission to examine and make recommendations

regarding all aspects of the criminal justice system.
Domestic and International Terrorism

• Maintain and strengthen homeland security grant programs, with funding increased and provided
directly to local governments so that local officials are equipped to prevent and respond to
terrorist acts and reduce violent extremism.
• Support police officers through both Homeland Security and Justice Department programs,
including COPS hiring grants.
• Share intelligence with local authorities in a continuous, timely, and reciprocal manner.
Public safety agencies at every level have a role to play in preventing domestic and
international terrorism.

Provide Equitable Quality Healthcare

and Human Services
Mayors recognize that a strong federal, state, and local partnership is vital to ensuring that everyone has the services they
deserve to live healthy and productive lives. Equitable access for all to affordable quality health care and comprehensive
human services; robust and coordinated systems of care; easy access to public transit and open space; safe and affordable
housing; access to healthy and nutritious foods; and walkable/bikeable neighborhoods shall be top priorities at this most
critical moment for change in our Nation.
As cities continue to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and prioritize equity, mayors reaffirm support for the
fundamental principle that all persons must have an equitable opportunity to attain their full health potential and
that no one should be disadvantaged from achieving this potential. Yet, racial and ethnic health inequities, including
discrimination, poverty, lack of quality education, access to good jobs with fair pay, health care, human services,
nutritious foods, safe housing, clean environments, and many other longstanding socio-economic factors have continued
to place too great a burden on significant portions of our Nation’s population.
The crucial choices we make now to address the social determinants of health and improve our health care infrastructure
while helping us rebound from the devastating impact of COVID-19 will also help to unlock the full potential of our
residents. As we continue to work on strategies to prevent, contain, and eventually eliminate the spread of the pandemic
in our cities, we strongly urge the President and Congress to consider the following key priorities:
• Create a health in all policies approach, recognizing that all Departments have a role to play in
ensuring everyone can live a long and healthy life, and ensuring a process whereby all federal
legislation is evaluated with an equity lens to untap our Nation’s full potential.
• Ensure that any restriction of care decisions expressly prohibit and do not deny equal access to
care for the poor, people of color, persons with disabilities, and persons with chronic conditions;
and ensure that any criteria does not replicate either past or ongoing discrimination.
• Invest in Testing, Contact Tracing, and Supported Isolation for all, with a focus on essential
workers, uninsured and underinsured persons, communities of highest risk such as communities
of color, homeless, the incarcerated, and the working poor – or others with limited healthcare
access to suppress or mitigate highly infectious and dangerous diseases.
• Track and collect robust, disaggregated data by multiple demographic factors such as race,
ethnicity, primary language, geographic location, socioeconomic status, gender identity, sexual
orientation, age, occupation, and disability status to better respond and target resources for
federal, state, and local governments to better address the coronavirus pandemic and implement
programs that address health equity.
• Adopt “critical context” testing as an important element of testing policies; these critical contexts
include health care settings, elder care facilities, correctional facilities, meatpacking plants
and other assembly line-type conditions (e.g. retail warehouses), grocery stores, and military
installations; and place high priority on minority communities experiencing the disparate impact
of COVID-19, and higher infection fatality rates, when implementing testing regime.
• Support the Pandemic Response and Opportunity Through National Service Act (HR 6702/S. 3964)
to expand partnerships between AmeriCorps and health and education agencies and provide
prioritized funding for activities directly related to our response and recovery, such as public
health services, emergency logistics, workforce and reemployment services, education support
(including for adult learners), and services that combat nutrition insecurity.

• Require and incentivize the collection of patient and social and behavioral risk data through
Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance value-based payment programs, with appropriate
privacy and anti-discrimination protections to improve data collection.
• Purchase and disburse personal protective equipment to those who contribute to patient care or
other essential services (i.e., front-line workers), including by using the Defense Production Act.
• Build and invest in a diverse, culturally competent state and local health care workforce.
• Expand the availability of telehealth.
• Open a national special enrollment period for health coverage.
• Improve access to home and community-based services.
• Expand Medicaid in all States nationwide to fill the coverage gap for the uninsured, people of color,
workers with low incomes or loss of jobs, and people living in places that were already struggling
financially before the economic downturn to ensure access to care for the most vulnerable.
• Increase funding for community clinics and federally qualified health centers (FQHC).
• Provide direct cash assistance to US residents severely impacted by COVID-19.
• Increase food security programs as a cornerstone element of Congress’ next COVID-19 relief
package or future appropriation legislation now and beyond so that no one is left hungry. This
includes: 1) Increasing flexibility in the SNAP program and increasing the benefits per household;
2) Providing an increase in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and
Children (WIC) benefits and loosening rules around eligible products; 3) Increasing funding for
The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and Senior Nutrition Programs in the Older
Americans Act; and 4) Additional funding to provide emergency financial relief to school meal
providers and USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program.
• Invest in additional school nurses, who serve as a bridge between health care and
education systems.
• Ensure minority communities are included in clinical trials for coronavirus vaccines and therapies
to ensure safe, effective, and equitable treatments.
These priorities are not only critical now to prevent, control, and contain the spread of COVID-19; but will also have
lasting effects as we forge a stronger and healthier future. We must also remain vigilant about strengthening access to
comprehensive, quality health care and social services as this is a critical pathway for promoting and maintaining health,
preventing and managing diseases, reducing unnecessary disability and premature death, and achieving health equity
for all Americans. We owe our shared residents the choice and control they want, the affordability they need, and the
access to care they deserve.

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) decreased the number of uninsured, expanded health care coverage, and ended barriers
to treatment for millions of residents in our cities. Additionally, ACA reduced medical gaps in coverage to ensure that
essential health services like emergency, rehabilitative, pediatric, maternal and newborn care, lab, prevention and
wellness, and mental health and substance use disorder benefits are protected. These gains must never be lost;
and we continue to support efforts to build and strengthen the ACA. Thus, we must:
• Invest in prevention and wellness; improve patient safety, quality, and affordability of care; assure
affordable, quality health coverage for all Americans; require comprehensive mental health and
substance use disorder treatment options in all insurance policies; maintain coverage when
someone changes or loses a job; and continue to reduce barriers to coverage for people with
pre-existing medical conditions.
• Strengthen public health, health care, and social infrastructure to foster resilience; and reverse
steady cuts to the public health workforce, research, laboratory, and data systems.
• Explore options to get additional funding directly to local government through reduced federal
bureaucracy, changes in eligibility requirements of existing programs, and/or create dedicated
funding for local governments to address mental health and substance use disorders in
our communities.
• Protect families from bankruptcy or debt driven by health care costs.

• Invest in public health interventions to curb violence.
• Support incentives or pilot programs in federal programs for states and local governments
that advance health and racial equity by engaging community members in policy development
and implementation.
• Expand coverage for maternal health care, address disparities, and provide a minimum of six
weeks of paid parental leave.
• Expand support for child-care and early childhood development.

