Roundtable Weekly – Page 50 – The Real Estate Roundtable

Roundtable Submits Comments to SEC on Climate Risk Disclosure Proposal

Posted on June 10, 2022November 8, 2023 by Trey Jackson

The Real Estate Roundtable submitted comments today to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on a proposed rule that would require all registered companies to disclose material financial risks related to climate change. The comments were developed with The Roundtable’s Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), chaired by Tony Malkin (Chairman, President and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust). (GlobeSt, March 22)

Extensive Climate Risk Disclosures

The SEC’s proposal, “Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors,” is a key component of the Biden Administration’s efforts to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. (CBS-AP | Bloomberg | Axios, March 21)
If the rule is finalized, compliance would phase-in over the next several years. All SEC registrants would be required to quantify their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, assess the economic impact of rising sea levels related to their assets, and report in SEC filings (for the benefit of investors) on these and other climate-related risks through annual 10-Ks and additional filings. (SEC News Release | Proposed Rule | Fact Sheet, March 22)
The SEC’s extensive draft rule has raised significant concerns throughout the U.S. business community. (ClimateWire, June 2). The proposal includes new disclosure requirements for “Scope 3” GHG emissions, which are generated outside a business’ direct control by partners, suppliers, and consumers that make up the “value chain” of that business. (EPA Scope 3 Inventory Guidance and Fourkites).

Roundtable Response

The Roundtable’s comment letter is summarized as follows:
- Registered Companies Should Not be Required to Report on Emissions From Sources They Do Not Own or Control.
  When applied to the CRE context, this means that a building owner should not be under a mandate to report on emissions attributable to the operations of tenants in leased spaces. For example, emissions from metered electricity in a tenant-leased space should not be the CRE owner’s responsibility to report to the SEC.
- Create a “Safe Harbor” for Emissions Calculated with U.S. Government Data and Tools.
  Reporting companies should be protected by a “safe harbor” that insulates emissions disclosures from liability—in both SEC enforcement as well as private litigation—when calculations are based on the best, available, and most recent data and tools released by the federal government.
- There Should be No Scope 3 Reporting “Mandate.”
  Scope 3 disclosures typically depend on GHG data possessed by suppliers and other businesses in a reporting company’s value chain. Registrants should not be under any Scope 3 disclosure mandate because they frequently cannot get the basic data to quantify those “indirect” estimates.
- Wait Until a Registrant has a Full Year of “Actual” Data Before Requiring Emissions Disclosures.
  The proposal as written effectively requires two separate emissions disclosures each fiscal year. The SEC should only require emissions filings once a year—after a company has all of the “actual” data it needs to support and verify its calculations.
- Financial Risks from Severe Weather Events Should be Subject to “Principles-Based” Reporting—As Opposed to One-Size-Fits-All “Prescriptive” Rules.
  Risks from floods, droughts, and similar events should be subject to narrative, “principles-based” reporting. The SEC should drop its proposed “prescriptive” rule that registrants should precisely quantify impacts from climate-related events if they have a one-percent or greater impact on any line item in a financial statement.

Policymaker Concerns

The Biden administration is expected to push forward with a final rule that could be issued later this year.
Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, sent a letter to the SEC on April 4 outlining his concerns with the proposal.
Senate Republicans also expressed their opposition to the SEC proposal in an April 5 letter.
House Republicans have called for a hearing on the SEC’s proposal—signaling heightened oversight should they win the majority in this November’s mid-term elections. (E&E News, May 10)

The Roundtable’s comments to the SEC will be a focus of the SPAC meeting on June 17, held in conjunction with The Roundtable’s Annual Meeting.

