Nearly 100 city officials from Washington state went to Washington D.C. last week as part of the National League of Cities Congressional Cities Conference. They attended informative sessions, heard from the Vice President, and met with members of Washington’s congressional delegation. AWC hosted a packed room to hear from our US Senators.
Here are a few takeaways:
- Our primary message to our Congressional delegation is that the infrastructure projects that serve our shared constituents require federal partnership, and cities need stability in funding programs, the federal budget, and federal operations that serve our communities.
- The biggest issue for cities is the impact of uncertainty in federal funding for grants and other programs. We have heard that cities that aren’t able to get clear answers or that they have been told their funding is no longer available. NLC advises cities to reach out to your member of Congress if you have any funding issues. They report that many complaints are getting addressed when Congressional offices intervene directly with agencies. Most members of Congress have a link on their websites to report an issue. AWC encourages cities that run into challenges to contact your member of Congress’s legislative or district director directly.
- One of the ways Congress may be looking to raise revenue is to eliminate the tax exemption on municipal bonds. This change would generate about $250 billion for the federal government, but cost local governments that rely on tax exempt bonds to fund infrastructure about $820 billion. That means that in the end, it actually costs taxpayers more. NLC asks cities to talk about the importance of tax exempt bonds with your members of Congress. AWC heard positive feedback from Washington’s members in support of preserving this important infrastructure funding tool.
- Review NLC’s 5 Steps to Accelerate Your Advocacy.
- Check out NLC’s Federal Action Agenda and AWC’s 2025 Federal Legislative Priorities
Check out some photos from NLC!