• Invest in affordable, accessible high-speed internet to help expand access and quality of health
care for all.
• Increase trauma-informed approaches in healthcare systems and schools to promote improved

mental health.
• Ensure access to interpretation and other support services, so that limited English proficiency
speakers and people with disabilities are able to better understand treatment options and can
effectively communicate these choices with loved ones.
• Encourage partnerships with hospitals, health systems, and service providers, educators and
school administrators, nonprofit organizations, and others to reduce stigma and foster inclusive
cultures online and in our communities.
• Engage youth in the development of mental health resources and encourage the implementation
of youth-led, community-wide solutions to improve mental health outcomes for youth.
• Support Universal Basic Income policies and funding to alleviate poverty, income inequality, and
improve health.

• Combat the growing youth vaping epidemic by supporting federal, state, and local
anti-tobacco initiatives.
• Evaluate pricing for prescription drugs based on their effectiveness and treatment outcomes;
enact measures to prevent companies from using price gouging to increase profits; require drug
advertisers to inform viewers of the cost of their medications and include clear enforcement
mechanisms to protect the American consumer.
Lastly, obesity and diet-related chronic disease remain a growing epidemic. Yet, we know they are largely preventable.
Healthy food and food insecurity have been established as important considerations for local governments as they
are fundamentally linked to issues such as chronic health problems, economic inequity, environmental sustainability
and economic development. Federal nutrition and emergency assistance programs offer a vital safety net, while other
important public-private programs are increasing access to healthy foods, stimulating new economic activity, creating
links between cities and rural communities, and ensuring environmental stewardship. Thus, mayors continue to call on
the President and Congress to:
• Craft a comprehensive national food policy that provides nutritious food for the hungry, supports
small farmers in urban and rural areas, promotes policies that allow for urban farming, and
promotes access to healthy and affordable food for all residents in urban, suburban, and rural
communities. This includes strengthening incentives and infrastructure for local food production
and distribution as well as environmentally sustainable farming practices. It also includes
providing better access to fresh foods, investment in programs providing healthy food, expansion
of programs that help communities invest in retail markets or food-based businesses, increased
access to farmers’ markets, and expansion of farm-to-cafeteria programs that bring the freshest
locally-grown food into school lunch programs, hospitals, and other institutions.
• Reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, WIC and Older Americans Act, so that every American knows
he or she will always be protected.
• Support and strengthen local and regional food system infrastructure to ensure access to healthy
and affordable food.
• Support innovations in food production, processing, and distribution to ensure healthier,

nutritious, and sustainable options to feed a growing global population.

Rewrite the Tax Code to Help

Hardworking Taxpayers and
Reduce Economic Inequality
Since the adoption of the federal income tax in the early 20th century, it has been recognized that independent state
and local government tax structures should be respected. The deduction of state and local taxes has contributed to the
stability of state and local revenues that are essential for providing public services. Because state and local governments
must balance their budgets every year, any change that disrupts the stability of their tax structure will harm their ability to
fund essential services that their citizens have come to depend upon.
The principle of fiscal federalism underpins the necessity of ensuring that any federal tax reform allows state and local
governments to retain authority over their own tax policies. It is essential that state and local governments retain the
full deductibility of personal state and local property, sales, and income taxes on federal tax returns. Also, it is critical
that the deductibility of municipal bonds be maintained, and that state and local governments are allowed to refinance
those bonds, which will help ensure cities have financial support for critical infrastructure when they need it. Further,
it is essential to increase tax incentives that promote investment in cities and support working families, so that our
communities will continue to enjoy the economic progress they have made over the past decade.
Restore Full Federal Deductibility of State and Local Taxes (SALT)

Mayors call for the President and Congress to:
• Restore the full deductibility of state and local property, sales, and income taxes. States
like California and New York should not be punished for providing critical services for their
constituents. Recognizing the partnership that exists among federal, state, and local governments
ensures that taxpayers are not double-taxed and helps maintain essential public services on which
Americans rely.
Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds

For more than 100 years, tax-exempt municipal bonds have been the principal means used by state and local
governments to finance critical infrastructure: schools, hospitals, water and sewer facilities, roads, mass transit systems,
and public power projects. Together, state and local governments are responsible for building and maintaining 75 percent
of the Nation’s infrastructure, which is mostly financed by tax-exempt municipal bonds. This federal, state, and local
partnership represents a fair allocation of the cost between the different levels of government for infrastructure used by
the general public.
In 2017, Congress and the President approved tax reform legislation that eliminated tax-exempt advance refunding. As a
result, local and state governments can no longer save significant amounts through refinancing and thereby lower their
borrowing costs when there is a drop in interest rates. That makes these necessary infrastructure improvements more
expensive, which makes taxes go up.

Mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Reinstate tax-exempt advance refunding, which has enabled state and local governments to save
significant amounts in taxpayer dollars and invest more in critical infrastructure projects to better
serve the public.
• Make permanent the Build America Bonds Program, not as a replacement, but as a supplement,
to tax-exempt municipal bonds. State and local governments that issued these taxable bonds were
paid a direct federal subsidy under the 2009 stimulus bill equal to 35 percent of the interest cost,
which enabled them to save significant amounts in borrowing costs.
Community Revitalization Incentives

As the COVID-19 Pandemic continues, our cities need more support to stimulate investment in underserved, distressed
communities. Low-income urban neighborhoods and rural communities do not have access to capital needed to support
and grow businesses, create jobs, and sustain a healthy local economy, and local residents are deprived of the quality of
life components available to most others. Mayors call for the President and Congress to:
• Enact a permanent extension of the New Market Tax Credit, which has a proven track record of
stimulating economic growth. Between 2003 and 2012, the program generated $31 billion in direct
investments to businesses, leveraged another $60 billion in total capital investment in distressed
neighborhoods, and created 750,000 jobs.
• Increase access to credit and expand funding for Community Development Financial Institutions.
• Pass legislation to reform and improve Opportunity Zones, a new tool to incentivize private capital
into low-income, high poverty, and investment deprived neighborhoods. Reforms should be made
to strengthen reporting requirements, extend the timeframe for investments, and provide mayors
the technical assistance and capacity needed to help enable more communities to attract high
impact investments and economic activities.
• Enact policy that will enable the Federal Home Loan Bank system to help community lenders
better support the economic and credit needs of cities by providing additional liquidity
for small business, agricultural, and economic development lending; and assist cities by
making critical forms of credit support available for municipal borrowing to lower the cost
of infrastructure projects.
• Fully fund (defined as inflation adjusted dollars over the last decade) urban domestic programs
such as Community Development Block Grants, HOME Block Grants, Community Service Block
Grants, and workforce development programs that assist low and moderate-income communities.
• Change the tax code to provide a more fair and progressive federal tax system that generates
sufficient resources for urban programs, that have suffered decade-long disinvestment, as
opposed to providing tax expenditures that favor the wealthy. Increase support for Disadvantaged
Business Enterprises and minority-owned businesses.

