President Biden welcomed a bipartisan group of mayors attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting at the White House on Friday.

He told the mayors that the American Rescue Plan has spent $15 billion on infrastructure and public safety.

The president said much of that money went directly to cities to hire and equip police officers, institute violence intervention programs, and fund other crime prevention programs.

"You've done a tremendous job putting those resources to work. You know how to do it," President Biden said. "Mayors are the people who get things done."

He said that, at the urging of his staff, he is continuing his push for a revival of the 1990s-era "Assault Weapons Ban."

The ban, which he said he helped the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) write, was in place from September 1994 to September 2004.

President Biden claimed the ban reduced violent crime, including mass shootings. That claim has motivated his administration to push for a renewal of the policy.

"My staff came to me and said, 'We need a White House office dedicated to getting guns off the streets and treating the trauma from violence," he said.

"I'm still committed to banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

"When we passed the Second Amendment, guess what? You weren't allowed to have a cannon."

During his speech Friday, President Biden drew chuckles from the mayors as he derided an argument sometimes made by Second Amendment advocates against "assault weapons" bans.