Category: News

Industry Coalition Urges Congress to Consider Opportunity Zone Rule Changes to Spur Investment in Hard-Hit Communities

Posted on by Trey Jackson

An 11-member industry coalition, including The Real Estate Roundtable, urged Members of Congress on May 14 to consider Opportunity Zones (OZ) rule changes that could spur investment, promote capital formation and bolster job growth in economically disadvantaged  communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.  (Coalition letter, May 14)

  • Opportunity Zones seek to stimulate jobs and growth where they are most needed by encouraging taxpayers to make long-term, patient investments in targeted, low-income communities.  On Thursday, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell reported that “among people who were working in February, almost 40 percent of those in households making less than $40,000 a year had lost a job in March.” (Chairman’s Prepared Remarks, May 13)
  • The coalition letter asks Congress to make three critical improvements to the Opportunity Zone incentives.  The changes would:
  • Allow opportunity funds to raise capital from all sources, not just gain rolled over from a recently disposed investment.
  • Spur productive real estate investment in low-income communities by providing that a 50 percent increase in the basis of a building constitutes a substantial improvement of the property.
  • Strengthen the economic incentives by codifying the tax rate on deferred gain and extending for two years the recognition date for deferred gain, and consequently, the deadlines that must be met in order to qualify for the increase in basis for gain rolled into an opportunity fund.
  • The coalition’s legislative suggestions come not long after Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and eight other Senate Republicans made several regulatory Opportunity Zone recommendations on May 4 in a letter to Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Rettig.  (Roundtable Weekly, May 8)
  • The Senators encouraged 10 specific changes in their letter, which states, “Significant challenges arise from the inability to raise capital; decreased demand for space, products and services; a decline in the local economy; governmental delays; supply chain interruptions; and uncertainty regarding valuations and ability to secure loans and necessary funding apart from Opportunity Zone capital gain investments.”

The role of investment in Opportunity Zones may be addressed in eventual Covid-19 stimulus legislation in Congress.  The Roundtable’s Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC) will continue to collect and share information regarding with policymakers regarding the real estate industry’s experience with the Opportunity Zone tax incentives and the impact on low-income communities of real estate-focused opportunity funds.

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Roundtable Members Address Workplace Return Strategies and Technology

Posted on by Trey Jackson

CNBC interview Bill Rudin ReOpening Offices

Roundtable members addressed the challenges and techniques in reopening the workplace in a variety of media outlets this week.

  • On May 13, Roundtable Chair Debra Cafaro (Chairman & CEO, Ventas) discussed the steps being taken by the City of Chicago towards reopening with Mayor Lori Lightfoot as part of The Economic Club of Chicago’s virtual program series.  The discussion also covers the city’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other aspects of Mayor Lightfoot’s first year in office. (Video: Mayor Lightfoot’s Prepared Remarks: 00:45 – 29:30, followed by Q&A with Debra Cafaro: 29:30 – 54:00)
  • Roundtable Immediate Past Chair Bill Rudin (Co-Chairman & CEO, Rudin Management Company, Inc.) today joined CNBC for a conversation about the path forward for reopening office space in New York City as employees work from home amid the coronavirus pandemic.  Rudin, above, discussed his building operating system called Nantum, which tracks real time data on metrics like indoor air quality, energy usage, temperature and carbon dioxide.  Rudin also commented on the need for state and local stimulus funding from Congress to support the basic functions of municipalities that will help economic recovery.  (CNBC video, May 15)
  • Roundtable member Scott Rechler (Chairman and CEO, RXR Realty) yesterday participated in a webinar hosted by Axios’ Mike Allen on reopening the economy and the future of workplace safety.  (Axios webinar, May 14).  Rechler discusses a “Leap to Labor Day” project for his company that will rotate employees back to offices on a staggered time basis to avoid congestion.  (Watch Axios webinar)
  • Roundtable Board Member and Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee Chair, Tony Malkin (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.), was quoted this week in a New York Times article on the challenges Manhattan owners and developers may face if the change in work environments evolves from buildings to homes.  He added that New York City’s diverse and educated work force will drive an economic rebound and desire for office space that caters to large industries, including a fast-growing technology sector. (New York Times, “Manhattan Faces a Reckoning if Working From Home Becomes the Norm,” May 12)
  • Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO, Jeffrey DeBoer, discussed what building owners and managers should consider to safely manage the reentry of tenants, workers and visitors in an interview last week with  Dr. Joseph Allen, Assistant Professor at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of its Healthy Buildings Program. (Video, May 6)

The Roundtable’s Building Re-Entry Working Group continues to meet weekly to address issues associated with the restarting of the economy.

