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Vice President Biden Talks to State and Local Officials

Summary: 
Vice President Biden and Jason Furman from the National Economic Council joined 440 state, local, tribal and territorial officals to talk about the debt deal and the Administration's economic priorities.

This afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden joined over 440 state, local, tribal and territorial officials on a call to talk about the debt ceiling deal signed by President Obama on August 2 and the Administration's ongoing economic priorities.

Vice President Biden thanked the many state and local officials who spoke out during the debate for a balanced, bipartisan approach to the debt negotiations. He talked about the tough budget choices that state and local officials make every day, and discussed the President's insistence that costs not be passed on to state and local governments that can ill afford more budget cuts during these times. He also highlighted the significance of preserving funding for infrastructure, education and innovation to help grow the economy and create jobs.

Following the Vice President, Jason Furman of the National Economic Council took questions from local officials on the call. These city and county leaders echoed the President’s remarks yesterday that now, with the debt ceiling raised and calamity averted, the conversation urgently needs to turn to job creation. Officials from North Carolina to Pennsylvania to Utah thanked the Administration for their efforts to stimulate job growth and encouraged federal officials to continue to push for programs that create jobs in states and cities.

As always, we appreciated the chance to speak with a large group of state and local elected officials. And while it was great to hear from many officials on the call, we did not get a chance to answer everyone’s questions, so we encourage you to send your questions about the debt deal, the President’s commitment to helping state and local governments, the Administration's jobs agenda, and other topics to iga@who.eop.gov. We’ll feature responses to your questions in upcoming blog posts.

 David Agnew is a Deputy Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs