IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1070 

Recognizing the essential work of the National League of Cities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2024 

Mr. STANTON (for himself and Ms. GRANGER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the essential work of the National League of 

Cities. 

Whereas the National League of Cities is the oldest and largest organization representing municipal governments 

throughout the United States, representing the interests 

of more than 19,000 cities, towns, and villages across the 

country and more than 218 million residents; 

Whereas the National League of Cities is an organization 

that was founded in 1924 in Lawrence, Kansas, as the 

American Municipal Association by State municipal 

leagues seeking more coordination and national representation as cities, towns, and villages expanded rapidly following the Industrial Revolution; 

Whereas today, the National League of Cities works in partnership with 49 State municipal leagues across the counVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:50 Mar 08, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1070.IH HR1070

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•HRES 1070 IH 

try to strengthen local leadership, drive innovation, and 

have influence on the policies that impact local programs 

and operations; 

Whereas, as the voice of cities, towns, and villages in Washington, DC, the National League of Cities has successfully championed Federal legislative solutions that support municipalities and has worked closely with Congress 

to educate on the realities of local implementation; 

Whereas the National League of Cities has championed the 

passage of foundational Federal legislation and bolstered 

the supportive efforts of Congress to strengthen the essential services that municipalities provide to their communities such as the following: 

(1) In 1965, the National League of Cities President 

Mayor Henry Maier of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, spoke at 

the National League of Cities’ First National Legislative 

Conference and called on the Federal Government to create a Department of Housing and Urban Development 

(HUD). Later that year, President Lyndon B. Johnson 

consolidated five existing independent Federal housing 

and community development agencies into HUD. 

(2) In February 1972, on behalf of the National 

League of Cities, Mayor Thomas Bliley of Richmond, 

Virginia, testified to the Senate’s Committee on Public 

Works, Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution, supporting the passage of the Clean Air Act of 1970. One 

key element of the Act is the congressional finding ‘‘that 

the prevention and control of air pollution at its source 

is the primary responsibility of States and local governments.’’. 

(3) Since the creation of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program in the 1974 HousVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:48 Mar 09, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1070.IH HR1070

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•HRES 1070 IH 

ing and Community Development Act, CDBG grants 

have extended HUD’s reach beyond the urban core to cities, towns, and villages of all sizes, becoming an irreplaceable tool in projects advancing rehabilitation of affordable housing, the construction of vital public facilities, and the expansion of business and employment opportunities. 

(4) In 1991, the National League of Cities made unfunded mandates a key issue, putting it in the preamble 

of the organization’s National Municipal Policy. The National Municipal Policy stated that ‘‘Federal mandates 

that impose direct costs must be accompanied by adequate Federal funding’’. During the 1990s, the National 

League of Cities took the case of unfunded mandates to 

Congress, testifying three times before Congress on the 

importance of not imposing unfunded mandates on cities, 

towns, and villages. On March 25, 1995, President Bill 

Clinton signed the Unfunded Mandate Reform Act into 

law, with the National League of Cities’ 1996 President 

Greg Lashutka, Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, standing beside him. 

(5) In the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks, Mayor 

Anthony Williams of Washington, DC ‘‘represented [the 

National League of Cities] interests very, very well,’’ according to Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. 

The efforts of the National League of Cities, he added, 

helped create the Department of Homeland Security. 

(6) In 2017, Mayor Gary Resnick of Wilton Manors, 

Florida, testified before the Senate Commerce, Science, 

and Transportation Committee about policies to remove 

barriers to broadband deployment by reducing costs, 

avoiding preemption, and increasing ‘‘local input in Federal decision-making processes,’’. 


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•HRES 1070 IH 

(7) In 2020 and 2021, the National League of Cities 

worked in a Federal-local partnership to ensure economic 

relief for all cities in the United States. 

Whereas the National League of Cities is proud that 21 percent of serving Senators and Representatives, or 115 

elected Members of Congress, are former local elected officials; and 

Whereas the National League of Cities supported the creation 

of the Former Local Elected Officials Caucus, which 

brings together Members of Congress with prior service 

in local government to improve our Nation’s intergovernmental partnership and ensure that local governments’ 

voice is heard in Federal decision making: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives recog2 nizes the essential work of the National League of Cities 

3 over the last century and the role it will play in the next 

4 century in supporting our Nation’s municipalities with un5 paralleled research, technical expertise, and relentless ad6 vocacy as a key partner in preserving and strengthening 

7 the Federal-local partnership. 

Æ 


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