The House Financial Services Committee held an Oct. 22 hearing – “The End of Affordable Housing? A Review of the Trump Administration’s Plans to Change Housing Finance in America” to review the Trump administration’s plans to change housing finance in the U.S.   (Committee memorandum, Oct. 17)

• Witnesses included Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; Dr. Ben Carson, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary; and Dr. Mark Calabria, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director.  Topics discussed included reforms to the Government Sponsored Entities (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Housing Affordability and Rent Control.  (Video of the Oct. 22 hearing)
  
  
• Treasury and HUD unveiled plans last month to wind down the 11-year long federal conservatorships of Fannie and Freddie, which support the multi-trillion U.S. housing market by securitizing and guaranteeing residential mortgages. (Roundtable Weekly, Oct. 4 and (CQ, Oct. 22)
  
  
• The administration plans to reduce the size of Fannie and Freddie with an explicit government guarantee that would be open to private competitors who comply with underwriting standards from FHFA, the federal government’s GSE regulator.
  
  
• Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) stated that the Trump Administration’s housing finance reform plan would be disastrous for the U.S. housing system. She said that the Administration’s plan would abolish affordable housing goals that help to support affordable home ownership and rental housing, replacing them with a mortgage fee that has not been explained in detail.
  
  
• Treasury Secretary Mnuchin testified, “I was surprised and disappointed by the title of this hearing. To be clear, Treasury does not propose – and indeed opposes – reducing or eliminating the government-sponsored enterprises' longstanding support for affordable housing.”
  
  
• During Q&A, HUD Secretary Carson stated that opportunity zone tax incentives revitalize business in specific geographic areas, which then incentivizes the building of affordable housing.
  
  
• In response to question about rent control from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), FHFA Director Calabria agreed there is a lack of affordable rental housing, especially in certain cities like New York – but added he did not think it should be the federal government’s responsibility to tell someone what price they have to rent their property.
  
  
• In a separate development, new data released this week by the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) highlights the ramifications of California joining Oregon and New York in passing sweeping rent control legislation. (Roundtable Weekly, Oct. 11) 
  
  
• The October NMHC Quarterly Survey shows 34% of multifamily firms who operate in rent control jurisdictions have  reduced investments in those areas – a significant jump from the July survey, where 20% of firms indicated they were cutting back investment in rent controlled areas. (NMHC, Oct. 22)
  
  
• Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer addresses rent control in Walker and Dunlop’s recently released “Quarterly Multifamily Outlook Quarterly Report for Fall 2019.”  DeBoer states, “Although we focus on national issues, we do have concerns about the more local trend to enact rent control. These laws are destructive. They may help those people in the short term but those same people are hurt in the long run by giving them lower and lower quality housing. It ends up being very inequitable over time and hopefully the trend will not gain additional traction.”

Regarding housing finance and GSE reform, The Roundtable and 27 industry organizations on March 1 submitted principles for reforming the GSEs.  The letter emphasized that compelling evidence must show the private market is capable of an expanded role before efforts are made to reduce the GSEs' current housing finance footprint. "Ultimately, we believe any reform, be it administrative or legislative, must seek to further two key objectives: 1) preserving what works in the current system, while 2) maintaining stability by avoiding unintended adverse consequences for borrowers, lenders, investors, or taxpayers."  (Roundtable Weekly, March 1)

GSE reform, housing affordability and recent state measures on rent control will be discussed during The Roundtable’s Fall Meeting on Oct. 30 in Washington.

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The U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 22 passed the Corporate Transparency Act of 2019 (H.R. 2513), which would require corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs) to report their beneficial owners to the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).  The bill – introduced by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Peter King (R-NY) – would shift the FinCEN reporting requirements from banks to the business community, requiring every business with fewer than 20 employees to register their beneficial owners with FinCEN.

• A coalition that includes The Real Estate Roundtable sent a letter June 10 to the committee's leadership opposing the Maloney-King bill.  "This legislation would impose burdensome, duplicative reporting burdens on approximately 4.9 million small businesses in the United States and threatens the privacy of law abiding, legitimate small business owners," the letter states.
  
