Commissioners Weik, Lehrke Participate in 2013 NACo Legislative Conference

Press release

WASHINGTON, D.C. — County Board Chairwoman Lisa  Weik and Vice Chair Autumn Lehrke participated in the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) 2013 Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., in early March.

With talk of fiscal cliffs and sequestration cuts dominating the headlines, more than1,500 county officials from across the country gathered in the nation’s capital to demonstrate to Congress and federal officials that the nation’s 3,069 county governments provide the essential building blocks to create healthy, vibrant and safe communities.

This includes supporting and maintaining key public infrastructure, transportation and economic development assets; creating and sustaining a skilled workforce to meet the needs of private industry; ensuring public health and public safety needs to protect the public; and implementing a broad portfolio of federal, state and local programs in a cost-effective and accountable manner.

“All levels of government are facing challenging budget times,” Lehrke said. “That is why it is so important to collaborate and work together to provide these essential services.” 

Commissioner Lehrke is very active in NACo. Lehrke is Washington County’s appointed NACo Delegate.  In addition, she serves on Housing and Economic Development, Veteran and Military Service, and NACo Membership committees.  Commissioners Lehrke and Weik both participated in regional and state delegation meetings at the conference. 

Weik also participated in policy meetings of the Transportation Steering Committee and Subcommittees including Highway-Highway Safety, Ports, Mass Transit & Railroads, and Airports.

"One of the key benefits of participating in national conferences of county officials is the opportunity to learn best practices from other parts of the country to keep our communities at home safe, secure and prosperous" Weik said. "I believe strongly in the power of networking to find meaningful solutions including the opportunity to interact directly with federal administration officials who are grappling with the effects of the sequester."

Weik also attended workshops “Counties in the Global Economy: Exports from Your Community,” “Economic Development for Rural Counties,” and “MAP-21: How the New Federal Transportation Legislation Can Benefit Your County.”

During the conference, NACo leadership and members met with dozens of key Congressional committee offices to deliver the “Why Counties Matter” message in person and offer to work collaboratively with their federal partners to meet the needs of the American people. Important federal issues affecting counties and communities discussed included preserving the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds, replacing the sequestration, the across-the-board budget cuts, and protecting the federal-state-local partnership for Medicaid.

NACo President Chris Rodgers, Commissioner, Douglas County, Nebraska, said counties are important because the programs and services provided by counties touch the lives of virtually every American.

More than 2,900 counties own a jail or participate in a regional jail and admit nearly 12 million people each year. Counties provide public health services, including flu shots and restaurant inspections through 1,947 health departments. Counties own and maintain 44 percent of America’s roadways and 228,026 bridges and almost one-third of the nation’s transit systems and airports. Counties respond to all disasters and in most cases without assistance from other levels of governments. Counties run the nation’s polling places to keep democracy strong.  Counties own 964 hospitals and spend $68 billion on health care services annually.

“If you vote, drive to work, take the bus, get a flu shot, visit the library, go to the hospital, eat at a restaurant, play in the park, recycle, or call 911 — you are interacting with your county government,” Rodgers said.

Also during the Legislative Conference, participating county officials heard from national leaders on issues important to counties and communities, including U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Sen. James E. Risch (R-Idaho), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.), Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.), Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), journalist and author Bob Woodward and economist Mark M. Zandi. 

At the conference, NACo also released a short video, “Why Counties Matter,” which shows many of the services counties deliver to communities. The video and infographic is available to view at  http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/Why-Counties-Matter.aspx

County News coverage of 2013 Legislative Conference speakers is available at:

http://www.naco.org/newsroom/countynews/Current%20Issue/2-25-13/Pages/March-2,-2013-Legislative-Conference.aspx