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President Biden Announces Plan to Fight Inflation With Federal Reserve in Lead Role

Posted on June 4, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

President Joe Biden affirmed this week that the Federal Reserve will take the lead role in his administration’s efforts to tame inflation. The Fed’s “Beige Book” of regional economic surveys also confirmed the economy is facing headwinds of high inflation, supply chain issues and labor market difficulties. (Barron’s, May 31 and MarketWatch, June 1)

Top Economic Priority

Biden announced a three-pronged plan to fight inflation as his “top economic priority” in a May 30 Wall Street Journal op-ed, where he noted the Fed will have the primary responsibility to control rising prices.
Biden stated his second goal is to push Congress to act on cost-reduction measures such as clean energy tax credits and a Housing Supply Action Plan recently proposed by the administration. Lastly, he listed that Congress must act to reduce the federal deficit, citing a May 25 report by the Congressional Budget Office. (CBO Budget and Economic Outlook: 2022 to 2032).
Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also met with President Biden this week (see photo with video link, above) to reiterate their “laser focus on addressing inflation.” Biden remarked, “With a larger complement of [Federal Reserve] board members now confirmed, I know we’ll use those tools of monetary policy to address the rising prices for the American people.” (White House remarks and video, May 31)
The next meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee is June 14-15, when it is expected that the Fed’s benchmark interest rate will be increased by half a percentage point. (AP, May 25)
The White House previously announced plans to combat inflation on May 10 that included proposals to increase taxes on large corporations and the wealthiest Americans – and possibly eliminate Trump-era tariffs on foreign imports. (White House Inflation Plan | News conference video | The Hill, May 10)

Beige Book & Sentiment Index

In the Fed’s June 1 “Beige Book,” the majority of the twelve Federal Reserve Districts reported slight or modest growth. Survey respondents cited labor market difficulties as their greatest challenge, followed by supply chain disruptions. Rising interest rates, general inflation, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and disruptions from COVID-19 cases (especially in the Northeast) round out key concerns impacting household and business plans, according to the Fed’s surveys.
Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer commented on similar findings in The Real Estate Roundtable’s Q2 2022 Economic Sentiment Index. “Our Q2 Sentiment Index reveals bright spots for lease demand in a wide swath of the economy, particularly regarding life sciences, industrial, multifamily, and data center assets. At the same time however, high inflation, rising interest rates, labor and supply chain shortages are increasing costs associated with all real estate development and operations. The impact of ongoing war in eastern Europe is another cloud tempering optimism.”
He added, “We urge national policymakers to focus on creating jobs and supporting strong real estate asset values. Both actions would buttress the overall economy and help local community budgets provide needed safety, education and transportation services.” (Roundtable news release, May 13)

CBO Projections

The CBO’s May 25 Budget and Economic Outlook noted that although the deficit is projected to fall to about $1 trillion — or 4.2 percent of GDP — in the current fiscal year from almost $2.8 trillion last year, demographic pressures and other factors will push deficits steadily higher in later years.
These pressures on the federal deficit could have an impact on the prospect for legislation addressing “tax extenders” later this year during a post-election, congressional “lame duck” session.

Inflation, interest rates and other economic conditions will be a focus of discussion during The Roundtable’s Annual Meeting on June 16-17 in Washington, DC (all member meeting).

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Discussions Gain Momentum on Reconciliation Package

Posted on June 4, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

Congress returns to Washington next week as talks on a scaled-back reconciliation package between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) have reportedly gained momentum, with a focus on climate and energy provisions, deficit reduction, and lowering prescription drug costs. (Wall Street Journal, May 28 and Axios, May 27)

The Reconciliation Route

Axios reported last night that Manchin’s separate talks with several Republican Senators on the contours of a pared-down, bipartisan legislative package have reached an end. (Axios, June 2 and Roundtable Weekly, May 6)
Manchin, who stymied the Build Back Better (BBB) Act from moving forward last year, is the key to a possible alternative Democratic reconciliation bill that could pass the 50-50 Senate on a party-line vote.
Sen. Manchin and Sen. John Thune (R-SD), who holds the number two position in Senate Republican leadership, will be among the guests during The Roundtable’s Annual Meeting on June 16.
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is also a crucial centrist vote. She discussed policy issues at The Roundtable’s April 25 Spring Meeting. (Roundtable Weekly, April 29)

Scaling Back

The Schumer-Manchin discussions are now reportedly addressing a pared-down package involving $800 million to $1 trillion in revenue from a new minimum tax on large company profits and increased IRS enforcement. Half of these revenues would go to deficit reduction. (Wall Street Journal, May 28 and Axios, May 27)
Some of the remaining revenues would reportedly focus on possible tax incentives for reducing carbon emissions and support for existing energy sources. An extension is also under consideration for Affordable Care Act health insurance subsidies, which are scheduled to expire later this year as the November mid-terms approach.