Promoting Economic Mobility and Reducing the Wage and Income Gap
The COVID-19 Pandemic has had an enormous impact on low-income Americans. According to a recent report from
the Federal Reserve Board, thirty-nine percent of people working in February 2020 with a household income below
$40,000, reported a job loss in March due to COVID-19. Further, racism and gender-based discrimination, dating back to
the founding of our Nation, continue to make it difficult for minorities and women to secure well-paying jobs. Many feel
trapped in poverty, receiving governmental assistance, and/or working multiple minimum wage or low-paying jobs that
barely enable them to support their families.
The Nation’s mayors believe the economic security of their residents is essential to the future prosperity and stability of
their cities. Unfortunately, the gap between high-income and low-income households continues to grow. Between 2008
and 2018, average inflation-adjusted income increased by 21 percent for the top 5 percent of households by income,
while it grew only 1.1 percent for the bottom 20 percent. Mayors call for the President and Congress to:
• Increase the minimum wage and allow adjustments for inflation to enable workers to earn
sufficient income to take care of themselves and their families without having to work multiple
low-paying jobs.
• Support Universal Basic Income policies and funding to eliminate poverty and income inequality
to help ensure sufficient earnings for low-income workers.
• Pass legislation increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for existing recipients, so that the tax
code promotes economic fairness.
• Enact legislation to make permanent the Child Tax Credit to support working families.
• Establish a national child savings account matching program or a “Baby Bonds” program to build
financial wealth for low- and moderate-income families.
• Increase funding for financial education programs.

• Cities are urged to review their fines and fees to assess the impact on low and moderate income
individuals and families; eliminate punitive fines and fees; and work with appropriate state and
local authorities to restore drivers licenses (if they are suspended for failure to pay certain fines
and fees), where appropriate, to individuals in order to encourage entry into the job market.
• Reduce student debt through a mixture of scholarship, repayment, and debt forgiveness
programs, so that more young adults can start their professional lives without an impossible
financial burden.
• Provide incentives to increase homeownership by increasing assistance for down payment and
closing costs through increased funding of the Community Development Block Grant program.

Make Housing More Affordable and

Address Homelessness
Housing plays a critical role in determining life opportunities and has become even more critical during the COVID-19
pandemic. Your house not only impacts your living space and household budget, it determines the quality of your
schools, the safety of your streets, the length of your commute, the availability of fresh food, hospitals, healthcare, and
more. All communities struggle to ensure that low-income families can live in healthy homes in safe neighborhoods that
connect them to opportunity – amid rising housing costs and stagnant wages. We must ensure that those families are not
displaced from their neighborhoods once they start coming back, physically and economically.
We begin with a simple principle:
• Since the benefits of home ownership are so numerous, home ownership should be attainable
for any family that wants to plant roots in their community. During the COVID-19 pandemic,
foreclosures will increase without significant federal intervention. There should be a moratorium
on home foreclosures, and assistance provided to homebuyers facing foreclosure when the
moratorium ends.
Our housing policy must also provide rental housing for our citizens, especially those in tight rental markets where low-
and moderate-income renters deserve housing they can afford. Just as important is inclusive housing policy that helps
first-time home buyers and renters, upgrades and preserves subsidized and “naturally affordable” housing, increases
mixed-use areas and diversity in our neighborhoods, and strengthens our economies. During the COVID-19 pandemic,
renters face eviction. There should be a moratorium on evictions beyond the time that is presently available.
Across the country, mayors and other local leaders focus on community development and housing policy because small
business development, education, public safety, and economic growth are all tied to the success of our neighborhoods.
Through low-income housing tax credits, inclusionary zoning, and developer incentives for mixed-use and affordable
housing, mayors and local leaders are working in their communities to build thriving neighborhoods and rebuild a
stronger and more inclusive middle class.
Community Development Block Grant and

HOME Investment Partnerships Programs
Investment in the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Program has not kept pace with need over the
last several years. In fact, both partnerships have been severely cut since 2010.
CDBG responds to current and emerging community development needs. The program assists businesses in creating
and retaining jobs in low- and moderate-income areas, improves the existing housing stock, funds public improvements
such as senior centers and homeless facilities, and provides vital public services such as day care for low-income working
families, health care for children, and meals to the elderly.
CDBG was cut by nearly $1 billion from FY 2010 to FY 2015, down to a level of $3.0 billion. A total of 594 grantees were
eligible to receive CDBG formula grants in 1975; today that number has grown to nearly 1,200 grantees receiving direct
allocations. The overall outlay to CDBG has not increased proportionally. The program has never been adjusted for
inflation, but the associated costs, such as construction, labor, leasing, and maintenance of facilities, increase annually.
Serving as a resource to expand affordable housing through state and local public- private partnerships, HOME has
completed nearly 493,000 units for new homebuyers, over 230,000 units for owner-occupied rehabilitation, and over
464,000 rental housing units. It has also provided direct rental assistance to over 228,000 households. Yet the HOME
program has been cut over 50 percent, or $925 million, since FY 2010 and is now funded at the lowest level in its history.
Need continues to increase, with 300 more communities now participating in the program than when it started in 1993.

With respect to these two vital programs, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Restore CDBG funding to a level commensurate with clearly established needs taking into account
the inflation over the course of the program’s existence, and raise the public service cap.
• Reverse the deep cuts to the HOME program made over the past decade in an effort to align
funding with the dramatic increase in need for the program over this same period.
Blighted Neighborhood Restoration

During the Great Recession, thousands of residential and commercial properties were foreclosed, leaving
blighted neighborhoods and communities throughout the country. This problem has been exacerbated during
the COVID-19 pandemic.
From 2008 to 2010, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program distributed nearly $7 billion, supported an estimated
88,000 jobs, completed rehabilitation of nearly 50,000 units of affordable housing, and demolished nearly 25,000
blighted properties. But the work is not yet done, so we call on the President and Congress to:
• Create a new program designed to purchase, rehabilitate, and redevelop foreclosed,

abandoned, demolished, or vacant properties on both commercial and residential lots.
Rental Housing Supply

There is an increased need for rental housing. The Nation needs to create and pursue policies to develop more
rental housing. Specifically, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Create a new rental housing production program to serve the needs of working families.
• Support the National Housing Trust Fund.
• Increase funding for the HOME Investment Partnerships program.
• Maintain one of the Nation’s largest infrastructure investments – public housing – through
significant funding increases geared toward capital improvements.
• Provide Section 8 vouchers for all eligible recipients.
A Comprehensive Approach to Homelessness

