WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- USCM President Philadelphia (PA) Mayor Michael A. Nutter today released the following statement in response to President Obama's State of the Union Address:

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"The nation's mayors are pleased that President Obama spoke tonight about moving this country forward with a comprehensive plan that will directly impact the communities we loyally serve.

"The President's repeated push for a balanced approach to deficit reduction while also investing in our nation's infrastructure, job creation and initiatives in manufacturing represent progress – particularly for the middle class who are struggling to support their families, keep their homes, and manage health care costs at the same time.

"The President's proposal to reduce gun violence, occurring now every day in our cities, is part of his strong national commitment to reduce the culture of violence, stop the easy access to guns by those who should not legally possess them, and increase access to badly needed mental health services in this country.

"And the President's proposal to reform our immigration policies and provide a pathway to legally recognize people who for years have been contributing to the economic fabric of this country is progress toward bringing millions of people out of the shadows and providing them real opportunities to succeed.

"Mayors know that cities and their metropolitan areas drive this nation's economy as the employment, transit and residential centers of America, so investment in local economies -- in Main Street -- clearly means economic growth for the nation.

"As a nonpartisan organization of pragmatic 'doers' who work together everyday to promote progress in our nation's cities, The U.S. Conference of Mayors stands ready to work with the President and Congress to bring Washington together for the good of our local economies to ensure a sustained national recovery."

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are 1,295 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor. Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/usmayors, or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/usmayors.

SOURCE The U.S. Conference of Mayors