Operations and performance standards for healthy buildings will be a topic discussed during The Roundtable’s virtual Annual Meeting on June 11-12, which will include remote events for both business and policy advisory committee meetings.

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Senate Committees Consider Workplace Reentry, Business Liability and Financial Regulations

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Senate hearing social distancing

Senate committee hearings on May 12 addressed Covid-19 issues including reopening businesses and schools, legal liability for businesses, and the role of financial regulations in combatting the economic repercussions of the pandemic.

A “new normal” for congressional hearings was on display as social distancing and remote testimony were put into effect, with lawmakers and witnesses meeting through video conferences to maintain social distancing protocols.

Workplace Re-Entry

  • The health risks associated with reopening places of work, education and recreation were explored during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, “COVID-19: Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School.”
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified that returning too quickly could “turn the clock back, rather than going forward” on the road to economic recovery.  (Stat, May 12)
  • According to Politico, a dozen states will see their stay-at-home orders or business restrictions expire between today and Monday (May 15 to May 18) at the same time other states surpass the two-week point since reopening.  Updated reports on reopening status are available from CNN and the New York Times.

  • The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has developed an interactive state-by-state map of re-opening guidance policies.
  • The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new one-page “decision tool” guidance documents on Thursday that advise businesses, restaurants and bars,  mass transit systems, and other concerns on how to safely reopen during the pandemic.

Business Liability

  • Potential employer immunity and anticipated litigation related to Covid-19 were the focus of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday, “Examining Liability During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
  • Republicans and Democrats expressed that enforceable federal guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), outlining proper health, safety, cleaning and other procedures, would likely be necessary to set standards for business conduct.  Senators also acknowledged that potential plaintiffs asserting liability claims would likely confront challenges in establishing that a business’s actions directly caused a Covid-related injury.   (Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, May 14)
  • “One primary goal out of this hearing is to get the standards in place for business, for universities, for schools, whether they come from the CDC [or] OSHA,” Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said at the hearing.  Standards are needed so businesses “can understand what’s expected of them.  And if they do what’s expected, they don’t need to worry about getting sued. The big hole in the puzzle right now is the standard,” (The Hill, May 12)
  • The Judiciary hearing followed prior statements on employer liability from Republican congressional leaders that “these protections will be absolutely essential to future discussions surrounding recovery legislation” and that any coronavirus stimulus package will not pass the Senate without addressing business liability.  (Roundtable Weekly, May 1)

Financial Regulations

  • The Senate Banking Committee hearing on “Oversight of Financial Regulators” focused on the effectiveness of recent financial regulatory actions implemented to combat the economic impact of the pandemic.
  • Lawmakers shared the sentiment that more could be done by U.S. financial regulatory agencies to broaden the availability of various lending facilities put into effect to get more capital to businesses and communities in need.
  • During the hearing, Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision, Randy Quarles, responded to questions on the need for expanding the Fed’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) by saying there were no “specific changes to suggest” at this time, but that the Fed was “very sensitive to that.”
  • The Roundtable joined industry letters to the Fed on March 24 and April 14 on the need to broaden the range of the TALF to include both outstanding (legacy) CMBS, commercial mortgage loans and newly issued collateralized loan obligations.  On April 9, the Fed confirmed that the TALF would be expanded to include triple-A rated legacy non-agency CMBS and loans.
  • The Fed on May 12 also broadened the range of leveraged loans that can be used as collateral for the TALF.  The Fed will now accept new Triple-A rated collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) with leveraged loans, including refinanced loans and priced as far back as January 2019, as part of the TALF.  (Fed news release and Wall Street Journal, May 12)

