More than 250 Mayors to Convene in the Nation's Capital for the 75th Winter Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors January 24-26, 2007

More than 250 Mayors to Convene in the Nation's Capital for the 75th Winter Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors January 24-26, 2007
To: POLITICAL EDITORS
Contact: Rhonda Spears Bell, +1-301-651-2126, rspears@usmayors.org, Elena Temple, +1-202-309-4906, etemple@usmayors.org, both of the U.S. Conference of Mayors
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the new Congress sets its legislative agenda, more than 250 of the nation's mayors, led by Conference President and Trenton, New Jersey Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, will convene in Washington, D.C. January 24-26 for the 75th Winter Meeting of The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM).
The mayors will discuss a variety of issues impacting America's cities as the new Congress determines its priorities. Some of these issues include energy, climate protection, homeland security and crime, poverty in America, community development block grants, affordable housing, education, jobs and the economy, and telecommunications.
Some of the confirmed speakers include: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) (CA), Senator Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) (NE), Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY), Senator Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record), Jr. (DE), Senator Christopher Dodd (news, bio, voting record) (CT), Senator Norm Coleman (news, bio, voting record) (MN), Congressman Bennie Thompson (news, bio, voting record) (MS), Congressman James Oberstar (news, bio, voting record) (MN), Congressman Bobby Scott (news, bio, voting record) (VA), Congressman Edward J. Markey (MA), Congressman Frank Pallone (news, bio, voting record), Jr. (NJ), Congressman Patrick Kennedy (news, bio, voting record) (RI), Marian Wright Edelman, Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, and Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman.
Other invited speakers include: Senator Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record) (IL), Senator Robert Menendez (news, bio, voting record) (NJ), Congressman Charles Rangel (news, bio, voting record) (NY), Congressman John Boehner (news, bio, voting record) (OH), Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC) Majority Whip, and Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman.
The 75th Winter Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors will be held at the Capital Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. All press MUST register to gain access to The U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting events. Advance registration is recommended. Press can pre-register online at http://www.usmayors.org/75thWinterMeeting, as well as access the agenda, press releases and media advisories. On-site registration will also be accepted in the working press office at the Capital Hilton Hotel in the Pan American room.
Working press covering any part of the meeting will be required to show a valid press identification with photograph. Only registered, credentialed members of the press will be permitted access to meeting events.
Highlights of the meeting include: (All events are at the Capital Hilton Hotel unless otherwise noted)
Wednesday, January 24
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Federal B) CRIMINAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE STANDING COMMITTEE Chair, Rochester (NY) Mayor Robert Duffy Focus: New Initiatives on Fighting Rising Crime in America's Cities -- Congressman Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA), Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and




