President Bianca Motley Broom, CEO and Executive Director Larry Hanson, and Federal Relations Manager Molly McLoughlin this week joined state league leaders from across the country for the National League of Cities’ (NLC) annual fly-in to Washington D.C. Due to weather conditions, the meetings were moved to a virtual setting.
White House on FEMA Relief and Housing
All state league participants joined a meeting with the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and the Associate Administrator for the Office of External Affairs at FEMA. GMA voiced the concerns of cities that have yet to receive FEMA reimbursements from Hurricane Helene and reiterated its support for the ROAD to Housing Act. The White House confirmed that its FEMA Review Council will publish its report in the next 30-60 days, with recommendations to accelerate the delivery of funds and empower states to lead disaster response and recovery.
The White House also affirmed its commitment to addressing housing affordability and indicated that further details on their housing proposals, like reigning in investor owned single-family homes, are coming soon.
FEMA Reform
GMA expressed support for the FEMA Reform Act in a meeting with the lead majority staffer for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Emergency Management Subcommittee. The staffer indicated that support is building to move the reforms forward and that discussions with Senate leaders could lead to a Senate companion bill. It was noted that support in the Senate is closely tied to the recommendations of the White House FEMA Review Council, so the timeline for reforms depend on that report’s release.
Wireless and Wireline Infrastructure
GMA's Hanson led meetings with each Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC), including Chair Brenden Carr, as well as the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Wireline Competition Bureau. State league leaders shared the local impact of the FCC’s proposed preemptive wireless and wireline infrastructure regulations and emphasized the need to protect local franchising authority.
Transportation Funding
Hanson also led a meeting with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Intergovernmental Affairs team, which included representatives from each mode of transportation. The group discussed ways to improve efficiency in implementing federally funded transportation projects at the local level. USDOT urged state leagues and cities to communicate their transportation needs to members of Congress as they prepare to consider Surface Transportation Reauthorization later in the year.
Legal Challenges to Executive Orders
The International Municipal Lawyers Association briefed state league leaders on ongoing litigation over Trump Administration executive orders affecting cities, including orders relating to immigration enforcement, homelessness, disaster relief and DEI requirements.
These federal policy and regulatory issues, as well as the federal staff and political appointees on them, will be featured during NLC’s Congressional City Conference in March.