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that roughly 553,000 people were experiencing
homelessness during a point-in-time count in January 2018. About one-third (35 percent) of these individuals were in
unsheltered locations, such as on the street, in abandoned buildings, or in places not suitable for human habitation.
The United States Conference of Mayors’ Annual Hunger and Homelessness Survey has consistently found the lack of
affordable housing to be the leading cause of homelessness.
Therefore, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Support local governments in developing a systemic response that ensures homelessness is

prevented whenever possible or, if it can’t be prevented, it is a rare, brief and one-time experience.
• Recognize that people living in unsheltered locations is unacceptable, and that cities face a crisis
of homelessness and lack of affordable housing that requires immediate comprehensive and bold
federal action, which should include expanded eligibility for housing/homeless resources through
the Department of Health and Human Services.
• Increase funding for the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants

Support Holistic and Inclusive Community Development

Housing Affordability and economic mobility are perhaps the greatest challenges faced by cities. As the affordability crisis
grows, both renters and homeowners become increasingly stressed and cost burdened. The challenge before us is to
ensure that as cities continue to grow and prosper, our longtime residents can remain in their homes and neighborhoods
and are not displaced. To promote the growth of strong, vibrant cities, there must be a connectivity network and a
community development infrastructure plan which leads to stable, quality, affordable housing. Therefore, we call on the
President and Congress to:
• Support the Capital Magnet Fund.

• Incentivize local governments to adopt and implement policies that foster inclusive growth.
• Increase funding for housing vouchers and prohibit discrimination based on source of income.
• Strengthen consumer protections for homebuyers to reduce predatory lending practices.
• Strengthen the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) which provides access to credit for low- and
moderate-income communities from financial institution.
Small Business
Increase support to women and minorities in the development of small business. Provide for the development of
entrepreneurial skills. Continue significant support for small businesses during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fair Housing
Support the 2015 regulations that strengthened the implementation of the 1968 Fair Housing Act that would affirmatively
further fair housing.
Affordable Workforce Housing

Whether it is aiding first responders – police, fire, and hospital workers – or teachers and other workers in essential
public and private sector positions, investing more in making housing more affordable must be part of the Nation’s post-
COVID-19 recovery. Going forward, affordable workforce housing must be seen as a key part of the Nation’s infrastructure
investment strategy, to be addressed alongside increased funding for our energy, transportation and water systems,
among other commitments.
Mayors call for greater federal funding commitments to support the production of more affordable workforce housing.
Existing program delivery systems – CDBG, HOME, Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and Low-Income Housing Tax
Credit – can be readily adapted to deliver substantially more federal resources in support of these efforts.

Build Modern, Resilient Infrastructure

to Address Climate Change,
Promote Environmental Justice, and
Enhance Opportunity and Productivity:
Transportation, Water, Green Energy, and
Technology Systems
Investing in the Nation’s infrastructure can play a critical role in our Nation’s economic recovery and putting people
back to work. While investment is needed to maintain, replace and expand the Nation’s infrastructure, mayors also
see the need to “green” our infrastructure with an eye towards building more resilient and lower-carbon infrastructure
options. The need to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a world-wide imperative not only to maintain
our ecosystems but to also protect our most vulnerable citizens who will be the most severely impacted by a changing
climate. Science tells us that we are at the tipping point and action is needed to combat permanent changes to
our climate.
Mayors believe that greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced while also growing the economy and creating new,
well-paying jobs. Mayors have taken a national and global leadership role in climate protection by investing in carbon-
reducing and resilient infrastructure including lower-carbon transportation options and smart water systems, expanded
the use of renewable and alternative energy sources, investing in energy conservation programs, and designing more
resilient communities. Cities have begun many of these measures, but national action is needed.
Cities are the best sources for innovation, with so many mayors successfully pioneering and demonstrating cost-effective
clean energy and efficiency solutions. Often, in cities, this means increasing the energy performance of public and private
buildings, promoting greater energy independence through the use of alternative low and zero carbon energy sources,
transitioning government and private vehicles to alternative fuels as well as better fuel economy standards, and building
new infrastructure to support citizens and business in switching to greener energy and transportation options.
Transportation
Our cities are ground zero as the Nation struggles to adjust to the transportation impacts of COVID-19, inflicting
consequential and what are likely to be enduring impacts on the transportation sector. This fallout can be measured by
record revenue losses and steep declines in use and ridership across all modes, most notably for public transit, intercity
passenger rail and air travel. First priority must be given to providing additional federal support the sustain these vital
systems and services – especially public transit, airports and air travel, and intercity passenger rail – as local and state
governments struggle to maintain and adjust existing capital investment plans to advance needed improvements and
planned expansions.
Going forward, a post-COVID world means congestion, traffic safety, economic mobility, and transportation sustainability
challenges, among other issues, will again challenge mayors and other local leaders to find solutions. Such efforts will rely
on investments and actions that bring together all available tools - technology, infrastructure, operations, regulations,
funding, financing, and energy - to help deliver a seamless mobility experience, today and long into the future.
Raising sufficient resources for public investment in our Nation’s transportation infrastructure is foundational to our
shared agenda to make the lives of all Americans better - not just those living in cities, but those who work in them
and the communities that surround them as well. This public investment in our transportation infrastructure connects

people to jobs and homes, makes communities safer and more accessible, and helps businesses prosper - leading to
growth in local, regional, and national economies. It must also connect today’s economic opportunities with tomorrow’s
population realities. Mayors recognize and embrace the bipartisan nature of funding for transportation specifically and
infrastructure broadly, including efforts to stabilize and grow funding and streamline project delivery.
For too many years, federal underinvestment in our airports, bridges, roads, ports, transit systems, and other facilities
has resulted in additional deterioration or delayed maintenance that has cost local taxpayers money, hurt our economic
growth, and made some of our infrastructure unsafe. Although many cities have taken bold steps to increase local and
regional commitments to transportation, Washington now needs to step up and do more to invest in these networks
and partner with, incentivize, and reward cities for taking action.
In addition to stabilizing the many vital transportation systems and services during this COVID-19 pandemic, additional
steps must be taken to reverse the decline in transportation infrastructure investment and meet our new challenges and
emerging opportunities. As such, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
Bridges, Roads, and Transit

