Office of Intergovernmental Affairs Blog

Mayors Call for Balanced Approach to Debt Negotiations

Earlier this week, President Obama spoke with Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, and a small bi-partisan group of mayors on the progress towards finding a solution that both lets our nation keep its obligations and finds a balanced approach to deficit reduction.  The President explained why getting our nation’s fiscal house in order must be a top priority, and highlighted how we have a unique opportunity to find a solution that not only raises the debt ceiling so we can pay our nation’s bills, but also takes our fiscal challenges head on by significantly reducing our deficits.  The President understands that just like families across the nation, mayors in every state struggle everyday to make the tough choices necessary to keep their local economies going.  He believes that leaders in Washington need to make the same kinds of tough choices and come together to find common ground and show the American people that we can do big things as a nation.

Mayors across the country share what they think:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa:

Our government needs to do what families across America have done since this recession began – solve its financial problems and start living within its means. As a nation, it is imperative that we get our finances under control, reduce our deficit, and work to fix the country’s long-term financial problems. Playing politics with the full faith and credit of the United States of America is simply not an option.

The Role of Advanced Manufacturing in Increasing Global Competitiveness

The President recently launched the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, a national effort bringing together industry, universities, and the federal government to invest in the emerging technologies that will create high quality manufacturing jobs and enhance our global competitiveness. 

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom reflects on an event in Sacramento that focused on the advanced manufacturing industry:

Following the jobs-focused leadership of President Obama and his Advanced Manufacturing Partnership, I recently hosted a statewide summit in Sacramento with the California Manufacturers and Technology Association.  Themed “Everything Grows with Manufacturing” and engaging 200 of our state’s best and brightest business and policy leaders, we discussed California’s past, present and future role in advanced manufacturing and the President’s call to increase our global competitiveness.

California has always been a place of dreamers and doers, where the future is literally invented.  We’ve led the world in innovation, cutting-edge discoveries, research and development and technology – but we have to do better in the area of manufacturing.  California manufacturing has fallen from 28 percent of our GDP to nearly 11 percent.  But it’s not all bad news. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, “since 2003, California manufacturing exports rose 60 percent faster than the state’s overall economy.” Manufacturing is the key to exports and exports are critical to California and the country.