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senior staff writer
(in photo
at right: More than 2,300 delegates are gathered at the Washington Hilton
in Washington, D.C. for NACo's 1997 Legislative Conference.)
Vice President Al Gore headlines this year's NACo Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., as delegates meet Feb. 28 - March 4 to hear from Administration and Capitol Hill officials.
Gore will address delegates on Monday, March 3 at the 8:30 a.m. General Session at the Washington Hilton and Towers, the traditional site for NACo's annual winter meeting. Attendance this year rivals the record-breaking 2,500 mark set in 1993.
The vice president will likely brief NACo members on the Clinton Administration's agenda concerning the continuing shift of federal program responsibilities into the hands of state and local governments.
In addition to Gore, the speaker line-up features congressional leaders and Clinton Cabinet members.
Speaking on behalf of the Administration are Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew M. Cuomo (Sunday General Session, 1 p.m.), Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman (Monday General Session, 8:30 a.m.), Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala (Monday General Session, 3:30 p.m.), and Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater (Monday General Session, 3:30 p.m.).
Congressional representatives include House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), both scheduled for Monday's Delegate Luncheon at noon, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), chair of the Senate Democratic Steering Committee, at Monday's 3:30 p.m. General Session.
Also appearing at this session will be 18-year-old Jorgan Harrel of Los Angeles County, Calif., who will speak on the merits of youth job training programs.
The final day of the conference, Tuesday, March 4, will culminate with a 10 a.m. rally on the steps of the Capitol in support of the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA).
Congressional lawmakers, including House Surface Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Petri (R-Wis.) and Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), ranking member of the subcommittee, will join delegates in urging full funding for the program that supplies money to counties for roads, bridges and special projects.
Attendees will also have more than 40 workshops to choose from on six different topic areas, including legislative policy, rural county issues, leadership, financial management, county services and information technology.
Liberal political analyst Bob Beckel and conservative commentator Arianna Huffington make their encore appearance by kicking off the Opening General Session at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 2 with a light-hearted, one-hour debate on the issues of the day. Beckel and Huffington delighted delegates with their banter at last year's Annual Conference in Harris County (Houston), Texas.
(County News staff will provide daily conference updates on-site via
the Internet March 2-4. To access, contact: www.naco.org/leg97/index.htm.)