• Secure the highway trust fund, first established in the 1950s, so that the federal government can
continue to partner with city, county, and state leaders as they work to repair, maintain, and
expand the Nation’s vital transportation networks.
• Direct more highway dollars – through the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program and
other programs – to support mayors and other officials in their regions who show how locally-
initiated transportation solutions grow the economy faster and deliver more travel options to
more people, among other benefits.
• Make public transit investment a higher priority to support local and regional efforts to increase
connectivity, access, and frequency of services to better serve all residents, especially those who
are transit dependent.
• Reward cities that embrace new initiatives and innovations that help local areas continue to grow
and prosper, including local hiring and similar initiative to spur local economic development and
growth, and support local efforts to complete streets and advance safety first outcomes, improve
transit access and services, promote transit adjacent housing, reduce air pollutants that threaten
public health, curb transportation emissions that fuel climate change, and harden existing
transportation facilities and networks to make them more resilient to climatic events.
• Support continuing local efforts to address future transportation needs of cities and their
surrounding communities; incentivize the local deployment of new transportation technologies
and update local regulatory regimes to address autonomous vehicles, unmanned air taxis, and
Hyperloop pilots, among other technologies; and embrace shared mobility services and resources
that expand travel options in cities and their regions and increase the throughput of urban
networks serving people and vehicles.
Airports and Ports

• Expand capital investments to modernize the Nation’s airports – cognizant of pre-pandemic
record-setting air travel and inadequate airport capacity to meet rising demand – by directing
more FAA program dollars to local airport capital projects and by empowering individual airport
operators to raise more capital funds from passengers using their airports (i.e., raising the cap on
Passenger Facility Charges).
• Spend down the funds now being collected by users of our port facilities and stop diverting these
funds to other governmental purposes, which is especially important now with our harbors and
other ports facing so many unmet infrastructure needs.

Water and Wastewater Systems

Local governments have long been significant environmental and public health stewards by providing clean, safe, healthy
drinking water and wastewater. To most Americans, this is a fundamental responsibility of government. In fact, American
cities provide some of the safest and healthiest public drinking water in the world. To achieve this, local governments
today currently spend $125 billion annually, which is raised through constituent user fees and taxes. In comparison, the
federal government contributes less than $2 billion annually, largely in the form of loans, which must be paid back.
Unfortunately, due to numerous unfunded rules and regulations, this money is often diverted to fund other priorities
separate from local government’s core purpose of protecting the public health of its citizens by keeping waterways
drinkable, swimmable, fishable, and livable for aquatic life per the Clean Water Act. As one example of mounting water
infrastructure needs, the water crisis in Flint, Michigan called attention to the real threat of lead contamination in some
of our aging drinking water systems. It is currently estimated that replacing existing lead service lines will cost between
$27 billion and $48 billion nationally – and the health and safety of our population depends on it.
To mitigate this, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Raise existing federal funding commitments substantially, particularly in the form of grant
funding, to support the modernization and expansion of our Nation’s drinking water, wastewater
treatment, stormwater, and flood protection systems. This includes addressing public health
threats from lead contamination in older, legacy water systems as well as helping mitigate the
impact of unfunded federal mandates on communities where user fee increases to comply with
these mandates are making water rates unaffordable for more and more local residents. The
federal government should assist localities in meeting Clean Water Act obligation including (but
not limited to) TMDLs for stormwater as it did in the past by funding upgrades of treatment plants
to secondary treatment.
• Implement the Integrated Planning Permit law to ensure cities and their customers are not overly
financially burdened and to allow cities maximum flexibility to address specific challenges in a
smart, prioritized manner.
• Change the current clean water act law to allow cities to have 10-year, rather than five-year,
treatment works permit terms. We need a more long-term approach.
• Continue to advocate for better “Affordability” assessments involving compliance with unfunded
federal mandates, including the elimination of costly penalties.
• Direct new resources funding to support local government efforts to study, evaluate, and
undertake capital investments to combat cybersecurity threats and improve water system
resiliency from natural disasters.
• Assist in providing funding or federal credits for premise plumbing upgrades on private property
to prevent and reduce contamination from pipes.
• Fund the Corps of Engineers’ authority to allow for water and wastewater infrastructure
investment which would allow for additional grant funding for the Nation’s water and
wastewater infrastructure.
• Increase funding for newly established programs including the water workforce development
grant, CSO and stormwater infrastructure needs, increasing system resiliency, and accelerating
innovative technologies in the water sector.

Address Climate Change by Accelerating Clean Energy Use

Climate change poses a major threat to our ecosystem and our most vulnerable citizens. However, it also poses a path
to economic recovery and job creation. Mayors have focused their greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies on
major sources of emissions including electric utilities, buildings, transportation, and municipal solid waste management.
Despite these local efforts, national leadership and resources are needed to amplify these efforts.
Cities are at the forefront of improving the energy performance of the Nation’s buildings, with actions that include
stronger building codes, innovative building practices, efficient construction materials, and increased use of renewable
energy. Not only will these actions rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, but they will put
Americans to work in our communities.
Cutting energy use in the transportation sector, the second largest emitter of carbon, can be accomplished by providing
more and smarter transportation options. Beyond federal fuel economy standards, much of the work to reengineer
existing transportation networks, services, and practices have been shouldered by local leaders.
Municipal solid waste, if not properly reduced, reused, recycled, or turned into energy, ends up in a landfill, where it
converts into methane, a greenhouse gas that is twenty-one times more powerful than carbon dioxide emissions.
• Recommit to providing federal resources directly to cities, counties, states, and tribal governments
through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program to rapidly accelerate efforts
to promote the use of renewable energy, implement energy conservation efforts, invest in cleaner
alternative fuel options, installing Electric Vehicle (EV) charging stations, and begin designing
more resilient communities. These programs should ensure an emphasis on communities and
residents in greatest need of support, such as low-income, multifamily, and small business
focused programs.
• Authorize use of these grants for energy assurance strategies designed to limit or mitigate
interruption of vital energy networks and services due to natural disasters and to protect micro
grids, distributed energy systems, and local energy networks from cybersecurity threats.
• Establish policies, incentives, and standards for new and existing buildings to be carbon neutral.
• Congress should establish a comprehensive national program and a timeframe to decarbonize
the electric utility industry in time to keep the global rise in temperatures to the 1.5-degree
Celsius level.
• Congress should establish a worker re-training and benefits program for those workers dislocated
from the transition away from the fossil fuel industry and provide adequate funding for job skill
training in the renewable energy and green building field.
• Start now to establish and implement a national Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission reduction
strategy to cut nationwide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
• Adopt a national renewable portfolio standard and provide incentives for clean and
renewable energy.
• Recommit to research at the Department of Energy to improve and promote hydropower

as renewable energy, promoting energy security via energy diversity.
• Expand tax credits to purchase electric vehicles (EV) so that a major source of carbon emissions
is reduced quickly and significantly.
• Create investment/grant opportunities for net zero energy/zero energy demonstration projects
and fleets at ports and airports that will promote efficient, effective innovation on a large scale.

