Joe Biden

“ But we know how important cities are -- 65 percent of our nation's population, as you all know, live in our cities. Our cities are the home of seven out of ten American jobs. And when you're talking about the "knowledge economy jobs," the number rises to eight and ten -- eight out of ten. Cities are vital to our economy, essential to our recovery, and haven't been paid much attention to. ”

“ Our economy can never reach, in our view, its full potential if we have people who are living blocks away, but worlds away from the bustling downtowns full of opportunity. Our poor transportation systems don't provide mobility people need to get to the job. Or they aren't enough police or firefighters in communities to keep the communities safe.
And that's why the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act President Obama signed this week I think includes unprecedented investment in American cities. ”

“ The American people have trusted their government with an unprecedented -- unprecedented level of funding to address the economic emergency we face. In return, we have to prove to them that their dollars are making a difference in their communities. ”

“ All of you know, if we don't meet that minimum threshold, the likelihood of the public trusting us to do this kind of thing is going to evaporate very rapidly. Transparency is vital, and effectiveness is paramount. ”

“ Too often in the past, America's cities have been neglected, and our mayors haven't had -- haven't been able to be heard on the questions of national policy. That's a story you all understand and know very well. ”

“ Simply stated, that's the commitment made in this law. Now, the hard part in one sense, is up to us. We got to make this work. We got to make it work for our people. We got to make it work for our cities. We got to make work for all our people. ”