AIA Government & Community Relations News: Week of June 18, 2012
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The U.S. Conference of Mayors Adopts Resolutions Supporting American Communities
By Tatyana Brown
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Over 180 of America’s mayors gathered for the annual U.S. Conference of Mayors conference June 13th-16th in Orlando, Florida. While the ongoing economic challenge still took center stage, there was hope among many of the nation’s mayors that the economy is beginning to turn the corner. At the same time, issues of community resilience were top of mind after $55 billion in losses were recorded in the U.S. last year as a result of 14 separate disasters. Bipartisan resolutions related to climate security concordantly supported the movement toward safer, more resilient communities.
Many of the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ (USCM) resolutions provided a framework for stimulating jobs and economic growth. With a call for the federal government to make energy efficiency a legislative priority, the USCM requested that Congress and the Administration appropriate full funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program in FY 2013. They also asked Congress to direct federal regulators to enforce underwriting standards consistent with guidelines for PACE financing issued by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The mayors urged Congress to support the Administration’s proposal to convert the current tax deduction for commercial building retrofits to a tax credit. Among other measures, the USCM supported the Congressional passage of “Race to Green”, a competitive grant program to help state and local governments streamline standards and codes supporting energy efficiency.
At a projected cost of $20 million a year, the mayors called on the government to support the Climate Showcase Communities program in FY 2013 and future years. Delegates expressed support for the federal government’s Green and Healthy Homes Initiative and the plan to produce 100,000 such homes in the next three to five years. They called on Congress to provide funding for federal and local initiatives that support coordination and streamlined funding on this issue. As our communities build and rebuild, measures like these will be critical in reducing the likelihood and severity of disasters in our communities.
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