North Dakota mayors along with city and county leaders from South Dakota and Wyoming were also invited to the White House event. The group heard from eight high ranking cabinet officials including Counselor to the White House Kellyanne Conway, U.S. Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta and U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary Mark Menezes. The attendees were invited to a White House tour prior to the meeting.
The event was part of a series of meetings the White House
has been holding for more than a year with county-level officials from around
the country, state-by-state. President Trump started these meetings in an
effort to strengthen relationships between counties and the federal government.
“By the end of the year, every county commissioner in the
nation will have been invited to the White House. These meetings are
unprecedented, never before has a President held such events. Thirty-four states
have now been represented at the meetings,” said Deputy Assistant to the
President and Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Douglas Hoelscher. “The
President wants to do everything possible to push decisions back to county and
city leaders. He wants to make this an ongoing dialog.”
Not only did attendees receive information from cabinet
officials but they were given direct contact information for access to the
various federal offices and encouraged to reach out regarding projects and
issues. “It is up to us as county officials to continue and maintain the line
of communication with these high-ranking individuals,” commented Cass County Commissioner
Chad Peterson.
“It appears this administration is really trying to improve
on relations with local government to make sure our needs and concerns are
addressed on the federal level. Billings County has a lot of federal lands, so
whether it be funding for PILT, roads and bridges or search and rescue we need
to have the ability to make our concerns known to the top federal officials,”
said Billings County Sheriff Pat Rummel.
Under Secretary of Energy Menezes highlighted numerous
efforts made by the Trump
administration to increase energy production in the
U.S. He stressed that the President supports expanding energy infrastructure in
energy states in order to become more energy prosperous.
Kellyanne Conway addressed the opioid crisis, announcing
additional federal funding that will be provided to states to combat the opioid
problem. She highlighted the success of the National Prescription Drug Take
Back Days, which was responsible in collecting nearly one million pounds of
pills on the most recent Take Back Day. She also addressed the importance of
law enforcement seizures in attacking drug trafficking. She said in 2017 ICE
officers intercepted fentanyl at a level that could have killed all of America.
“The cabinet officials we met with made it clear, this
administration is about helping counties serve their citizens, not hinder them,”
said Peterson. “We are already seeing how under President Trump’s leadership
the United States Government is rolling back regulations and requirements that
in the past had been placed on counties.”
Six County Commissioners and seven County Sheriffs attended
the meeting. Commissioners attending the meeting were: Chad Peterson, Mary
Scherling, Rick Steen all of Cass County; Nathan Berseth, Richland; Cody
Schulz, Morton; and Cynthia Pic, Grand Forks. Sheriffs attending the meeting
were Pat Rummel, Billings; Clayton Coker, Dunn; Sarah Warner, Hettinger; Gary
Schwartzenberger, McKenzie; Steve Nelson, Ramsey; Terry Oestreich, Stark; and
Chad Kaiser, Stutsman. North Dakota Association of Counties Government Affairs
Specialist Donnell Preskey Hushka accompanied the group.
Pictures
from White House Visit available at this link:
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