The most significant portion of the moribund BBB Act’s proposed spending was focused on climate policies. The Roundtable on Nov. 16, 2021 sent a letter to congressional tax writers detailing five recommendations on green energy tax provisions affecting real estate that were part of the BBB Act. (Roundtable Weekly, Nov. 19, 2021)

Time is short to move any new legislative package via reconciliation with midterms looming. Manchin has stated the only deadline is Sept. 30 to pass a spending bill, although other policymakers have signaled it would have to be done before the August recess. (Wall Street Journal, May 28 and Reuters, May 27)

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Roundtable-Supported Fed Liquidity Facility Bolstered CRE Finance During Pandemic

Posted on May 27, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

A report published this week by the Dallas Fed concludes that the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility (TALF) played a key role in bolstering commercial real estate finance during the pandemic. The Federal Reserve added outstanding CMBS as eligible collateral for lending through the TALF in 2020 after urgent requests from business coalitions that included The Real Estate Roundtable. (Roundtable Weekly, April 17, 2020 and Joint Trades letter, March 24, 2020)

TALF & CRE

The report by three authors with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ Research Department states the value of CRE assets at the onset of the pandemic in Feb. 2020 – particularly office towers, retail centers and hotels – suddenly became uncertain. The TALF’s subsequent support of asset-backed securities successfully anchored CMBS prices and helped to steady CRE finance during a tumultuous economic environment.
The TALF, previously used during the 2008 financial crisis, was relaunched by the Fed on March 23, 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
A business coalition that included The Roundtable on March 24, 2020 urged the Federal Reserve, Treasury, and Federal Housing Finance Agency to immediately expand the TALF to include non-agency CMBS – including legacy private-label conduit and single-asset single borrower (SASB) assets. The coalition stated the inclusion of private-label assets would stabilize asset prices and shore up the balance sheets of market participants. (Joint Industry letter)
On April 9, the Federal Reserve announced the range of TALF-eligible collateral would expand to include triple-A rated tranches of both outstanding (legacy) CMBS, commercial mortgage loans and newly issued collateralized loan obligations. However, the updated term sheet excluded single-asset single borrower (SASB) CMBS and commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs). (Federal Reserve news release and Term Sheet)
Six real estate industry organizations, including The Roundtable, wrote again to federal regulators on April 14, 2020 about the urgent need to include a wider range of investment grade commercial real estate debt instruments in the Fed’s TALF.
The 2020 letter stated, “Commercial and multifamily real estate assets that were perfectly healthy just weeks ago now face massive stress and a wave of payment and covenant defaults.”
The Fed on May 12, 2020 broadened the range of leveraged loans that could be used as collateral for the TALF to include new Triple-A rated collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) with leveraged loans. (Fed news release and Term Sheet)

TALF Lessons

A recent Federal Reserve paper entitled “Crisis Liquidity Facilities with Nonbank Counterparties: Lessons from the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility” explores the constructive role of the TALF in depth.
The TALF and other emergency lending facilities were closed in late 2020 as part of a multi-trillion “omnibus” bill providing pandemic relief and government operations funding – but the Fed can re-start TALF if emergency economic conditions arise again in the future. (Roundtable Weekly, Dec. 22, 2020)

The report published this week concludes the TALF proved especially important in supporting commercial real estate finance. “The TALF program structure provided needed liquidity to investors at the height of the pandemic, but it incentivized borrowers to exit as normal market conditions returned, allowing the program to quickly unwind,” the article states.

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Roundtable Calls for Common Sense Gun Policy

Posted on May 27, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer, above, issued a statement today on gun violence in America.

“Enough is enough. Congress must set politics aside. We call on Congress to use its moral authority to help make our schools, places of worship, work, shopping and recreation more safe from gun violence.”
“Democrats and Republicans must come together, in a national act of healing, and pass common sense legislation to remove weapons of war from America’s cities and communities. Enough is enough,” DeBoer said.

