LaredoBuzz.Com

 Washington, DC. —City of Laredo Mayor Raul G. Salinas, in Washington for the 78^th Winter Meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors, met with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder after the Attorney General’s speech to the Conference of Mayors.  Salinas thanked the attorney general for the commitments he made in his speech to build strong federal-local partnership on the border and the Justice Department’s pledge to enact comprehensive immigration reform.  The mayor suggested that President Obabma’s Administration’s commitments to the border could be strengthened by creating a funding priority category in the COPs program for border communities.

 Mayor Salinas explained: “Laredo’s leaders have been traveling to Washington for years seeking a strong federal-local partnership on the border.  It was gratifying to hear Attorney General Holder’s commitment, but we don’t just need verbal commitments, we need funds.  For that reason, while congratulating General Holder on his speech, I asked him to keep Laredo and our colleagues on the border in mind when the administration next doles out funding for the COPs program.  I also asked General Holder to ensure Laredo’s police officers received some of the vests made possible by the Justice Department’s new $11 million bullet-proof vest initiative.   I am fully committed to making sure that Laredo’s police officers have the best in life safety gear.”

 Earlier in the day, Mayor Salinas met with Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack to talk about Laredo’s desire to be granted pioneer status in a new program that would permit personnel funded by the WIC program to conduct health tests. 

 “Laredo’s Heath Department Director Dr. Hector Gonzalez has long championed this program, and Laredo’s health department could do a great job pioneering its implementation,” he said.

 The mayor also enjoyed meeting with Robert Kennedy, Jr.   Kennedy, a national environmental advocate, spoke to the Conference about the need to employ power sources such as solar power to reduce our commitments to carbon based energy.  Mr. Kennedy asked to be invited to Laredo to offer hints on how the city and its citizens might achieve energy savings.