• Support policies that allow for the responsible development of the Nation’s offshore wind energy
industry, including the extension of federal tax incentives and predictable, inclusive policy
approaches to ocean planning, leasing, and permitting.
• Provide an Energy Decoupling Incentive program that requires states to adopt decoupling
into their ratemaking regulatory regime, so that utilities are incentivized to implement energy
conservation programs.
• Provide incentives to the energy sector to ramp up research and investments in renewable
energy to expand electric generation, and research to capture and reduce carbon emissions
from clean energy.
• Develop a comprehensive solid waste strategy to reduce the amount of solid waste sent to
landfills that includes: 1) an extended producer responsibility program at the national level, with
incentives to encourage shared responsibility; 2) policies to shift away from single-use materials;
3) development of post-consumer content markets, and the infrastructure needed to process
recyclables within the U.S.; and 4) increased efforts to more effectively reduce, reuse, recycle,
and generate energy from waste.
• Provide additional resources to redevelop the estimated 400,000 to 600,000 brownfield sites which
are oftentimes located in areas that are most impacted by poverty and environmental injustice.
These resources will help recycle property where infrastructure already exists while revitalizing
and creating jobs in disenfranchised neighborhoods and providing affordable and energy efficient
housing. Brownfields can also be used to install microgrids and renewable energy sites.
Embrace Efficient, Effective, Modern Technology

While Protecting Consumers and Cities
According to a 2018 Gallup poll, 72 percent of U.S. adults say they have a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of trust in their
local government, higher than any other level. The public’s confidence in the actions of their local leaders is an important
asset as many new technologies, increasingly disruptive ones, are being deployed throughout the U.S.
Among the examples of this leadership, cities have been pioneers in digital government and have embraced
accountability, transparency and collaboration with open data. Cities are leading the public debate about the need
to secure governmental systems from threats domestic and international. In the transportation and communications
sectors, cities have been leading in the piloting and testing of autonomous vehicles and drones, and in building new
partnerships with telecommunications companies to expand access to broadband and wireless services.
To support this local leadership, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Work with all levels of government in developing data standards to improve accountability,
access, interoperability, transparency, and security, and provide resources to cities to respond to
intentional and deliberate cyber crimes.
• Protect election systems and other vital technology assets in local government with financial and
technical support.
• Support local efforts to provide for greater digital equality and literacy, including senior citizens,
so that every citizen can enjoy the benefits of a digital world.
• Support local efforts to pilot and test new technologies, especially in the transportation sector,
giving communities the opportunity to evaluate and deploy these systems free from unnecessary
federal preemption and/or “one-size-fits-all” federal regulatory regimes.
• Reverse actions by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that subordinate local property
rights and zoning powers to the agency’s efforts to subsidize the Nation’s communications
companies with local government property, actions which exceed authorities granted by Congress
in previous statute.

Technology and Innovation

Technology fosters innovation, creates jobs, and boosts long-term economic prosperity. To spur recovery, the American
economy will need a productivity boost from innovation and new frontier technologies. Science-based technologies will
be at the very core of our economic growth.
Close Gaps in Communications Infrastructure

The pandemic has shown that there are significant gaps in the availability and affordability of wireline and wireless
broadband services to all city residents
Mayors urge increased federal funding to build-out higher-speed broadband infrastructure serving urban and rural areas,
and to reduce the cost of broadband services for low-income individuals and families. In this Congress, there are several
pending bills that: would protect or restore local governments’ traditional authority and property rights; empower
localities to pursue municipal broadband networks; and increase federal funding commitments, each of which would
make broadband service more affordable and more available to all residents.
Research and Development

To stimulate innovation, the Nation’s mayors recommend increased investments in national research and development
and in intangibles like software, data science, intellectual property, and training, which represent major elements of
innovation capacity. The research and development tax credit must be extended on a predictable schedule so that U.S.
companies can plan investments and pursue consistent long-term strategies.

Strengthen Education, Improve Career

Pathways, and Develop the
Workforce of the Future
Economic Opportunity and Return to Work

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing economic disparities among racial and ethnic communities in the
United States. Minorities are overrepresented in occupations likely to be most affected by automation and COVID-19.
For a successful return to work in the 21st Century economy, Congress must commit to retraining and upskilling workers
whose jobs will be gone when the crisis of the pandemic subsides.
Return to School with Safe Facilities and Infrastructure

According to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report, approximately 36,000 schools across the country
need to update or replace heating, ventilation, and air condition systems and could fail to meet the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention’s guidelines for safely reopening schools.
Improving school buildings for children (and other efforts to protect teachers, bus drivers and support staff) should be
part of a larger strategy of “healthy buildings” where people want to see modifications and upgrades that protect them
and their families. Accordingly, the Nation’s mayors urge immediate passage of The Reopen and Rebuild America’s Schools
Act and the Coronavirus Child Care and Education Relief Act to invest construction funds in schools, targeted at high-
poverty school facilities that put the health of students and staff most at risk.
We are at a crossroads in American history around the future of work. The pace of change is rapid, and mayors are
examining the trends shaping the workforce of tomorrow, including artificial intelligence and automation, the changing
models around freedom and flexibility in the workplace, the impact of the gig economy, and whether city residents will
be able to work sustainably and earn a living wage or be left behind. The skill transitions are going to be quite substantial,
and many will lack the skills necessary to thrive in a changing workplace. Mayors are facing up to the challenges and are
examining ways to help workers and businesses manage their way and succeed throughout this transition.
Accordingly, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
Increase Funding for Workforce Innovation

Faced with unprecedented skills gaps, governments are pursuing alternative pathways to recruit and develop new talent -
non-traditional apprenticeships, immersive internships, coding bootcamps, etc. These innovative efforts require mayoral
leadership and a willingness to partner with a number of different stakeholders.
The Chicago Apprentice Network is one such best practice, with the tools needed to build successful, collaborative
apprenticeship programs. Similarly, the Center for Workforce Innovation (CWI) is a partnership with the City of Atlanta,
the Atlanta Committee for Progress, Atlanta Technical College and sponsor companies, committed to supporting high
demand career fields within the Skilled Trades (Carpentry, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC, Welding), IT/Coding (IT Support,
Networking, Cloud Technologies) and Aviation. Code Louisville is another success story – a strong public-private
partnership that bolsters technological innovation in the region. To build on these and other local innovations, the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) must be fully funded at authorized levels and reauthorization must
further promote and support workforce innovation and employee freedom and flexibility in cities.