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New Legislation to Reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program Released Before House Committee Hearing

Posted on May 27, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

The House Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, and Insurance held a hearing on May 25 to address the reauthorization and reform of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Funding for the program is set to expire on Sept. 30 if reauthorization is not passed by Congress. (Hearing Webcast and Committee Memorandum)

Since the last major reauthorization expired at the end of fiscal 2017, there have been 19 short-term NFIP extensions and several brief lapses, according to the committee’s memo.
Five draft bills were released in conjunction with the hearing, including two from House Financial Services Committee Chair Maxine Waters (D-CA). Her first bill would reauthorize the program for five years, renew flood risk mapping and mitigation funds, and offer discounted rates to lower-income households. Water’s second bill would cancel the indebtedness of the NFIP.

The Roundtable View

The Roundtable supports a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP with appropriate reforms that create long-term stability for policyholders, improved accuracy of flood maps, improved mitigation, enhanced affordability, and the acceptance of non-NFIP policies for commercial properties. (Roundtable website)
Under the current NFIP, commercial property flood insurance limits are very low – $500,000 per building and $500,000 for its contents. Lenders typically require this base NFIP coverage, and commercial owners must purchase Supplemental Excess Flood Insurance for coverage above the NFIP limits.
The Roundtable and its coalition partners support NFIP reauthorization with the inclusion of provisions that permit a voluntary “commercial exemption” for mandatory NFIP coverage if commercial property owners currently maintain adequate flood coverage.
Given the low coverage amounts provided to commercial properties, it is important to permit larger commercial loans to be exempt from the mandatory NFIP purchase requirements.

Congress will face the possibility of yet another NFIP funding extension before September 30 if policymakers cannot agree on reforming the program through legislation.

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Healthy Workplaces Policy Coalition Launches With Roundtable’s Backing

Posted on May 27, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

The “Healthy Workplaces Coalition” launched this week with the backing of The Real Estate Roundtable to support federal policies that promote health and safety in offices and other work environments. (Coalition news release and 1-pager, May 25)

Roundtable Support

More than 40 national organizations, industry leaders and trade associations will collaborate on federal policies to support the health and well-being of employees, customers and the public in workplaces and across the built environment.
The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) and ISSA–The Worldwide Cleaning Industry Association lead the Coalition. The Roundtable and Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International join them on the Steering Committee, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) is among the Coalition’s founding members.

“Revitalizing downtown communities hit hard by the pandemic depends on getting America’s workers back to the office place – and supporting the mom-and-pop restaurants and stores that serve our central business districts,” said Jeffrey D. DeBoer, President and CEO of The Real Estate Roundtable. “Policies that support investments to improve indoor air quality and other healthy building strategies will not only accelerate the return to the workplace, but improve the long-term resiliency of our nation’s built environment.”
The Healthy Workplaces Coalition launch announcement cited a recent Honeywell survey, which showed 72% of office workers worldwide worry about air quality in their workplaces’ buildings.

Back-to-the-workplace issues were the focus of a Roundtable virtual town hall in March with U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Martin Walsh and Roundtable Chair John Fish (Chairman and CEO, Suffolk). Town hall participants Fred Seigel (President and CEO, Beacon Capital Partners) and Owen Thomas (CEO, Boston Properties), emphasized the importance of healthy building strategies as key measures necessary to prompt workers’ return to office environments. (Watch video discussion | Roundtable Weekly, March 18)

Policy Focus

The coalition will support federal incentives and other policies that help businesses defray some of the extra costs they incur for heightened sanitization and safety practices prompted by the spread of COVID-19.
For example, the coalition aims to build support for legislation such as the bipartisan Healthy Workplaces Tax Credit Act (S. 537), introduced by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), backed by The Roundtable since the height of the pandemic. Companion legislation pending in the House (H.R. 1944) is sponsored by Reps. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Darin LaHood (R-IL).
The Portman-Sinema bill would provide a refundable tax credit against payroll taxes for 50 percent of the costs incurred by a business for adhering to health guidelines, as well as support for training and education on the prevention of virus transmission.
Similarly, the recently introduced Airborne Act sponsored by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) would provide a tax credit for businesses to conduct indoor air quality assessments, and create a voluntary certification program for CRE owners that meet heightened ventilation standards. (Beyer news release, May 9)

Reopening businesses and the country is an important priority in The Roundtable’s 2022 Policy Agenda: “Connection, Commitment, and Collaboration – Supporting Federal Policy Through Experience and Innovation in 2022” – and will be a focus of discussion during The Roundtable’s all-member Annual Meeting on June 16-17 in Washington.

