Pittsburgh's Peduto among mayors asking new administration for financial relief

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto is among the more than 280 mayors calling on congressional leaders to “take immediate action” on coronavirus relief legislation proposed by President Joe Biden.

The legislation, called the American Rescue Plan, would provide $350 billion to state and local governments.

“Providing direct, flexible aid to cities is the most efficient and immediate way to help families and their communities who have been suffering for far too long,” a letter by the U.S. Conference of Mayors says.

Among Pennsylvania’s cities, Peduto was joined by Monessen Mayor Matthew Shorraw, Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez, Easton Mayor Salvatore Panto, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti in signing the letter.

Mayor @billpeduto has joined a bipartisan coalition of more than 280 mayors nationwide calling on Congress to take action on pandemic & local government relief measures.@usmayors wrote to Congress urging them to support President Biden’s economic plan. https://t.co/IlVJ7ItvNh

— Office of the Mayor (@TheNextPGH) January 20, 2021

Peduto has lobbied for federal aid throughout the pandemic, which has erased the financial gains made by Pittsburgh in the last six years.

“There will not be a recovery if our cities are left to die,” Peduto said in July, when a similar call to action from mayors to Congress was made.

Pittsburgh has avoided layoffs, but will need to make about $24 million in budget cuts — more than 600 jobs — if financial help isn’t approved by July.

Peduto, a Democrat who announced last week he is seeking a third term as mayor, has been supportive of the Biden administration’s initial actions, which included rejoining the Paris Climate Accord.

The Paris accord garnered Pittsburgh a level of notoriety as it was used by then-President Trump in June 2017 as a reason the U.S. was withdrawing from the agreement.

“I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris,” Trump said at the time.

It prompted Peduto to reiterate the city’s support for the environment and the terms of the accord by pinning a message on his Twitter account (which fixes the message at the top). Peduto unpinned the tweet Wednesday as Biden took office.

For over 3.5 years, I have pinned this tweet to my account. Over 26M impressions, over 10K cities worldwide joined together. Today, President Biden rejoined the Paris agreement (and I unpinned this tweet from my account :). https://t.co/ppLQZBbKCE

— bill peduto (@billpeduto) January 20, 2021

“Recommitting to the Accords shows our country’s resolve to face twin challenges of our time — climate change and economic injustice — and reinforces the belief that we can solve the problems confronting us by working together and fostering innovation,” Peduto said in a statement.

“All of the principles being followed by the Biden-Harris administration — from promoting immigration to fostering equity to protecting those facing economic woe — are priorities of Pittsburgh as well,” Peduto said. “Cities like ours never abandoned our commitments to save our planet and our people.”