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Executive Director's
Report- Spring Issue 2005
Trip to Washington, D.C. beginning to pay off
More than 60 Alabama county officials attended the annual legislative conference of the National Association of Counties (NACo) held March 6-8, 2005, in Washington, D.C. Alabama participants were joined by about 2,000 other officials from throughout the country.
Most important on the minds of those who attended the conference was the budget proposal recently submitted to Congress by President Bush. The President's budget, among other things, called for the consolidation of 18 federal programs across five departments into the Department of Commerce. The President's proposal, in addition to consolidation, called for massive cuts in funding for a host of programs vital to county governments including, the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT), Justice Programs for both juveniles and adults, Homeland Security, Rural Health, and others.
Other items pending before Congress, and of interest to county officials who attended the conference were: funding for Medicaid, funding for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), and reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21).
Tuesday, May 8, was the last day of the conference and the entire day was set aside for county officials to visit with the members of their congressional delegations. The day began with about 50 of the officials in attendance from Alabama participating in the annual ACCA Congressional Legislative Breakfast. The breakfast was held in the Cannon House Office Building. Both Senators and four of the seven Congressmen attended. Staff members represented the three who could not attend.
The event was used as an opportunity for county officials to express concerns about the President's proposed consolidations and spending cuts. County officials were careful to express their understanding of federal budgetary constraints caused by the war in Iraq and the growing federal deficit. They did, however, urge the members of the delegation to use sound judgment as they addressed the next federal budget and specifically that they make concerted efforts to determine the impact that cuts to, or elimination of, vital programs will have on Alabama citizens.
All members of the delegation were given an opportunity to speak during the breakfast and all indicated an appreciation for the concerns expressed and indicated that they would proceed cautiously. Several actually pledged to support the continuation and full funding of programs like CDBG and PILT.
While Alabama county officials were meeting with their congressional delegation, officials from other states were meeting with their congressional delegations as well and the impact is being seen and felt. Recent activity in Congress indicates that all the contacts made and discussions held are beginning to pay off.
On March 16 and 17, the U.S. Senate was considering its version of the budget resolution for the next funding cycle. The Senate approved an amendment to the resolution that called on Congress to restore funding to CDBG and oppose the administration's proposal to move the program to the Department of Commerce. The Senate also adopted an amendment to its budget resolution restoring funding for the Medicaid program. Additionally, the Senate and House have taken steps to reauthorize a Highway-Transit program (TEA-LU).
It would be unrealistic to say that the efforts put forth by county officials is the sole reason positive things are beginning to happen in Congress, but everyone should agree that the message was heard and that it is having a positive impact.
Some words about NACo
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only organization in the country that represents counties in Washington, D.C. There are some organizations that represent specific elected county officials but their interest is specific and limited. NACo, by its nature, represents the interest of county governing bodies as well as that of all county officials. The various interests of county officials and the effective performance of the functions they perform cannot be separated when dealing with Congress.
It is at about this time each year that county governing bodies are asked to join or continue their membership in NACo. For more than fifty years Alabama counties have been very strong NACo supporters. In fact, for most of those years all counties in the state have been members of NACo. In our opinion, it has been time and money well spent. Local governments in Alabama, and from throughout the nation, would simply be like fruit withering and falling off the federal government vine if it were not for NACo and its sister organizations like the National League of Cities.
A few uninformed county officials have been heard to ask the question, "What do we get for our NACo dues?". The answer to that question can be found in the following list of federal programs, agencies and subjects NACo affects everyday as it represents county government.
Rural Community Advancement Program
Rural Utilities Service
Rural Business Cooperative Service
Rural Community Facilities Program
CDBG Formual Grants
Brownfields
Rural Housing & Economic Development
CDBG Section 108 Loan Guarantees
HOME Investment Partnerships Program
Economic Development Administration
Economic Development Challenge Fund
Environmental Protection Agency
Superfund
Leaking Underground Storage Tank Clean-up
Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund
Drinking Water State Revolving Loans
Help America Vote Act - State Grants
Election Assistance Commission
Health Centers
National Health Service Corps
Nurse Training Programs
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services
Uncompensated Care for Illegal Aliens
Medicaid
State Children's Health Insurance Program
Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
Rural Health
Bioterrorism (Hospital Preparedness)
Medicare Prescription Drugs
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Foster Care & Adoption Assistance
Head Start
Child Care Entitlement Payments
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance
Child Care & Development Block Grant
Social Services Block Grant
Community Services Block Grant
Refugee and Entrance Assistance
Home & Community Based Centers
Congregate Meals
Home-Delivered Meals
National Family Caregiver Support
Food Stamps
Child Nutrition
Women, Infants and Children
Title I Education for the Disadvantaged
Special Education State Grants
High School Intervention Initiative
Vocational and Adult Education
Justice Assistance Grant Program
Edwards Byrne Discretionary Grant Program
State Criminal Alien Assistance
Juvenile Accountability Block Grant
Methamphetamine Enforcement
Violence Against Women
Juvenile Delinquency Block Grants
FIRE Grants
Emergency Management Performance
Metropolitan Medical Response System
Diaster Relief Fund
Flood Map Modernization Fund
National Predisaster Mitigation Fund
State Homeland Security Grant Program
Urban Area Security Initiative
Law Enforcement Terrorism Prevention
Dislocated Workers Training
Adult Training
Youth Training
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers
Job Corps
Community Colleges Initiative
Prisoner Re-entry
Personal Re-employment Accounts
Payments in Lieu of Taxes
Refuge Revenue Sharing
Healthy Forests Initaitive
Federal-aid Highway
Transit Formula
Transit Capital Inventment
Job Access
Airport Improvement Program
Small Community Air Service
Essential Air Service
Amtrak
High-Speed Rail
Maritime Security
Can counties afford not to have NACo representing their interest in Washington, D.C.?
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