On Tuesday, February 13, Lael Brainard, National Economic Advisor, and Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, met with county elected officials to discuss how President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is spurring historic investments in clean energy and manufacturing in communities too often left behind and positioning them for an economic comeback. The meeting was held during the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference with participation from Administration officials, private sector executives, and non-profit leaders.

The meeting opened with remarks by White House leadership about the President’s focus on delivering for areas left behind by trickle-down economics and the importance of collaborating with local government when implementing economic policy. The Brookings Institution and Massachusetts Institute of Technology presented a new report that finds that a disproportionate share of recent investments in strategic sectors is going to economically distressed counties – delivering on the President’s commitment to ensuring no community is left out or behind. This report confirms similar findings by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on clean energy investments spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act.

County officials shared their on-the-ground experiences accessing federal programs and attracting private sector investment. Administration officials then spoke about the resources available to county officials, which can ease the costs of preparing industrial sites or delivering on projects. Private sector experts in advanced manufacturing offered expertise on how firms strategically consider different localities for investment, the role of financing, and how to approach site readiness. The session concluded by identifying potential resources available from the public, private, and non-profit sector for county officials to continue driving equitable economic growth in communities across the country.

Participants:

Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President and National Economic Advisor
Tom Perez, Senior Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Joelle Gamble, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council
Alex Jacquez, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy, National Economic Council
Stephanie Sykes, Special Assistant to the President for the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs
Cassandra Robertson, Director of Labor Policy, National Economic Council
Matthew Chase, CEO and Executive Director, National Association of Counties
Mark Ritacco, Chief Government Affairs Officer, National Association of Counties
Michael Matthews, Legislative Director, National Association of Counties
Alejandra Castillo, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, Department of Commerce
Jigar Shah, Director of the Loan Programs Office, Department of Energy
Brian Anderson, Executive Director, Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization

Dan Hardcastle, Special Policy Advisor, Department of Housing and Urban Development
County Executive Sara Innamorato, Alleghany County, Pennsylvania
County Executive Ryan McMahon III, Onondaga County, New York
Commissioner DeMont Davis, Clayton County, Georgia
County Executive John Olszewski, Baltimore County, Maryland
Hon. Manuel Ruiz, Supervisor, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
Geoff Segal, Senior Vice President, Macquarie Group
Chuck Whipple, Vice President and Director of Business Development, ECS Southeast
Joe Parilla, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Dr. Raj Varadarajan, Senior Partner Emeritus at Boston Consulting Group
Ann Lichter, Director, Resource Rural
Lisa Hansmann, Senior Advisor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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