Rendell is New Chair of NGA
Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell today became the new chairman of the National Governor’s Association and announced that the organization’s annual “Chair’s Initiative” will focus on strengthening infrastructure investment.
“It is an honor to serve as NGA’s chair,” Governor Rendell said during the NGA’s Centennial meeting. “Out-going chair, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, deserves a tremendous amount of credit for moving America closer to clean energy. Just last week I signed legislation to invest more than $650 million in Pennsylvania’s alternative energy sector. Tim’s leadership has inspired every governor in the nation and once again states are taking the lead on this critical issue.
“Another significant challenge facing our nation is the rebuilding of its infrastructure,” Governor Rendell said. “If America is to continue competing in the global economic marketplace, we need an efficient and sound infrastructure. For the past two decades, state and local governments have been picking up more of the tab for infrastructure repair, but we can’t keep it up,” he said, noting the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates national infrastructure needs of more than $1.6 trillion dollars over the next five years. “We need the commitment of greater federal resources to help states meet these pressing needs.
“Infrastructure funding — making sure our roads, bridges, schools, airports, trains, ports, and water systems are safe — is an issue about which I am very passionate,” said Governor Rendell. “It started when I was mayor of Philadelphia and continues today because I see that our nation’s aging infrastructure is hurting our economic stability and hampering future growth. Businesses and communities can’t survive if they can’t get their products to market, educate their students and access safe water supplies.
“America's infrastructure urgently needs attention. From outmoded ports to crumbling bridges to underinvestment in public transit, we must begin a new era of investment in the systems that support our prosperity and our quality of life,” he said. “State and local governments now fund 75 percent of all infrastructure work. We will need the federal government to step up significantly if we are to fully meet this challenge. I will continue to work with my fellow governors to give these issues the attention they deserve.”
As NGA chairman, Governor Rendell will work with other states to design and implement strategies for smarter, more cost-effective infrastructure investment at the state level. In addition, states will be challenged in the coming years to align their infrastructure investments with the new realities of climate change, and Governor Rendell will work with states to design strategies around this emerging new reality.
NGA Chair’s Initiatives focus the attention and resources of the association toward addressing one of the nation’s most pressing public policy challenges. By performing cutting-edge research, forming groundbreaking public-private partnerships, recruiting globally recognized experts as part of national policymaker summits, and producing informative publications, NGA Chair’s Initiatives seek to raise awareness of critical challenges facing the country and provide governors the tools and knowledge to combat these challenges head on.
The NGA is celebrating its 100th anniversary during 2008. In May of 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt hosted the first meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House to discuss conserving America’s natural resources. The meeting was attended by the president, vice president, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and 39 governors. Following this inaugural meeting, governors decided to form a bipartisan association through which they could come together to discuss mutual concerns and act collectively.
A century later, the National Governors Association continues to serve as the collective voice of the nation’s 55 state, commonwealth and territorial governors and a vehicle for fostering and demonstrating state leadership on a wide range of domestic issues. For more information about the organization, visit nga.org.
“It is an honor to serve as NGA’s chair,” Governor Rendell said during the NGA’s Centennial meeting. “Out-going chair, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, deserves a tremendous amount of credit for moving America closer to clean energy. Just last week I signed legislation to invest more than $650 million in Pennsylvania’s alternative energy sector. Tim’s leadership has inspired every governor in the nation and once again states are taking the lead on this critical issue.
“Another significant challenge facing our nation is the rebuilding of its infrastructure,” Governor Rendell said. “If America is to continue competing in the global economic marketplace, we need an efficient and sound infrastructure. For the past two decades, state and local governments have been picking up more of the tab for infrastructure repair, but we can’t keep it up,” he said, noting the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates national infrastructure needs of more than $1.6 trillion dollars over the next five years. “We need the commitment of greater federal resources to help states meet these pressing needs.
“Infrastructure funding — making sure our roads, bridges, schools, airports, trains, ports, and water systems are safe — is an issue about which I am very passionate,” said Governor Rendell. “It started when I was mayor of Philadelphia and continues today because I see that our nation’s aging infrastructure is hurting our economic stability and hampering future growth. Businesses and communities can’t survive if they can’t get their products to market, educate their students and access safe water supplies.
“America's infrastructure urgently needs attention. From outmoded ports to crumbling bridges to underinvestment in public transit, we must begin a new era of investment in the systems that support our prosperity and our quality of life,” he said. “State and local governments now fund 75 percent of all infrastructure work. We will need the federal government to step up significantly if we are to fully meet this challenge. I will continue to work with my fellow governors to give these issues the attention they deserve.”
As NGA chairman, Governor Rendell will work with other states to design and implement strategies for smarter, more cost-effective infrastructure investment at the state level. In addition, states will be challenged in the coming years to align their infrastructure investments with the new realities of climate change, and Governor Rendell will work with states to design strategies around this emerging new reality.
NGA Chair’s Initiatives focus the attention and resources of the association toward addressing one of the nation’s most pressing public policy challenges. By performing cutting-edge research, forming groundbreaking public-private partnerships, recruiting globally recognized experts as part of national policymaker summits, and producing informative publications, NGA Chair’s Initiatives seek to raise awareness of critical challenges facing the country and provide governors the tools and knowledge to combat these challenges head on.
The NGA is celebrating its 100th anniversary during 2008. In May of 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt hosted the first meeting of the nation’s governors at the White House to discuss conserving America’s natural resources. The meeting was attended by the president, vice president, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and 39 governors. Following this inaugural meeting, governors decided to form a bipartisan association through which they could come together to discuss mutual concerns and act collectively.
A century later, the National Governors Association continues to serve as the collective voice of the nation’s 55 state, commonwealth and territorial governors and a vehicle for fostering and demonstrating state leadership on a wide range of domestic issues. For more information about the organization, visit nga.org.
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