US President Obama announces new city tech initiative

US President Barack Obama has unveiled a new urban job initiative at the National League of Cities (NLC) Congressional City Conference in Washington and declared cities are “coming back”.

It marked the first time a US president has addressed an NLC event since 1995 when Bill Clinton spoke to the annual meeting of the organisation that advocates on behalf of 18,000 cities in the US.

Obama’s speech was primarily centred around the announcement of Tech Hire, a US$100 million government initiative that seeks to train and employ workers to be hired for jobs in technology, health care and financial services. Tech Hire will focus on universities, online courses, coding ‘boot camps’ and city best practice sharing.

The president, who has appointed a number of former mayors to key roles in his administration, said to over 2,000 city leaders and influencers, “Ultimately success is going to rest on folks like you–mayors, council members and local leaders, You’ve got the power to bring your communities together and seize this incredible economic development opportunity that will change the way we think about training and hiring the workers of tomorrow.”

Obama praised cities for their efforts in social policy, especially when it came to raising the minimum wage. He said, “We worked with many of you to lift the minimum wage while we’re waiting for Congress to do something. The National League of Cities has been a great partner in this work.”

The National League of Cities has collaborated with the Obama Administration on several metropolitan initiatives with programmes including Let’s Move! Cities,Towns & Counties and My Brother’s Keeper Community Challenge.

“President Obama helped America’s cities rise from the ashes of the Great Recession, build transit and roads, protect the health of our residents, and improve the lives of our young people,” said Ralph Becker, NLC President and Mayor of Salt Lake City.

Becker added that Obama was the best partner cities have had in four decades. Yet the conference did not end the disagreement between cities and the federal government over the future tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. The White House has proposed a cap on municipal bonds’ tax exemption that many city leaders fear will impede their public fundraising efforts.

Obama told city leaders at the conference, “You don’t have a lot of time for gridlock. You’ve got to get the job done.” He added, “People are expecting you to deliver. And you’re part of the reason why America is coming back.”