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Biden Administration Marks Six-Month Anniversary of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Posted on May 20, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu led a group of Biden administration cabinet officials this week in recognizing the six-month anniversary of the $1 trillion infrastructure package, noting the 4,300 projects underway with more than $110 billion in allocated funding. (White House Fact Sheet and YouTube news conference, May 16)

Implementation Efforts

The Biden Administration has published an interactive map showing where the $110 billion will be spent. Of that total amount, $52.5 billion is for federal highway funding this fiscal year, $20.5 billion for public transit, and $27 billion over five years for bridges, airports, ports, the electric grid, and other infrastructure programs.
Ninety percent of funding authorized by the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) enacted last November will be implemented by governors and mayors. In January, the White House requested state and local leaders appoint infrastructure coordinators to manage the flow of funds. (White House Fact Sheet, May 16)
A White House guidebook to IIJA-funded programs released on Jan. 31 provides a key tool for states and local governments to apply for federal grants, loans, and public-private partnership resources under more than 375 infrastructure investment programs. (The Hill, Jan. 31 and Roundtable Weekly, Feb. 4)
Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated on March 28 that the administration’s budget includes $100 million in recommended funding for the Hudson Tunnel commuter rail project, which is part of the Gateway Program, a series of strategic rail infrastructure investments along the Northeast Corridor. (Railway Age, March 29 and The Center Square, March 30)

Roundtable Support

The Roundtable has long supported federal transportation infrastructure investments to spur economic growth, support local communities and enhance America’s competitiveness. (Roundtable Weekly, Nov. 12, 2021)

The Roundtable’s 2022 Policy Agenda states, “The IIJA allows $550 billion in new infrastructure investments, estimated to create around 2 million jobs per year over the next decade. This long-term investment in physical infrastructure can re-imagine how we can productively move people, goods, power and information from home to work, business to business, community to community – and building to building.”

Landrieu noted that many large infrastructure projects funded by the law will take years to build out. “This is going to be Infrastructure Decade,” he said. (Reuters, May 16)

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White House Announces Comprehensive Plan to Increase Affordable Housing Supply

Posted on May 20, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

The White House this week announced a plan to create hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units in the next three years, with the goal of closing the nation’s housing supply shortfall in five years. The Housing Supply Action Plan includes zoning incentives and new government financing to address an estimated shortfall of 1.5 million homes nationwide. (PoliticoPro, May 16 and Moody’s Analytics, March 2021)

Comprehensive Approach

The White House proposes a range of administrative and legislative actions that aim to build and preserve rental housing for low- and moderate-income families. The Biden administration’s proposed actions include:
- Expanding and improving federal financing for affordable multifamily development and preservation using funds from prior COVID relief legislation.
- Disposing of federal properties to create affordable housing for the homeless. Proposed regulations aim to make the disposition process easier to navigate for affordable housing developers and strengthen the process to identify suitable properties for potential developers.
- Financing more than 800,000 affordable rental units by expanding and strengthening the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). The proposal would infuse $55 billion to expand LIHTC and include a 10 percent annual increase in 9 percent allocations from 2022 to 2024—and a reduction in the 50 percent bond test to 25 percent from 2022 to 2026. (Multi-Housing News, May 18)
- Working with Fannie Mae to invest in construction to permanent loans; and reforming the HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME).
- Ensuring that more government-owned foreclosed homes go to owner-occupants or non-profits for rehabilitation, rather than to large institutional investors.
- Rewarding jurisdictions that have reformed zoning and land-use policies with higher scores in certain federal grant processes, for the first time at scale.
- Expanding federal financing of manufactured housing, accessory dwelling units (ADUs), 2-4 unit properties, and smaller multifamily buildings.

