MAYOR HANNEMANN SEEKS FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR CITY PROJECTS

Washington D.C. – Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann today met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other key members of Congress to seek federal funding for a comprehensive package of infrastructure projects in Honolulu and cities across the nation.

            “We are all facing significant challenges, and we must face them together,” Mayor Hannemann said. “We must invest in our communities and in our workforce to move our nation forward and keep it strong.”

            On Capitol Hill, Mayor Hannemann joined U.S. Conference of Mayors President and Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to release a Conference report that inventories local “ready-to-go” infrastructure projects that could be completed in two years.

            The conference’s MainStreet Economic Recovery” plan calls for investing in public transportation, roads, environmentally sustainable “green jobs,” school modernization and community economic development.

            The mayors met with Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY), Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-MN), Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI), Education and Labor Committee Chairman George Miller (D-CA), and Democratic Caucus Chairman John Larson (D-CT).

            The mayors also met with Senate Majority Leader Reid (D-NV), Congressional Joint Economic Committee Chairman Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).

            The report released today includes 17 projects in Honolulu worth a total of more than $87 million, and follows an earlier report that includes 28 Honolulu projects worth $456 million.

            The latest projects include repairs to water mains in Haleiwa, Kaneohe and Waipio; reservoirs in Kahana and Waimanalo; and streets and sidewalks throughout the island. The earlier list of projects includes a range of transportation, public safety and affordable housing initiatives, including 80 new hybrid buses, expansion of the Pearl City bus facility, and construction of the planned Middle Street Intermodal Center. The combined projects are expected to provide nearly 3,500 jobs.

Nationwide, the new report includes 11,391 infrastructure projects in 427 cities costing a total of $73 billion, which are expected to create nearly 850,000 jobs. The earlier report, released last month, included 4,600 projects that could be completed in one year in 154 cities, worth $25 billion.

“This economic recovery effort should not be construed as a ‘handout’ or ‘bailout,’ but as a partnership,” Mayor Hannemann said. “Mayors are willing to do their part, as we have in Honolulu, with the millions of local dollars we have invested in repairing and maintaining our infrastructure. Mayors are well-positioned to create immediate jobs because of our ongoing emphasis on infrastructure.”

As chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Standing Committee on Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports, Mayor Hannnemann will join Chicago Mayor Richard Daley in Chicago tomorrow to announce a new public-private effort to support Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Mayors Hannemann and Daley will co-chair a steering committee of mayors and business leaders to support Chicago’s bid, which President-elect Barack Obama is strongly supporting.

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Contact: Bill Brennan, 527-6928