"Investing in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery"

Good Morning, Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Member Mica, and Members of the Committee.

Thank you for inviting me to testify today.

As past president of the US Conference of Mayors, I am pleased to submit the Conference’s Main Street Stimulus plan.

Everyone in this room understands the economic crisis our country is experiencing. Main Street America is in economic trouble.

Unemployment is up -- America has lost nearly 800,000 jobs in the last nine months.

Families are losing their savings, retirement nest eggs and their homes.

Sales are down and businesses are struggling like never before

Mr. Chairman, the Mayors are not asking for a bailout, nor a rescue -- but asking for an investment that would immediately create real jobs and improve the nation’s infrastructure.

My city of Louisville, a merged city county with a population of over 700 thousand, reflects this crisis that communities across America are experiencing. Metropolitan communities, like Louisville, are the economic engines of our states and the national economy – areas that must lead our nation’s recovery.

Mr. Chairman, following your philosophy throughout your tenure in Congress, now more than ever – a partnership between Washington and local communities must be re-established.

The Mayor’s Main Street Stimulus is a first step to re-creating that partnership.

Our stimulus plan will improve our country’s infrastructure, deliver real jobs, and help small businesses on main street America.

Earlier this week, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer visited Louisville and met with my staff responsible for roads, sewers, water, transit, schools, workforce training and housing.

He heard proposals – totaling more than $ 250 million – that can stimulate our economy now and completed by the end of 2009.

Ready to go projects like school modernization, bridge and road repairs, sewer and water repairs, public housing modernization and hybrid bus purchases to expand transit services.

Let me summarize the main points of our proposal – and you will notice that most are drawn from House-passed stimulus package.

· $9 billion for transit agencies to purchase rolling stock; help stabilize fare increases;

· $1.5 billion for ready-to-go Airport Improvement Program projects, an area where funding has remained stagnant;

· $1.25 billion for Amtrak to make necessary upgrades to tracks, bridges and tunnels, and stations. (Recent bill passed infrastructure still needed)

· $18.75 billion in water and wastewater grants to assist with rehabilitating aging water and sewer infrastructure.(Across America, 740 cities have CSOs or Combined Sewer Overflows, with many under enforceable consent decrees with the EPA including my city, your city, Mr. Chairman, Duluth, Cincinnati, Birmingham and many others.)

· $7.5 billion to repair and modernize school buildings.

· $2.5 billion for public housing repair and construction projects. (Louisville has $ 40-50 million need alone)

Mr. Chairman, I would like to speak to three additional items of our plan in more detail.

First, our plan requests $32 billion for critical ready-to-go highway projects in metro areas and other parts of our states that can be completed within a year from when the contracts are let.

Mr. Chairman, we agree that the Surface Transportation Program is the right vehicle – it provides maximum flexibility on project eligibility. But we are strongly opposed to dropping local communities out of the program, as the House stimulus bill proposed.

Under the current plan, local officials through their MPOs (Metropolitan Planning Organizations) would not be involved in the expenditure of funds for “ready to go” projects -- this makes no sense.

Next, the Conference of Mayors is urging Congress to include $ 10 billion for Community Development Block Grants, specifically for infrastructure.

This would immediately create jobs through construction of public facilities and other improvements.

Finally, it is time to move America toward a greener economy to create millions of green jobs for Main Street businesses.

This could be done by investing $5 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.

Mr. Chairman, I know that you have supported Congressional efforts to fund this program, along with others on this panel, and we thank you for your support.

In closing, let me commit to you that cities are ready to go, and we can create jobs now!

Not government jobs, but private sector jobs, especially for small businesses, beginning shortly after enactment of this plan.

We stand ready to work with you and others in Congress during the upcoming emergency session to make sure that a “Main Street Stimulus” plan is signed into law this calendar year.

Thank you.