FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 1, 2021

CONTACT:
MayorPress@sandiego.gov

SAN DIEGO On Tuesday, the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) Executive Committee approved five resolutions led by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria. This comes as part of USCMs 89th annual meeting, which convenes mayors from across the nation to discuss pressing issues facing Americas cities.

When I took office, I promised that our city would take its rightful seat at the table and play an active role in advocating for policies that help all San Diegans, Mayor Todd Gloria said. I am grateful to my mayoral colleagues from across the nation for their support of these resolutions and I now look forward to using the full weight of the U.S Conference of Mayors to move these priorities forward.

The resolutions passed were:

Resolution #11 - Supporting Efforts to End Homelessness

• • THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on Congress and President Biden to expand and robustly fund programs to address homelessness, including the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, eviction defense, Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), Homeless Assistance Grants, HOME Investment Partnerships, Community Development Block Grants, HUD-VASH, Housing Trust Fund and other programs to provide addiction, behavioral, and mental health services to the homeless, particularly veterans; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on Congress and President Biden to ensure individuals in need, especially veterans and children, do not become homeless by enacting legislation like the Homeless Children and Youth Act, Eviction Crisis Act, Ending Homelessness Act, Housing is Infrastructure Act, and measures to expand and reform the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on Congress and the Administration to provide leadership and support to Mayors implementing innovative programs to cultivate trusting relationships with unsheltered residents to ensure they are connecting with housing and necessary services; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that The United States Conference of Mayors calls on Congress and the Administration to declare unsheltered homelessness a national crisis and provide cities with the necessary resources to ensure that any individual can have access to a safe place to rest.

Resolution #32 In Support of Welcoming Afghan Interpreters and Allies of the U.S. Armed Forces in the United States **Co-led with Hartford, Connecticut Mayor Luke Bronin**

• • NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors recognizes the moral responsibility of the United States to protect our Afghan interpreters and allies, individuals who have risked their lives for our troops to support the United States' mission in Afghanistan; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors supports every effort by the Administration to expedite processing of the thousands of pending SIV applications from our Afghan allies and their families, and supports all of the Administration's ongoing efforts to safely relocate these individuals and to secure their legal entry into the United States; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors expresses its appreciation to the International Rescue Committee, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and to the many national and local nonprofit organizations providing aid and assistance toward the relocation, resettlement and welcoming of our Afghan allies; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors supports our Afghan allies in their efforts to safely relocate to the United States, and our communities and residents all across the country stand ready to welcome our Afghan allies and their families with open arms, as friends and new neighbors.

Resolution #33 - Urging President Biden to Reopen U.S. Land Ports of Entry to Non-Essential Travel

• • NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors urges the Biden Administration to lift non-essential travel restrictions at U.S. Land Ports of Entry to facilitate economic recovery in communities on both sides of the border.

Resolution #36 Supporting the Equality Act (H.R. 5)

• • NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors supports the Equality Act (H.R. 5); and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors urges the Senate to pass this legislation and President Joe Biden to swiftly sign the Equality Act into law; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Conference calls on all elected officials, including its members, to endeavor towards inclusiveness in all communities across America and oppose discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Resolution #58 - Increasing Federal Investment in U.S Ports of Entry and Binational Infrastructure

• • NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors urges Congress to include funding for border infrastructure projects as part of the federal infrastructure package; and
  • BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors urges Congress to increase funding through the annual appropriations process for accounts that help fund border infrastructure, including the BWIP and NADBANK accounts.

During the USCMs annual meeting, standing committees discuss and debate proposed resolutions for potential adoption by the organization. The policy positions adopted at the annual meeting collectively represent the views of the nations mayors and are distributed to the President of the United States and Congress.

The United States Conference of Mayors is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are over 1,400 such cities in the country today. Each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.

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