Homeland Security -- Chuck Wexler, Executive Director, Police Executive Research Forum -- Nelson Peacock, Counsel, Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Committee on the Judiciary Crime and Drugs Subcommittee
Focus: Problems with Crime Reporting Statistics -- St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Statler) ENERGY STANDING COMMITTEE Chair, Austin (TX) Mayor Will Wynn -- Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ), Senior Member, Committee on Energy and Commerce -- Deborah Estes, Counsel, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate -- Paul Mendelsohn, Vice President, Government and Community Relations, The American Institute of Architects (AIA)
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Senate) TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATONS STANDING COMMITTEE -- Chair, Denver Mayor John W. Hickenlooper Focus: A Transportation Strategy for America's Cities -- Congressman James L. Oberstar (MN), Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Focus: The Communications Revolution -- Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Presidential Ballroom) OPENING PLENARY SESSION USCM President Trenton (NJ) Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Presiding -- Welcome: District of Columbia Mayor Adrian M. Fenty
Special Memorial Tribute to USCM 64th President, Dearborn Mayor Michael A. Guido -- Kari Guido
-- Keynote Address: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA)
12:00 noon (Presidential Ballroom Foyer) OPENING PRESS CONFERENCE: Mayors'10-Point Legislative Agenda & Overview of 75th Winter Meeting -- Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, USCM President -- Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz, USCM Vice President -- USCM Leadership
12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Congressional/Senate) LUNCHEON USCM President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Presiding -- Keynote Address: Senator Chuck Hagel (NE)
-- Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin -- Award Recipient The U.S. Conference of Mayors President's Award for National Mayoral Leadership in the Historic Acquisition of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Personal Papers Collection
2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. (Presidential Ballroom) PLENARY SESSION USCM President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Presiding -- Address: Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (MS), Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security -- Address: Senator Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (DE), Chairman, Foreign Relations Committee, Chairman, Crime and Drug Subcommittee
4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Federal B) INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS STANDING COMMITTEE -- Chair, Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf
Focus: Current Situation in Darfur -- David Rubenstein, Executive Director, Save Darfur Coalition
6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. 75th WINTER MEETING GALA EVENING (THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PRESS) National Building Museum, 401 F. Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
6:30pm to 7:30pm Reception Honoring New Mayors Host: USCM President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer -- Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty -- Newark (NJ) Mayor Corey Booker -- Oakland (CA) Mayor Ron Dellums, among others
7:30pm to 9:30pm Dinner Honoring New Leadership in Congress Hosts: USCM Vice President, Miami Mayor Manuel A. Diaz USCM President, Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer
Speakers: -- Senator Christopher J. Dodd (CT), Chairman, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee -- Congressman Charles B. Rangel (NY), Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means (Invited) -- Senator Barack Obama (IL) (Invited)
(MEDIA NOTE: Members of the media attending this event should already be registered for The U.S. Conference of Mayors 75th Winter Meeting. Registration will also be available on-site. Media should plan to enter on the F Street side of the building. PRODUCTION NOTE: The press riser is 90ft. from the stage.)
Thursday, January 25
8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. (Presidential Ballroom) MAYORS AND BUSINESS LEADERS PLENARY BREAKFAST Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman, Chair, Mayors and the Business Community Taskforce Presiding
-- Keynote Address: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (NY)
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Statler) CHILDREN, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE Chair, Providence (RI) Mayor David Cicilline
Focus: Congressional Priorities for 110th Congress -- Senator Jack Reed (news, bio, voting record) (RI), Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (Invited)
Focus: Congressional Appropriations Outlook -- Congressman Patrick Kennedy (RI), Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services and Education
Focus: Children's Health Insurance Program -- Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder, Children's Defense Fund
9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (Congressional) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING STANDING COMMITTEE Chair, Columbus (OH) Mayor Michael B. Coleman
Focus: Housing Agenda of the 110th Congress -- Scott Olson, Professional Staff Member, Financial Services Committee, U.S. House of Representatives -- Jonathan N. Miller, Professional Staff Member, Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate -- Emergency Resolution on Housing
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Presidential Ballroom) SPECIAL SESSION: U.S. MAYORS COUNCIL ON CLIMATE PROTECTION USCM President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Presiding -- Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Co-chair, U.S. Mayors Council on Climate Protection -- Carmel (IN) Mayor James Brainard, Co-chair, U.S. Mayors Council on Climate Protection -- Lawrence Bender, Film Producer/Environment Activist, Producer, "An Inconvenient Truth"
Focus: Overview of the Issue of Climate Change and Common Myths -- Susan Joy Hassol, Climate Science Communicator and Author, Featured on HBO
Focus: Climate Change and 110th Congress -- Congressman Edward J. Markey (MA), Committee on Energy and Commerce -- Ed Mazria, AIA, President, Mazria Inc. Odems Dzurec
Interactive Mayoral Best Practices Session: -- City of San Diego, CA -- City Pasadena, CA -- City of Anchorage, AK -- City of Denver, CO
12:00 noon (Presidential Ballroom Foyer) PRESS CONFERENCE: Climate Protection/ Energy & Environment Initiative
-- Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, USCM President -- Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz, USCM Vice President -- Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Co-chair, U.S. Mayors Council on Climate Protection -- Carmel (IN) Mayor James Brainard, Co-chair, U. S. Mayors Council on Climate Protection -- Austin Mayor Will Wynn, USCM Energy Chair -- Charlotte Mayor Patrick McCrory, USCM Environment Chair -- Congressman Edward J. Markey (MA), Committee on Energy and Commerce
12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (Congressional/Senate) LUNCHEON USCM President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Presiding
Focus: Poverty, Work and Opportunity -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Chair, USCM Poverty Taskforce
Focus: Opportunities for the New Congress -- Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley
Report: 2007 U.S. Metro Economies: Engines of America's Growth -- Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick
Presentation: 2006 Municipal Water Conservation Achievement Awards -- Albuquerque Mayor Martin J. Chavez, Co-Chair, Mayors Water Council -- Fayetteville Mayor Dan Coody, Co-Chair, Mayors Water Council
2:00 p.m. (Presidential Ballroom Foyer) PRESS CONFERENCE: Poverty in America
-- Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, USCM President -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Chair, USCM Poverty Taskforce -- Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Co-chair -- Miami Mayor Manuel Diaz, Co-Chair -- Burnsville (MN) Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, Co-chair -- Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Co-Chair -- Newark (NJ) Mayor Corey Booker, Co-Chair
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. (Presidential Ballroom) PLENARY SESSION USCM President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Presiding -- Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson, President, National League of Cities -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R.Villaraigosa, Host, USCM 75th Annual Meeting
Keynote Address: Senator Norm Coleman (MN)
Friday, January 26
9:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon (Presidential Ballroom) CLOSING PLENARY SESSION USCM President Trenton Mayor Douglas H. Palmer, Presiding -- Detroit Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick -- Marian Wright Edelman, President and Founder, Children's Defense Fund -- Secretary Samuel W. Bodman, U.S.




Department of Energy -- Congressman James E. Clyburn (SC), Majority Whip
WHO: The U.S. Conference of Mayors
WHAT: 75th Winter Meeting
WHEN: January 24 to 26, 2007
WHERE: Capital Hilton Hotel 16th & K Streets, Washington, D.C.
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,139 such cities in the country today, each represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the Mayor.
CONTACT: Rhonda Spears Bell, +1-301-651-2126, rspears@usmayors.org,or Elena Temple, +1-202-309-4906, etemple@usmayors.org, both of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors
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