Today, a business coalition including The Real Estate Roundtable wrote to financial regulators requesting they clarify their April 7 guidance encouraging financial institutions to work constructively with borrowers impacted by COVID-19.  Specifically, the coalition requests clarification that – in addition to traditional loan products – lending and financing arrangements, such as warehouse lines and repurchase agreements secured by multifamily and commercial real estate loans and commercial mortgage-related securities, are within the scope of the guidance in the Statement.  (Coalition letter, May 15)

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Roundtable Interview Addresses Healthy Building Operations as Governments Develop Economic Re-Opening Plans

Posted on by Trey Jackson

 

Book Covers - Healthy Buildings

With states and cities beginning to re-open economic sectors, what should building owners and managers consider to safely manage the reentry of tenants, workers and visitors?  This was the topic of an interview conducted this week by Real Estate Roundtable President and CEO, Jeffrey DeBoer, with Dr. Joseph Allen, Assistant Professor at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of its Healthy Buildings Program. (Video, May 6)

  • He was inspired at a Roundtable Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) meeting to assemble a report that eventually became “The 9 Foundations of a Healthy Building.”  The publication “takes 40 years of scientific evidence, distills it down to those key factors or features that we know relate to better employee health, improved productivity and help reduce infectious disease transmission.”    
  • Building stakeholders could implement a health safety plan using “a five-step hierarchy of controls” detailed in his April 29 Harvard Business Review article, “What Makes an Office Building ‘Healthy’”
  • Healthy building metrics can contribute to building valuation.  “Start measuring … health performance indicators. Capture all those gains.” He gives a specific marketplace example featured in an April 28 Harvard Business Review podcast case study, “A Tower for the People: 425 Park Avenue.”   
  • There is increased market interest in healthy buildings, especially in light of the fallout from the global pandemic. “This healthy building movement, just like working from home and teleworking, have been slowly rising – and with COVID, it has forced a massive quickening of these movements.”  (Watch interview, May 6)
  • Resources:

The Roundtable’s Building Re-Entry Working Group continues to meet weekly to address issues associated with the restarting of the economy.

Operations and performance standards for healthy buildings will be a topic discussed during The Roundtable’s virtual Annual Meeting on June 11-12, which will include remote events for both business and policy advisory committee meetings.

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Congressional Republicans and Democrats Clash on Including Covid-19 Business Liability Protections in Future Pandemic Relief Legislation

Posted on by Trey Jackson

U.S. Capitol

Liability concerns in a post-coronavirus world are influencing congressional negotiations about the next pandemic relief package as states move forward on easing business restrictions and employers across the country consider plans to reopen.  (AP, April 28 and The Hill, May 1)

  • With the Senate scheduled to return to Washington on May 4, policymakers are staking their priorities about stimulus and other measures that may be included in the next round of Covid-19 related legislation.  The House announced this week they will delay their return until May 11 due to concerns about coronavirus in Washington, DC.
  • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA.) said in a joint statement today that any future stimulus bill must include liability protections for employers.  “Senate and House Republicans agree these protections will be absolutely essential to future discussions surrounding recovery legislation,” according to the statement.
  • McConnell on Tuesday referred to the protections as his “red line” during an interview with Fox News.  “Let me make it perfectly clear, the Senate is not interested in passing a bill that does not have liability protection. … What I’m saying is we have a red line on liability. It won’t pass the Senate without it,” he added. (Fox interview, April 24)
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Wednesday said employees returning to work should have increased safety protections. “Especially now, we have every reason to protect our workers and our patients in all of this. So we would not be inclined to be supporting any immunity from liability,” Pelosi stated during a press briefing.  (National Review, April 29)
  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday said employers pushing workers to return to unsafe conditions during the pandemic should not receive protections.  He stated, “If an employer makes an employee do something that is untenable, shouldn’t an employee have some rights here?” (Bloomberg, April 28).

Negotiations on the next pandemic bill in Congress will intensify this month, as Democrats are expected to push for massive assistance to help state and local governments meet tax revenue shortfalls that pay for essential services.

