This week’s Real Estate Roundtable Fall Meeting featured discussions with U.S. policymakers regarding national public policies affecting the commercial real estate industry, job creation and the economy. 

Roundtable Chair Debra A. Cafaro (Chairman & CEO, Ventas, Inc.)

• Roundtable Chair Debra A. Cafaro (Chairman & CEO, Ventas, Inc.) opened the meeting stating: "The 'results-oriented' focus of The Roundtable continues to emphasize our optimism about the economy and the positive contributions the real estate industry provides as a job creator and a cornerstone for retirement savings."   She added, "we must continue to proactively advance policies that promote a healthy balance of capital and people flows to create sustainable economic growth that is good for our industry and our national economy." 

Meeting speakers included:  

• Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper (D-CO) called for private-public collaboration to address a range of national policy challenges affecting urban, suburban and rural areas, including workforce housing and infrastructure.
• Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) discussed incentivizing the private sector to achieve pro-growth economic policy. 

  Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper (D-CO) called for private-public collaboration to address a range of national policy challenges affecting urban, suburban and rural areas, including workforce housing and infrastructure.

   
• Craig S. Phillips — counselor to U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin — addressed issues such as GSE reform; reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2015 (TRIPRA) beyond its scheduled expiration date at the end of 2020; the ongoing implementation of recent tax law changes; and the new federal "Opportunity Zones" investment program. (Roundtable Comment Letter, June 28)  
• Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) — member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the only former Fortune 500 CEO in Congress — emphasized the need for bipartisanship in Congress to address an ongoing budget deficit crisis and eliminate regulatory redundancy.
• Kevin Warsh — former Governor, Federal Reserve (2006-2011) — discussed the strength of the current economy and future potential economic risks.  Mr. Warsh's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal this week addresses the Fed's nearly $3 trillion balance sheet and maintaining a "neutral real interest rate."
• Bob Woodward — Pulitzer Prize-winning Journalist & Author, The Washington Post — spoke about his latest book, Fear: Trump in the White House and the mid-term elections. 

The Roundtable's State of the Industry Meeting and it's policy advisory committees will meet January 29-30, 2019 in Washington, DC.