Niki Tsongas: “I care deeply about the health of our Nation's cities. Cities, large and small, are our Nation's economic engines, and…”

“I care deeply about the health of our Nation's cities. Cities, large and small, are our Nation's economic engines, and their well-being is critical to the prosperity and well-being of all Americans. Our cities generate wealth and economic development for entire regions; provide the foundation for an educated workforce; offer solutions to climate change and sustainable development; act as gateways for goods and knowledge; and serve on the front lines of homeland security. They are centers of our Nation's cultural activities and sports, and a repository of architectural and historic riches. They represent the diversity and strength of our country. When cities suffer, our Nation as a whole suffers. During the last 8 years, our cities have suffered because we have failed to properly invest in them when economic times were good. Between 2001 and 2009, programs critical to ensuring the health and vitality of our cities, from social services to infrastructure, to economic development, have been cut or flat-funded, even as the Bush administration set records for deficits in debt. Instead of making continuous modest investments in the health of our cities when the economy was good, President Bush chose to shortchange them, bequeathing our country a significant shortfall in infrastructure, housing, services, and veterans' care. The debt exploded under the Bush administration, and we have little to show for it.”