Improve Coordination and Access to Jobs and Job Training Opportunities

Mayors are leading the way with innovative solutions and initiatives to address the economic insecurity and community
challenges associated with rapid changes to work and at work. Accordingly, the President and Congress are urged to:
• Expand apprenticeship opportunities and on-ramps to serve adults in transition, in addition to

young people entering the workforce.
• Offer recognition and incentives for skills gains, including nationally recognized occupation
credentials and transferable, stackable competencies, so that human talent is rewarded.
• Systematically authorize the delivery of skills, training, and learning with support of federal Pell
Grants, Perkins funds, and other resources by providers beyond the limited scope of accreditation
by traditional institutions, including credentials, badges, certificates, and other non-degree
validated indicators of aptitude, knowledge, talent, and skills.
• Substantially broaden the governance of accreditation to include mayors and other public
representatives in addition to existing representation of postsecondary institutions, in order to
assure that the public interest in quality, equity, innovation, and workforce development is served.
• Build on prior reforms to provide better coordination and adopt frameworks that incentivize
career pathways, dual enrollment approaches, and recognized postsecondary credentials and
employment outcomes in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Higher
Education Act (HEA) reauthorization.
• Expand Pell grant eligibility to short-term training and credentials and strengthen connections to
local and regional economies.
• Promote better coordination between WIOA and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) in reauthorization. Incompatible performance measures between WIOA and TANF impede
cooperation and collaboration and should be streamlined.
• Restore the long-term commitment to a strong summer jobs program by establishing separate
ongoing funding for youth summer jobs programs enabling students to have work experience and
on-the-job training.
• Adopt immigration policies which help American companies attract and retain the best and
brightest workers, provide green cards for advanced degree graduates of American universities,
create a new green card category for entrepreneurs, and reform current H-1B visa programs.
• Create new funding programs and grants for labor workforce upskilling and reskilling to deal with
the effects of automation at the workplace.
• Strengthen the food safety-net by increasing current benefit levels for the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP) so that low-income workers can supplement their incomes and begin
to build back some level of economic security.
• Expanding access to career exploration and preparation through career academies and
other strategies.

Prepare the Future Workforce

Universal Pre-K Education
The track record is clear. High-quality preschool provides the foundation for success in school and helps mitigate
educational gaps that exist between children from high- and low-income families before they enter kindergarten.
America’s mayors have been strong advocates for high-quality early learning, and many of our cities have demonstrated
that universal early learning has a proven, powerful impact for our children and profound impacts on later learning and
success. Accordingly, mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Enact federal legislation that provides access for all three- and four-year olds from families
with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line to a high-quality, full-day early
childhood education.
• Expand access to high-quality, early childhood education for all of our Nation’s children.
• Expand access to subsidized child care for children ages 0-3 years old for low-income parents.
• Improve the quality of all child care.
• Expand enrollment in Early Head Start.
K-12 Education Excellence
The failure of many schools to properly prepare students for college, career and life leaves them unprepared to compete
in the global economy. Together, we call on the President, Congress, state and local leaders to:
• Reform K-12 education to recruit, retain, recognize, and reward the most talented educators and
ensure their efficacy.
• Expand individualized, personalized learning, matching instructional tasks to skill levels, interests,
and abilities.
• Enhance parental choice and control among public schools to help overcome the lasting effects of
decades of redlining and segregation.
• Fuse academics with wraparound supports to address issues of poverty and meet the needs of the
whole child to improve student achievement.
• Reintroduce modern skills training and promote science, technology, art, engineering, and math
(STEAM) along with a civics requirement.
• Enhance physical education, health awareness, and performing arts within the K-12 system.

Higher Education Access

Our college completion agenda must embrace every student in every community, and we must increase our efforts
to open the door to higher education access to more Americans in undereducated, underserved communities.
Therefore, we call on the President and Congress to:
• Make two years of community college free for responsible students.

• Increase college affordability by raising the maximum Pell Grant and assure its continued growth,
restructure tuition, and financial aid policies to meet the needs of low-income students, and
implement incentives to improve outcomes and lower costs using advanced technology.
• Expand and enhance community college infrastructure to reflect changes in technology, advanced
manufacturing, and workplace needs.
• Erase the limitations on federal student aid for incarcerated individuals and for students with prior
drug-related offenses. We need every student educated, including those who have made mistakes
early in life.
• Establish an industry-led task force, co-chaired by top-level administration policymakers, to

coordinate federal efforts, and ensure the private sector is ready to support and leverage federal
training and education investments.
STEAM Workforce Training

The U.S. is experiencing a crisis in STEAM training and workforce development. Too few American students are graduating
with degrees in science, technology, engineering, art, and math, which impedes the Nation’s economic future. The Nation
must revive its commitment to putting education at the forefront of the national agenda by investing in STEAM education
programs, focusing on the need for quality teachers and restructuring federal education funding to address this need.
Future of Work
As new developments in technology and artificial intelligence reshape the workforce, mayors will need to prepare for
a rapidly changing jobs landscape with widespread worker displacement due to automation, particularly for African
Americans, minority families, and other disadvantaged communities.
Interventions in three areas related to skills and capabilities can help stem the challenges posed by automation:
1. Higher Education: Expanding access to a diverse range of higher education opportunities,

particularly in minority communities, would create additional pathways to better occupations
and lower the risk of disruption in vulnerable populations by automation.
2. Hiring Policies: Private- and public-sector organizations should examine the possibility of changing
their hiring policies to prioritize hiring qualified, skilled workers from nontraditional educational
backgrounds rather than only candidates with university degrees.
3. Upskilling: Providing workers in high-risk industries with upskilling opportunities to build new
skill sets for emerging positions in companies will help position the United States for a successful
transition to a 21st Century economy.

Fix Our Broken Immigration System
The United States has always been a country of laws. But we are also a Nation of immigrants; it was founded by
immigrants and enriched by the diversity of its immigrants, many of whom have come here to escape religious
persecution, war, genocide, and tyranny in hopes of sharing in freedom and prosperity through hard work. Mayors
recognize that our cities are inclusive, multicultural centers reflecting core American values that foster economic
prosperity and opportunity, and that our diversity and inclusion keeps us competitive and makes us strong.
Immigration is often the difference between population loss and population growth for U.S. cities. Mayors around the
country are welcoming immigrants and refugees because they bolster local economies, fill vacant homes and storefronts,
strengthen municipal finances, and rekindle economic dynamism. Highly skilled immigrants and international students,
in particular, are great sources of innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent for the United States and help to keep the
country connected and competitive in an era of increasing globalization.
Despite what cities are experiencing, some recent federal policies and the rhetoric accompanying them can be
characterized as anti-immigrant, and it has hurt immigrants residing in this country, struck fear in our immigrant
communities, reduced our standing in the world, and re-racialized the American immigration system. Efforts to fix
our broken immigration system have stalled. To preserve the dignity of our immigrant communities, recognize the
contributions that immigrants make to cities and the Nation, and counter the growth of anti-immigrant sentiment,
mayors call on the President and Congress to:
• Halt punitive federal policies aimed at reducing the number of immigrants coming to our country.
This includes, but is not limited to, repealing the public charge rule; ceasing to try to withhold
public safety funds from cities with welcoming policies; reinstating legally mandated humane
procedures for those requesting asylum and those entering the country without documentation,
including keeping families together and out of detention; eliminating barriers to naturalization;
and returning to previous levels of annual refugee admissions, as a minimum.
• Enact legislation to ensure that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients, Dreamers,
Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) recipients continue to
live in, contribute to, and ensure the prosperity of the cities and the Nation they call home.
• Provide funding directly to local communities and non-governmental organizations to address the
humanitarian crisis at the southern border and return Customs and Border Protection and other
federal officials deployed to the border to their original duty assignments as quickly as possible.
• Halt immigration policies that separate young children from their parents at the border and invest
in resources that promote family unity as cases are being adjudicated.
• Embrace the idea of “Heartland Visas,” providing a new pathway for skilled immigrants with
adequate labor protections to be matched with welcoming communities.
• Embrace immigration as a key driver for economic recovery and long-term economic growth.
• Reform our broken immigration system by enacting legislation that:
» Sustains genuine border security, supports federal immigration enforcement, and keeps our
cities safe by ensuring state and local law enforcement remains focused on community policing
and not on enforcing federal immigration laws.
» Establishes an efficient, less bureaucratic, expedient, and more time-sensitive system with
adequate labor protections that allows workers of all types to lawfully come to the United
States, either temporarily or permanently, and contribute to our economy.

