“We applaud the initiative by Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi to create a bipartisan task force that provides a forum for local and state government leaders to engage with Congress,” said Marc Ott, ICMA Executive Director. “It creates a platform where we can have a dialogue about the issues facing our nation as well as the pragmatic solutions that may improve the quality of life for our residents.” The seven leading organizations that represent state and local governments at the federal level – the National Governors Association, National Association of Counties, National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, International City/County Management Association, National Conference of State Legislatures and The Council of State Governments – today issued the following statement on Speaker Paul Ryan’s and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi’s creation of the Speaker’s Task Force on Intergovernmental Affairs: “We appreciate Speaker Ryan and Leader Pelosi creating this new bipartisan task force. This is a significant step forward in strengthening the federal-state-local partnership. “Our nation faces major challenges and major opportunities. Whether we’re addressing tax reform, infrastructure, health care reform, federal regulations or other issues facing our communities, we must work together to achieve results for our residents. “All federal policy decisions impact state and local governments. A strong partnership is necessary to ensure that we are all working toward common goals – serving the needs f America, state by state, community by community. “We look forward to working with Speaker Ryan, Leader Pelosi and this bipartisan coalition of lawmakers to build on the advances we’ve made at the state and local levels. With our federal partners, we can make tremendous strides to improve residents’ quality of life in every corner of the country.”