Transit-Oriented Development

The Housing Supply Plan also seeks to provide incentives to increase housing density around transit hubs, goals long-supported by The Roundtable. These actions include:
- Leveraging transportation funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) last November for transit-oriented programs to encourage state and local governments to boost housing supply. (Roundtable Weekly, Nov. 12, 2021)
- Directing the Department of Transportation (DOT) to use IIJA and other transit-oriented discretionary grant programs to encourage locally driven land use reform, density, rural main street revitalization, and transit-oriented development that integrate affordable housing. DOT earlier this year released three funding applications for competitive grant programs totaling nearly $6B in funding to achieve these goals. (GlobeSt., May 18)
- Updating DOT program guidelines to increase financial support for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program projects that include residential development. (President Biden Announces New Actions to Ease the Burden of Housing Costs | The White House, May 16)

The National Multifamily Housing Council and National Apartment Association applauded the Biden administration plan. Their joint statement noted the housing supply crisis requires the private sector to work with local, state and federal governments to reduce regulatory burdens and encourage the development and rehabilitation of housing of all types and price points.

The Real Estate Roundtable’s Research Committee’s co-chairs have drafted a report on affordable housing that will be discussed at the Roundtable’s Annual Meeting in June. Additionally, The Real Estate Capital Policy Advisory Committee (RECPAC) has formed an Affordable Housing Working Group, which is working with the Research Committee to develop proposals on expanding the nation’s housing infrastructure.

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White House Releases Plans to Battle Inflation and Streamline Infrastructure Permitting; Congressional Leaders Urge Swift Implementation of New EB-5 Law

Posted on May 13, 2022October 27, 2023 by Trey Jackson

President Joe Biden this week committed that his administration’s top economic priority is battling inflation. Biden’s efforts to combat rising prices include proposals that would increase taxes on large corporations and the wealthiest Americans – and possibly eliminate Trump-era tariffs on foreign imports. (White House Inflation Plan | News conference video | The Hill, May 10)

The Labor Department reported that consumer prices increased 8.3% in April compared to one year ago, as inflation remains near a four-decade high. (Labor Department news release and AP, May 11)

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell discussed the Fed’s inflationary goals during an interview this week with Marketwatch, stating, “Whether we can execute a soft landing or not, it may actually depend on factors that we don’t control.” The Fed recently approved the biggest interest hike in 22 years and announced plans for reducing its nearly $9 trillion balance sheet. (CNBC, May 12)

Powell also recently stated, “There is a broad sense on the committee that additional 50 basis point increases should be on the table at the next couple of meetings.” He added, “the American economy is very strong, and well-positioned to handle tighter monetary policy.” (Wall Street Journal, May 4)

A semi-annual report released this week by the Fed detailed risks to financial stability, pointing to the potential impact of inflation, sharply rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine. The report also flagged a decline in liquidity. “While the recent deterioration in liquidity has not been as extreme as in some past episodes, the risk of a sudden significant deterioration appears higher than normal,” according to the report. (Wall Street Journal, May 9)

Powell was approved this week to serve a second term as Fed Chair by a bipartisan Senate vote of 80-19. (Politico, May 12)

Infrastructure Permitting

The White House this week also unveiled a plan to strengthen and accelerate federal permitting and environmental reviews funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed last November. (White House Fact Sheet, May 11 and Roundtable Weekly, Nov. 12, 2021)

The Biden administration said its Permitting Action Plan will improve environmental reviews to avoid duplicity and will create sector-specific teams aimed at speeding permitting and resolve supply chain issues that hinder construction.

EB-5 Regional Centers

Four congressional leaders wrote a bipartisan letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week to counter a statement by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that existing EB-5 regional centers must apply for recertification. The USCIS statement, if put into effect, would delay regional center enterprises from seeking new foreign investment pending reapproval. (Congressional letter, May 9)

The letter was signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Senate Judiciary Committee members John Cornyn (R-TX) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Their letter clarified that previously existing regional centers are not required to be recertified under the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 passed last March – but the centers must swiftly meet all of the new law’s anti-fraud and homeland security protections. (EB-5 investors blog, May 10)

USCIS’s position is also the subject of a pending legal challenge in California federal trial court. (Behring Regional Center LLC v. Mayorkas)

The Roundtable-supported EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act was the first significant update to the regional center program since its creation by Congress in the early 1990s. (Roundtable Weekly, March 11, Roundtable news release and EB-5 Fact Sheet)

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