About Us
The Real Estate Roundtable’s (RER) Fall Roundtable Meeting convened members in Washington this week, on the heels of the historic midterms, to discuss prospects for year-end legislation and the new Democratic leadership’s expected 2027 agenda for tax, housing, banking, and energy policy.
The two-day program covered prospects for reauthorizing the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program, EB-5 legislation, and passing permitting reform before year-end, opportunities for bipartisan agreement on ways to expand housing supply in the next Congress, and what shifts in tax, trade, housing, and energy policy could mean for commercial real estate investment. (RER’s Fall 2026 Policy Priorities and Executive Summary)
Roundtable Leadership
- At his first Fall Roundtable Meeting as RER Board Chair, Owen D. Thomas (Chairman and CEO, BXP) welcomed members to the policymakers dinner at the National Archives and said he looks forward to leading The Roundtable’s advocacy in Washington and working with newly elected members of Congress to show how commercial real estate supports job creation and economic growth.
- Speaking just steps from the U.S. Constitution at the National Archives, RER President and CEO Jeffrey D. DeBoer recalled how RER drew on the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause and a white paper it commissioned from former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement to challenge a provision in the ROAD to Housing Act that would have required companies that build single-family rental homes to sell them after seven years. “Ultimately, that forced-sale proposal … was removed by the language in that very document sitting right behind us,” DeBoer said.
- DeBoer also spoke about RER’s challenge coin, which members received. “Traditionally, challenge coins represent camaraderie, trust, and a shared mission among leaders,” he said. “This Roundtable coin represents the strength of bringing top real estate owners, lenders, managers, and trade associations together to speak as one cohesive voice in Washington.”
Speakers & Policy Issues
Roundtable members engaged in policy discussions with the following guests:
- (L-R): Marc Short (former Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence and Founding Partner, Advance Strategies Consulting) and Terry McAuliffe (former Governor of Virginia and Democratic National Committee Chair) joined for a bipartisan post-election conversation on the state of American politics, the shifting balance of power in Congress, and the economic issues driving voters.
- (L-R): Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) (Ranking Member, House Ways and Means Committee), who is expected to return as committee chair in January, joined John Fish (Chairman and CEO, Suffolk; Past Chair, RER) to discuss economic policy priorities for the next Congress, Affordable Care Act tax credits, tariffs, the federal deficit, and how zoning and land-use decisions affect housing supply and affordability. (RER’s Tax Policy Priorities)
- (L-R): Mike Sangaline (Deputy Assistant Secretary of Building Technologies and Development, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)) and Anthony Malkin (Chairman and CEO, Empire State Realty Trust; Chair, RER’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee) discussed how energy production, grid access, ENERGY STAR’s transition to DOE, and rising electricity demand from data centers are shaping commercial real estate development. (RER’s Energy Policy Priorities)
- John Sitilides (Senior Fellow for Global Risk, The Center for the National Interests; Principal, Trilogy Advisors, LLC) offered a global risk and market outlook presentation, examining how shifting international alliances, trade negotiations, and tariffs are shaping business investment and market conditions. (The Geopolitics of Global Disruption: Trade, Technology, Energy & War)
Next on RER’s meeting calendar is the all-member State of the Industry Meeting (SOI) on Jan. 28-29, 2027, in Washington, D.C., which will include policy advisory committee meetings.