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Moody’s Releases Interactive Tool Showing Covid-19 Impact on Various Commercial Real Estate Property Types

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Moody’s Analytics on April 22 unveiled a new tool to help commercial real estate market participants assess how the coronavirus crisis is affecting CRE fundamentals across US markets. The COVID-19 CRE Impact Dashboard is a publicly available resource that provides access to economic, property, and construction data, analytics and insights for CRE property types. 

  • Presented as a visual mapping tool, the dashboard brings together Moody’s Analytics CRE capabilities and supplements them with up-to-date information on COVID-19 from public sources.  The dashboard also includes forecasts for market vacancies and rents under different economic scenarios for office, retail, industrial, and multi-family properties.
  • “The coronavirus pandemic is changing the landscape of commercial real estate, as businesses of all types adapt to new economic realities,” said Cristina Pieretti, Managing Director of Moody’s Analytics REIS. “We are offering our new tool to help the CRE community make the critical business decisions necessary to navigate this unprecedented event.”

To access the dashboard, and for more information, visit reis.com or Moody’s Coronavirus blog. 

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House Democrats Propose Pandemic Risk Insurance Program Modeled on TRIA; Senate Attempts to Break Stalemate on “Phase 4” Coronavirus Relief Package

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Capitol_Dusk_rooftop_475w

House Financial Services Committee Democrats this week proposed a federal reinsurance program for pandemic risks as part of the next round of congressional coronavirus relief.   (HFS Committee memo)

  • An April 6 memo from the committee’s majority Democratic staff states the recently enacted CARES Act was only a down payment on the relief needed to fully address the historic negative health and economic effects of COVID-19.  For the next congressional package, the memo recommends policy proscriptions focused on both the crisis and the recovery that includes “Pandemic Risk Insurance.”
  • The draft package’s reinsurance program proposal would be “similar to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program for pandemic risks in order to promote the availability and affordability of insurance coverage that includes pandemic risks.”
  • Whether existing business interruption insurance policies have virus and bacteria-related exclusions is a growing issue between closed businesses and their insurers.  (BGov and Insurance Insider, April 9)
  • Rep. Carolyn Maloney, (D-NY), chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee and a senior member of Financial Services Committee, circulated a letter this week informing colleagues in the House that she is “… developing the Pandemic Risk Insurance Act of 2020, to create the Pandemic Risk Reinsurance Program, a system of shared public and private compensation for business interruption losses resulting from future pandemics or public health emergencies.”
  • Rep. Maloney’s note explains, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The Pandemic Risk Insurance Act (PRIA) would be an important step in our prevention efforts against future pandemics by both requiring insurance companies to offer business interruption insurance policies that cover pandemics, and creating a Pandemic Risk Reinsurance Program to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to cover these losses and protect our economy in the event of a future pandemic. Like the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), the federal government would serve as a backstop to maintain marketplace stability and to share the burden alongside private industry”
  • Rep. Maloney’s pandemic program would be prospective – not retrospective.
  • The current TRIA program would be triggered if losses from certified acts of terrorism attack exceed $200 million across all affected insurers.  The establishment of the federal terrorism backstop – and its multiple reauthorizations over the years – has been a top policy priority for The Real Estate Roundtable since the 9/11 attacks. (Roundtable TRIA webpage) 
  • John Doyle, president and CEO of the insurance unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., offered in a March 30 letter to Congress and the White House to help create a federal pandemic backstop.  Doyle wrote, “The basic framework of a pandemic risk insurance program would be to structure a risk sharing model between policyholders, insurers and the federal government.” 

The Roundtable is working with policymakers and stakeholders to help develop an effective pandemic risk insurance program that addresses the current crisis and provides the economy with the coverage it needs to address future pandemic risks.  

Senate Attempts to Develop a Phase 4 Coronavirus Relief Package

Senate Republicans and Democrats this week failed to reach agreement on “Phase 4” coronavirus legislation that would quickly follow and expand the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed on March 27.  Republicans sought more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for small businesses impacted by COVID-19, while Democrats emphasized any follow up measure to the “Phase 3” CARES Act should include increased funding for hospitals and local governments.  (Akin Gump, April 9 and Deloitte, April 10)

  • Negotiations between congressional leaders and the White House over a Phase 4 package are ongoing.  With the Senate in pro forma session on Monday, there is a chance for a deal to be reached over the weekend.
  • The Senate and House are currently scheduled to return for regular business the week of April 20.  Health concerns for Members of Congress and their staff cast doubt on when they can return to Washington to consider legislation. The only way for Congress to currently vote on and send legislation to President Trump is by using the unanimous consent process, which can be blocked by any single member.
  • Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) last month forced hundreds of his colleagues to return to the Capitol to pass the CARES Act.  He warned on April 8 that he may again block unanimous consent for a Phase 4 coronavirus bill if it is not held with a roll call vote. (The Hill, April 8)

President Trump wrote on Twitter March 31 that a larger infrastructure should be included in the next coronavirus relief bill.  “With interest rates for the United States being at ZERO, this is the time to do our decades long awaited Infrastructure Bill,” President Trump wrote. “It should be VERY BIG & BOLD, Two Trillion Dollars, and be focused solely on jobs and rebuilding the once great infrastructure of our Country! Phase 4.”

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Phase 4 Congressional Package May Provide Additional Direct Relief; Roundtable Urges New Pandemic Recovery Fund and Clarifications to Small Business Loan Issues

Posted on by Trey Jackson

 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)

Leading policymakers floated ideas on a “Phase 4” coronavirus relief package this week immediately after the CARES Act (Phase 3) was signed into law last Friday.  (Roundtable Weekly, March 27)

  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) adjusted her messaging from earlier in the week that another massive legislative package should include economic recovery projects such as infrastructure improvements.  Today, she emphasized Phase 4 should provide additional direct payments to individuals and expanded loans for businesses. (CNBC, April 3)
  • “I think right now we need a fourth bipartisan bill—and I think the bill could be very much like the bill we just passed. So I’d like to go right back and say ‘let’s look at that bill. Let’s update it for some other things that we need,’ and again put money in the pockets of the American people,” Pelosi told CNBC’s Squawk on the Street today.  She added, “While I’m very much in favor of doing what we need to do to meet the needs of clean water, more broadband and the rest of that,that may have to be for a bill beyond this.”
  • On March 31 a broad-based business coalition, including The Real Estate Roundtable, urged President Trump and congressional leaders to establish a COVID-19 Business and Employee Continuity and Recovery Fund.  (Coalition comment letter, March 31)
  • The proposed Recovery Fund would provide additional liquidity for impaired industries and businesses to avoid an unprecedented systemic, economic crisis.  The coalition states the establishment of the Fund is necessary to supplement lending expansion efforts included in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act.  (Roundtable Weekly, March 27)
  • The coalition letter states, “Without broad-based and expeditious federal action, long-term damage to the financial markets, rampant unemployment, and irreparable harm to communities are almost certain.”
  • Additionally, Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer yesterday wrote to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Adminstrator Jovita Carranza urging the release of important clarifications to small business loan issues included in last week’s CARES Act.  (Payroll Protection Program letter, April 2)
  • The Payroll Protection Program (PPP) included in the CARES Act provides an additional $367 billion to SBA to assist small businesses and contains a number of provisions aimed at granting temporary regulatory relief.  (Top-line overview of the program and PPP Interim Final Rule)
  • The April 2 letter recommends 13 principles and clarifications to PPP based on questions from Roundtable members who are trying to determine whether their businesses are eligible under the new loan program.  The letter requests that Congress’s intent should be implemented by providing as much loan assistance as possible to as many small businesses as possible.
  • Late yesterday, Treasury issued an update to its PPP Borrower Application Form. (Treasury Dept Assistance for Small Businesses webpage and The Roundtable’s Coronavirus webpage resources.)
  • Today, the launch of the Payroll Protection Program was met with widespread reports about chaotic attempts to use the PPP portal – unprepared banks not accepting applications; confusion about the need to revise loan applications; and the SBA website  crashing from heavy demand.  (Politico, April 2 and Axios, April 3)
  • However, GlobeSt reported today that anecdotal examples show retail tenants are taking a positive stance in negotiations with landlords.   “Tenants and landlords are being proactive and cooperative with each other, although there have been exceptions with some tenants engaging in hardball with their landlords,” according to the April 3 article.

For the business community, a number of financial programs are available from the CARES ACT, depending on how many workers are employed by a given business concern. See Roundtable summaries of provisions that target:

As negotiations begin on a framework for a Phase 4 relief package between the House of Representatives and the Administration, the Senate is scheduled to return from recess on April 20.  The Roundtable will remain engaged at all levels and offer timely policy alerts as the coronavirus crisis continues to unravel.

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Roundtable Launches Covid-19 Call to Action, Intensifies Legislative and Regulatory Outreach; Debuts Video Blog on Pandemic Policy Efforts

Posted on by Trey Jackson

Jeff DeBoer Video Blog 1 x475 edit

The Real Estate Roundtable today debuted a Covid-19 Video Alert, detailing how the industry has switched into high gear, focused on legislative and regulatory policies aimed at repairing frozen liquidity conditions that threaten the entire American economic system.  (Watch Covid-19 Call To Action)

  • The Roundtable’s Chair, Debra Cafaro (Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Ventas, Inc.) and President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer present the organization’s wide-ranging, intensive efforts with policymakers and regulators in Washington, all aimed at stabilizing the far-reaching economic shockwave unleashed by the pandemic.
  • The Roundtable’s Board of Directors has quickly responded to the crisis by charting a policy advocacy course in Washington – matched by immediate action by Roundtable policy advocacy committees, which have recently analyzed and worked on multiple policy recommendations in the tax and capital & credit areas.
  • Today’s video blog features Cafaro and DeBoer launching the industry call to action.  DeBoer states, “It is the view of The Real Estate Roundtable that our industry, each one of us, must become much more active and aggressive in pointing out the dangers that lurk ahead. We must communicate the connectivity of our industry to jobs, pension and 401K returns, communities and more.”  He adds, “When economic hardships strike, our industry has historically worked tirelessly to help find a positive path forward. We must do that again.”
  • DeBoer explains how the nationwide cessation of income brought on by the outbreak, which now presents new, significant obstacles to economic recovery once the coronavirus is brought under control.
  • He also notes how the severe interruption of residential and commercial rental and mortgage payments – along with eviction moratoriums and a growing rent holiday advocacy movement – is contributing to dysfunction in the credit markets and freezing liquidity.  DeBoer explains how this market freeze will eventually disturb the expected income of millions of people living on pensions and other retirement funds.
  • “The financial system must facilitate positive action to allow issues to be worked out without penalty and without temporarily following strict enforcement guidelines that were written for normal times but that now threaten, in a pro-cyclical way, to make credit markets worse,” DeBoer states.
  • The vlog continues with reports from three Roundtable policy specialists on:

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act expansion of the Small Business Loan Program, which attempted to begin today, and the urgent need to change and clarify its qualification rules;

Regulatory forbearance efforts and new credit facilities recently established by the Federal Reserve, including the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF);

Tax measures passed in the CARES Act, including a new a five-year carryback period and temporay repeal of the 80% limitation for net operating losses (NOLs) from 2018, 2019 and 2020.  Other tax priorities discussed included administrative relief for like-kind exchanges and a tax exemption for debt forgiveness.

Future video blog reports will feature Roundtable senior policy staff, Roundtable member guests and Members of Congress. We will continue to inform and engage policymakers and CRE stakeholders about how Washington is responding to the industry – and how The Roundtable and its  industry trade association partners plan to meet the challenge ahead, together. 

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Policymakers and Industry Leaders Address Affordable Housing and Other National Issues as The Roundtable Rolls Out 2020 Policy Agenda

Posted on by Trey Jackson

The Real Estate Roundtable’s 2020 State of the Industry (SOI) Meeting this week in Washington featured discussions with policymakers and industry leaders on affordable housing solutions, economic development and job creation, infrastructure, tax regulations affecting CRE and other national issues. 

Policy Issues & Featured Speakers   
The SOI meeting included the following speakers: 

  • Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mark Calabria addressed his agency’s oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) – who own or guarantee $5.6 trillion in single and multifamily mortgages. Dr. Calabria spoke about the conservatorships the GSEs have operated under since 2008 and the need to responsibly privatize them while ensuring sufficient private capital is in place to protect taxpayers, along with access to affordable rental housing.
  • House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Patrick McHenry (R-NC) focused on affordable housing in the discussion with Dr. Calabria, moderated by Willy Walker, chairman & CEO, Walker & Dunlop.  Rep. McHenry has served as Chief Deputy Whip to build consensus for the House Republican Conference’s agenda – including passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act last year.  He spoke about his committee’s recent hearings on challenges for effective affordable housing policies, which include a decrease in available housing supply due in part to counterproductive regulations and zoning laws at local and state levels.
  • House Ways and Means Committee Member Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) is the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to Congress and a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee that originates tax legislation affecting the industry.  Rep. Murphy spoke of her efforts to build consensus among her House colleagues by co-chairing the Blue Dog Coalition, a bloc of Democrats who emphasize fiscal restraint – and her efforts to build a solutions-oriented policy approach that can bridge the gap between left and right.
  • Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D), recently re-elected, discussed her state-wide successes in attracting increased economic investment, decreasing unemployment and implementing innovative solutions to the challenges of homelessness and affordable housing.  Gov. Raimondo spoke of her recent proposal to build more affordable housing using a housing bond and dedicated funding stream, along with her support for the federal Opportunity Zones program.  She also discussed her executive order committing Rhode Island to be powered by 100 percent renewable electricity by the end of the decade. 
  • Mike Allen, co-founder and Executive Editor of Axios – a three-year old digital media company delivering news and insights on policy, politics, business and tech – discussed the confluence of this election cycle, social media and the “War for Attention” to gain consumer, and voter, brand loyalty.
  • George Will, syndicated columnist and political commentator, concluded the meeting’s evening event with comments on how historical, economic and societal trends directly influence the current political environment, providing a bellwether for what can be anticipated in future elections.

Roundtable Policy Committees 
SOI also included meetings of The Roundtable’s policy advisory committees, which analyzed policy issues in detail with high-level congressional and agency staff.

  • Research and Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee (RECPAC):
    During this joint meeting, two panels of industry experts addressed  investment and market insights into the current real estate market cycle, along with the state of real estate capital and debt markets.
  • Tax Policy Advisory Committee (TPAC):
    The chief tax counsels from the Senate Committee on Finance discussed what lay ahead for tax legislative priorities affecting commercial real estate.  The discussion, moderated by Russ Sullivan (Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck), included Mark Warren, chief tax counsel for Senate Finance Committee Republicans and Tiffany Smith, chief tax counsel for Senate Finance Committee Democrats.  Additional discussions delved into recent and future real estate-related tax regulations with Treasury Department Attorney-Advisor Bryan Rimmke, as well as new Opportunity Zone rules, proposed LIBOR tax regulations, and the tax challenges confronting foreign investment in US real estate.  
  • Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC):
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency speakers provided an update on the ENERGY STAR for Tenants program.  Additionally, U.S. Energy Information Administration speakers provided SPAC information on the Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) and its impact on ENERGY STAR scores. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) discussed its efforts to create a carbon pricing market — an emerging issue as the real estate sector confronts rising obligations to draw clean power from a de-carbonized electric grid.  
  • Homeland Security Task Force meeting (HSTF) and Risk Management Working Group (RMWG):
    The joint meeting attendees heard briefings by government officials on challenges presented by homelessness – and the risk picture posed by the coronavirus to the United States.  The Task Force was also briefed on cyber threats and the state of insurance markets after the recent seven-year reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), enacted one year before its scheduled expiration date – a major policy accomplishment of The Roundtable in 2019.

Next on The Roundtable’s FY2020 meeting calendar is the Spring Meeting on March 31 in Washington, DC.  This meeting is restricted to Roundtable-level members only.

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