‘Evidence-Based’ Provisions Localities Are Backing in 2019 Appropriation Bills
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Denis Poroy / AP Photo
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings are the only city officials to individually sign on.
The mayors of Los Angeles and Dallas joined eight localities backing “evidence-based, results-driven” provisions in the fiscal 2019 House and Senate Appropriations committees bills.
In a letter sent to Congress on Thursday, the 150 members of the bipartisan Invest in What Works Coalition of current and former public officials, nonprofits and public policy school deans advocated for everything from $10 million for a state and local workforce data quality initiative to language encouraging evidence-based interventions in school improvement plans.
Local governments want to see the federal government rely increasingly on data to determine where its limited funds are invested at the lower levels.
“Our nation continues to face severe budget constraints at all levels of government as well as enormous social and economic shifts,” reads the letter. “These factors, combined with an increasingly globally competitive workforce, require us to invest taxpayer dollars in the most effective and efficient manner possible.”
Other provisions supported include $88 million to improve employment outcomes for the incarcerated under the Department of Labor and $400 million to expand the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program in states under the Health and Human Services Department.
The coalition also wants to see the Department of Education spend $180 million on the Education Innovation and Research program in states and localities and both the departments of Justice and Housing and Urban Development to allow participation with other federal agencies in public-private partnerships.
Montgomery County, Maryland Executive Isiah Leggett; Chula Vista, California; Dallas; Gilbert, Arizona; Milwaukee; Providence, Rhode Island; South Bend, Indiana; Tyler, Texas; King County, Washington; and the Louisville Metro Government in Kentucky also signed the letter.
A complete list of provisions can be found here.
Dave Nyczepir is a News Editor at Government Executive’s Route Fifty and is based in Washington, D.C.
NEXT STORY: Aid-in-Dying Gains Momentum as Erstwhile Opponents Change Their Minds