Nation's Mayors Applaud House Introduction of The Heroes Act

WASHINGTON, May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Below is a statement by U.S. Conference of Mayors President and Rochester Hills (MI) Mayor Bryan K. Barnett on the Heroes Act, the 4^th COVID-19 supplemental package introduced today by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which allocates $187.5 billion for local governments leading the pandemic response on the ground:

"Mayors across the country are grateful for the support of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and applaud the House Democrats' efforts to support the nation's cities by providing much needed emergency fiscal assistance. Every city in America is under enormous strain and facing significant budget shortfalls as a direct result of this pandemic, and every city should be eligible for federal resources to respond to its devastating impact.

"With local needs growing and resources shrinking, cities are facing very real, and very painful, budget decisions. Without Congress and the Administration providing emergency fiscal relief to cities, COVID-19 will continue to wreak havoc on the economic health of our cities. We will see unemployment continue to rise and critical services such as public safety cut. Cities have long been the economic engines of our states and our country. If our cities are unable to recover quickly, the national economy will no doubt continue to suffer.

"The United States Conference of Mayors thanks Speaker Pelosi for her leadership and stands ready to work with members of both parties to ensure that cities across the country receive the resources they need to lead the fight against this pandemic and its dire economic impacts."

About the United States Conference of Mayors -- The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are more than 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

SOURCE U.S. Conference of Mayors