CNBC
(2/21/2013 6:36 PM, Don Walker)

As part of President Barack Obama's State of the Union call to help the nation's middle class, the government plans to create "promise zones" in as many as 20 distressed communities across the country, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said in Milwaukee on Thursday.

Donovan met with Mayor Tom Barrett, Racine Mayor John Dickert, U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore and other community leaders to discuss ways to help the middle class and rebuild communities.

Part of that plan calls for the promise zones, which Donovan said could be located in urban neighborhoods or rural counties. "We would bring together a whole set of federal tools . . . to help mayors rebuild their communities," Donovan said.

Funds designed for the zones could be used to rebuild public housing, rehabilitate or rebuild private housing, create new education opportunities, provide criminal justice help and offer health care assistance, Donovan said.

"The president is fighting for the middle class," Donovan said.

The secretary said there would be an open competition among communities for the federal money. Leaders of the communities seeking federal assistance will need to provide a clear vision of what is achievable, he said.

"The federal government can't do it alone," Donovan said.

Donovan said $500 billion a year is spent on costs associated with children growing up in poverty. That money is spent on emergency room visits for treatment, prison care and other related costs. He said a person's ZIP code is the single biggest predictor of whether that person can fulfill his goals in life.

Donovan said members of Congress must put aside partisan differences and work together to enact legislation to help the middle class.

He spoke at the Milwaukee Center for Independence, 2020 W. Wells St.