Workforce, public safety, and infrastructure top of list at federal meetings

By Brian Hendershot, Cal Cities Advocate managing editor, and Caroline Grinder, legislative affairs lobbyist 

Cal Cities leadership took their advocacy directly to Washington last week as part of an annual state league lobbying day organized by the National League of Cities. Cal Cities President and Fowler Mayor Daniel Parra and Executive Director and CEO Carolyn Coleman pressed Congressional committee staff and the White House on a range of critical issues.

At the top of the agenda for the Congressional meetings was increased funding for job training, the substance use crisis, railway safety, and expanded access to broadband internet.

All four issues are at the top of many local leaders’ lists as well. Federal lawmakers have cut funding for workforce development by nearly 40% over the last two decades. Fentanyl kills two to three times as many people in California as car accidents and about three trains derail every day in the U.S. And a successful, pandemic-era broadband connectivity program will likely run out of funding this April.

City leaders also urged Congress to reach an agreement on the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills by the new March deadline. A bipartisan Senate bill largely maintains existing funding, but a proposed short-term funding bill from the House could trigger automatic spending cuts to all federal programs.

At the White House, city leaders met with President Biden’s team to discuss issues like clean energy, infrastructure, public safety, and cybersecurity. These meetings provided the opportunity to spotlight projects in cities, as well as the success and challenges cities face in implementing federal programs.

Cal Cities leadership team will be back in Washington in mid-March to advance Cal Cities’ federal priorities in meetings with key members of the California Congressional delegation.