Coalition of Bipartisan Mayors Caution Against EPA Budget Cuts, Present Plan to Create Jobs and Shield America’s Heartland from Disaster Impacts
Washington, DC -- Mississippi River mayors will call on Congress and the President to continue infrastructure investments that preserve water quality and protect heartland communities from disaster risks. The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative, a coalition of 75 mayors from across the Mississippi River Basin, will present their plan in a Thursday press conference and speak in support of federal programs and data collection administered by agencies.
The plan urges federal leaders to continue programs run through the EPA, DOI, DOT, US Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA, which help communities prepare for extreme disaster risks, as well as secure their manufacturing, tourism, and agriculture economies that depend on clean water. The mayors will argue that investing under $8 billion to preserve a variety of programs their communities depend on is fundamental to the economic security of their municipalities. This investment, much of it near current levels, will create and sustain jobs throughout the corridor.
WHAT: Press conference and Q&A with Mississippi River Corridor mayors about the need for infrastructure investment that protects watershed health. More than a dozen mayors from throughout the region will attend the press conference.
WHEN: Thursday, March 2, 9:30 am ET
SPEAKERS:
Mayor Chris Coleman of Saint Paul, MN (MRCTI Co-Chair)
Mayor Belinda C. Constant of Gretna, LA (MRCTI Co-Chair)
Mayor Paxton Branch of Tallulah, LA
Mayor Frank Klipsch of Davenport, IA
Andrew Young, Former Member of Congress, Ambassador to the UN, and Mayor of Atlanta
WHERE:
National Association of Realtors Building, 12th Fl, 500 New Jersey Ave. NW, Washington DC
Call-In: (712) 832-8328, Press Access Code: 8009810
The press conference will be livestreamed.
RSVP:Please RSVP to Emma Stieglitz estieglitz@climatenexus.org or Jim Gwinner jgwinner@ls2group.com
MAYORS ATTENDING THE MRCTI CAPITOL MEETING
Dave Klies, St. Cloud, MN; Tim McNeil, Dayton, MN; Chris Coleman, St. Paul, MN; Tim Kabat, La Crosse, WI; Roy Buol, Dubuque, IA; Frank Klipsch, Davenport, IA; James Spann, Hartford, IL; Francis Slay, St. Louis, MO; Emeka Jackson-Hicks, East St. Louis, IL; David Lattus, Hickman, KY; Harry Rediger, Cape Girardeau, MO; Jim Strickland, Memphis, TN; George Flaggs, Vicksburg, MS; Paxton Branch, Tallulah, LA; Darryl Grennell, Natchez, MS; Buz Craft, Vidalia, LA; Lionel Johnson, Jr., St. Gabriel, LA; Belinda Constant, Gretna, LA
The Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI) is a coalition of 75 mayors from across the Mississippi River Basin, which spans nearly a third of the country. The Mississippi River provides drinking water to more than 20 million people and 50 cities. More than 60 billion gallons of fresh water is withdrawn from the river daily. The River’s resources support 1.5 million jobs and create $496.7 billion in annual revenue.
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