» Provides an employment verification system that is enforceable, uniform, accurate, and timely.
» Enables people to come out of the shadows and pursue the American Dream for themselves
and their families. This is essential to the economic vitality of our cities and our Nation as a
whole.

Promote American Business,

Goods, and Tourism in the
Global Economy
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the Nation’s vulnerability to global supply-chain shocks. We live in an interdependent
global economy and we must rebuild America’s industrial capacity and bring back critical manufacturing capabilities
needed for a balanced 21st Century economy. Investing in infrastructure and incentivizing companies to build resiliencies
into their supply chains will prepare the United States to expand exports and confront the next global economic crisis.
Expanding exports will help cities grow their economies and create jobs. Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live
outside the United States, and American trade supports 41 million jobs. American workers are better trained and more
innovative than any other workforce on the planet. Rebuilding manufacturing capabilities will create jobs and help the
United States prepare for the next global supply-chain shock. Expanding industrial capacity will position the American
economy to lead the world toward economic world recovery.
Modernizing trade agreements to create a level playing field by lowering tariffs on U.S.-made goods and promoting
universal adoption, accountability, and genuine, ongoing enforcement of high labor and environmental standards will
help American businesses sell products in expanding global markets.
U.S. metro areas play a critical role in American exports, accounting for nearly 90 percent of U.S. goods sold abroad and
providing key infrastructure such as ports and intermodal facilities to efficiently move goods. Port and export-related
jobs have 15 percent to 18 percent higher wage levels and therefore contribute to building a strong, vibrant middle class.
Federal programs that assist small and medium-size businesses in exporting are crucial to a healthy economy.
International travelers stay longer and spend more than domestic travelers; they support artistic performances and
cultural attractions. In 2019, almost 80 million international visitors came to the United States, spending more than
$196 billion. International visitors accounted for over 1.2 million jobs, providing opportunities to new immigrants, and
generating $33.6 billion in wages. The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed the travel industry, threatening jobs and tax
revenues on an unprecedented scale.
• Restore America’s economy by fixing the Nation’s ailing infrastructure, enacting an ambitious
infrastructure program to jumpstart the economy, create good-paying jobs, and make the United
States economy stronger and more resilient than before the pandemic.
• Successfully negotiate a comprehensive trade agreement with the United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland.
• Enforce the Labor and Environmental provisions of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement
(USMCA).
• Support high-standard trade deals with enforceable labor and environmental standards.
• Expand national programs to help small and medium-sized businesses export goods overseas.
• Support full funding for our Nation’s arts, culture and tourism agencies, and support programs to
encourage creative workers and creative businesses.
• Support expanding the Visa Waiver Program to facilitate travel, trade and education.

Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director
1620 Eye Street, NW

Washington, DC 20006
Tel: 202.293.7330
Stay Connected
usmayors.org
@usmayors

The Mayors' 2020 VISION: An American Breakthrough

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The Mayors' 2020 VISION: An American Breakthrough

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The United States Conference of Mayors

The United States Conference of

The United States Conference of Mayors: Supporting, Protecting,

Our Nation’s cities are platforms for human potential to flourish:

The United States Conference of Mayors 3

4 The United States Conference of Mayors

The 2020 Election: The Need for Partnership and Action

The Opportunity and Our Invitation

The United States Conference of Mayors 5

THE MAYORS’ 2020 VISION:

Foster Economic Recovery for a Stronger America

Dismantle Systemic Racism and Advance Human and Civil Rights

Achieve Public Safety and Justice for All

Provide Equitable Quality Healthcare and Human Services

Rewrite the Tax Code to Help Hardworking Taxpayers and

Make Housing More Affordable and Address Homelessness

Build Modern, Resilient Infrastructure to Address Climate Change,

Strengthen Education, Improve Career Pathways, and Develop

Fix Our Broken Immigration System

Promote American Business, Goods, and Tourism to the

6 The United States Conference of Mayors

Foster Economic Recovery

Direct Fiscal Relief for Cities

COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Distribution

Contact Tracing Service Corps

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Extend UI Benefits, Emergency Relief Payments for Workers,

Small Business Assistance Through Local Governments

8 The United States Conference of Mayors

Dismantle Systemic Racism and

Dismantle Systemic Racism

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Advance Human and Civil Rights

10 The United States Conference of Mayors

• Promote inclusive, compassionate, and equitable communities and an inclusive, compassionate,

• Acknowledge the profound impact of structural and systemic racism on communities of

• Oppose violence and discrimination against transgender individuals.

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Achieve Public Safety

12 The United States Conference of Mayors

» Transparency and Accountability to Reinforce Constitutional Policing. True police reform

• Support local efforts to reduce and combat gun crimes.

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• Treat violence as a public health problem.

Criminal Justice Reform and Reentry

• Establish a national criminal justice commission to examine and make recommendations

Domestic and International Terrorism

14 The United States Conference of Mayors

Provide Equitable Quality Healthcare

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16 The United States Conference of Mayors

• Protect families from bankruptcy or debt driven by health care costs.

• Expand support for child-care and early childhood development.

• Increase trauma-informed approaches in healthcare systems and schools to promote improved

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• Support innovations in food production, processing, and distribution to ensure healthier,

18 The United States Conference of Mayors

Rewrite the Tax Code to Help

Restore Full Federal Deductibility of State and Local Taxes (SALT)

Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds

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Mayors call on the President and Congress to: