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Significant transition came to Washington this week as Republicans officially secured a slim majority in the House of Representatives for the 118th Congress that convenes on Jan. 3. The GOP will control House committees for the final two years of President Biden’s current term, ensuring a clash of policy approaches.

The Real Estate Roundtable’s Q4 Economic Sentiment Index dropped to an overall score of 39, five points lower than the previous quarter. Commercial real estate executives cited a reduction in available equity and debt capital, changes in post-pandemic office use, general business cost cutting, and employee layoffs among the contributing factors causing market uncertainty and a decrease in transactions.

Congress returns next week for a lame duck session after the midterm elections, which have left party control in the Senate and House uncertain as final votes are tallied in races throughout the country. A new policy landscape for 2023 will take shape as current policymakers work on a funding deal by Dec. 16 to avert a partial government shutdown.

The Real Estate Roundtable submitted extensive comments to Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today that address various clean energy tax incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed by Congress in August.

This week, U.S. security officials released information on their efforts to secure the nation’s election infrastructure and protect American voters from intimidation, discrimination or threats of violence related to the Nov. 8 midterm elections. The potential for political violence, cyberattacks and mitigation strategies were also among the topics of discussion during yesterday’s Real Estate Roundtable Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) virtual meeting.

Lawmakers returning after the midterm elections for a lame duck session will work on a possible FY2023 “omnibus” budget package that may include tax policies of importance to commercial real estate.

A Roundtable-led coalition of 16 national real estate organizations on Oct. 12 recommended certain enhancements and expansions to the Revitalizing Downtowns Act (S. 2511, H.R. 4759). The bill was introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) to encourage the conversion of older buildings into new uses.