Subject: Partnership for Public Service report/release from state and local officials
From: "Chris Lu" <[email-masked]>
To: "Chris Lu" <[email-masked]>, "Adam Hitchcock" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], "Valerie Jarrett" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], "Pete Rouse" <[email-masked]>, "Melody Barnes" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], "Jim Steinberg" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked],
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked], "Jayne Thomisee" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], [email-masked], "Katie Johnson" <[email-masked]>, "Elizabeth Utrup" <[email-masked]>, [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:33:19 -0500

Two things for your reading pleasure:

1)      On Wednesday, the Partnership for Public Service is releasing a
report on ways to improve government operations.  An embargoed copy is
attached:

2)      Dennis Burke brought the press release below to my attention,
and I thought others might benefit from seeing it:

News Release 

09/29/2008 

State and Local Leaders Call on Next Administration to Prioritize
Federal-State-Local Partnerships 

Contact: Jodi Omear, 202-624-5346

Office of Communications 

Senators McCain and Obama Urged to Consult States, Locals When Setting
National Policy

PHILADELPHIA-The elected leadership of the National Governors
Association (NGA), the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL),
the Council of State Governments (CSG), the National Association of
Counties (NACo), the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), the
National League of Cities (NLC) and the International City/County
Management Association (ICMA)-known as the "Big 7"-joined together in
Philadelphia today to highlight the important roles state and local
government leaders play in solving national issues and call on the next
president to actively engage these leaders when determining national
policy.

The following statement was issued by Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G.
Rendell, NGA; Representative Donna Stone, NCSL; Representative Bob
Godfrey, CSG; Supervisor Don Stapley, NACo; Mayor Doug Palmer, USCM,
Mayor Kathleen Novak, NLC; and City Manager David Limardi, ICMA.

"The federal-state-local partnership is vital to ensuring the general
welfare and well-being of our citizens and our country. As a new
administration begins, it is important to recognize that the foundation
of this partnership must be developed early and continuously nurtured
and strengthened. To promote this relationship, the leaders of state and
local government ask the next president to follow two main guiding
principles.

"The first is to consult and cooperate with state and local leaders. We
are on the frontlines everyday and know the effect of national policies
and programs on the delivery of services to our citizens. We ask the
next administration to adopt a policy of constructive engagement with
state and local government to gather relevant information about existing
issues, build on innovative programs already in place at the state and
local level and ensure national policies are implemented in the most
effective and efficient manner possible.

"Second, we encourage the next Administration to promote innovation at
the state and local level. State and local leaders can respond more
quickly and experiment more widely than our federal partners. We urge
the new president to strive for federal policy that encourages this
innovation by maximizing state and local flexibility as we implement
national policies and programs.

"To ensure a productive relationship among federal, state and local
levels of government, we are calling on the next Administration to
demonstrate its commitment to strengthening the partnership by taking
the following actions within 60 days of taking office:

Reaffirm an Executive Order on Federalism; 

*         Establish an Office of Intergovernmental Affairs within the
White House to serve as a conduit between the President and state and
local leaders immediately after taking office; and 

*         Meet with members of the Big 7 state and local organizations
to discuss how best to develop a strong partnership to address national
policy. 

"We are committed to maintaining a strong federal-state-local
partnership and look forward to working with next administration to
solve the challenges facing our country and better serve Americans."