  
• The coalition emphasized that it supports the overall goal of preventing wrongdoers from exploiting United States corporations and LLCs for criminal gain.  Yet the coalition letter detailed significant problems with H.R. 2513. (Roundtable Weekly, June 15)
  
  
• In the Senate, the Improving Laundering Laws and Increasing Comprehensive Information Tracking of Criminal Activity in Shell Holdings (ILLICIT CASH) Act was introduced in June by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Doug Jones (D-AL) and Mike Rounds (R-SD).  (Homeland Preparedness News, June 12)
  
  
• Additionally, a Senate bill addressing beneficial ownership is entitled the True Incorporation Transparency for Law Enforcement (TITLE) Act (S. 1889).  A coalition that includes The Real Estate Roundtable on Oct. 16 sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders strongly opposing the bill.  The letter states, “This legislation would impose duplicative and problematic reporting burdens on millions of small businesses in the United States and would threaten the privacy of law-abiding small business owners.”  (Policy Comment Letter, Oct. 16)
  
  
• The Senate versions have different provisions, have not yet been the focus of a committee hearing, and prospects for a floor vote are uncertain. (BGov, Oct. 22)
  
  
• The White House budget office commented this week that the House measure “represents important progress” but said it must be improved as it moves through the legislative process.  Among the steps recommended by the Administration are “protecting small businesses from unduly burdensome disclosure requirements, and providing for adequate access controls with respect to the information gathered under this bill’s new disclosure regime.”
  
  
• The statement concludes, “The Administration looks forward to continuing to engage in a bipartisan fashion with the House and Senate to address these important issues.”

The Roundtable plans to work with policymakers to stake out a balanced position on the beneficial ownership issue that would inhibit illicit money laundering activity, yet not place unnecessary costs and legal burdens on the real estate industry. 

An Oct. 17 hearing before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, “Solving the Climate Crisis: Cleaner, Stronger Buildings,” focused on reducing carbon pollution and improving resilience in residential and commercial buildings across the nation as a method of countering the effects of climate change.  (Hearing video and witness statements)

• The Select Committee is chartered to study and make recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and develop solutions to combat climate change.  It lacks authority to introduce legislation, but is scheduled to publish a set of recommendations for bill-writers by March 31, 2020.
  
  
• Committee Chair Kathy Castor (D-FL), above, stated at the hearing that “[a]n ambitious national plan for cleaner, stronger buildings requires national leadership. And Congress needs to offer smart incentives, to set a direction for the numerous federal, state, and local officials involved in the buildings sector.”
  
  
• Committee Ranking Member Garret Graves (R-LA) emphasized that reauthorization of the flood insurance program and other Committee recommendations must “advance[ ] the goal of resiliency, [housing] affordability, and energy efficiency conservation. [W]e can achieve multiple goals.”
  
  
• The Real Estate Roundtable has long been a leading advocate for energy efficiency in buildings, spearheading significant policy developments in this arena.  For example, the Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC) was critical to the creation of EPA’s ENERGY STAR for buildings program in 1998, and its evolution to ENERGY STAR for Tenants in 2015.
  
  
• Recently, SPAC’s assistance to EPA resulted in improved and updated models for federal ratings regarding building energy efficiency performance.  (Roundtable Weekly, July 19).  Current SPAC initiatives include efforts to refine the next version of ENERGY STAR for Tenants (to be unveiled in 2020 and cover retail as well as office leased spaces), and coordinate with the agency on key data it collects regarding the carbon footprint of the nation’s electricity grid.
  
  
• On the legislative front, The Roundtable has long supported the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness (ESIC) Act (S. 2137), co-sponsored by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).  (Roundtable support letter for S. 2137) The Senate Energy Committee advanced the ESIC Act last month. (Roundtable Weekly, Sept. 27).
  
  
• The ESIC Act “is exactly the kind of smart, forward-looking policy that will help building owners respond to our modern, evolving economy” Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer stated in a Senate news release upon the bill’s introduction this summer.  (Roundtable Weekly, July 19) (Video of DeBoer’s statement)
  
  
• Also in the Senate, Delaware Democrat Chris Coons and Indiana Republican Mike Braun have formed a climate caucus aimed at creating bipartisan consensus on ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.  The purpose of the Senate Climate Solutions Caucus is outlined by the two Senators in an Oct. 23 opinion piece in The Hill. 

The Roundtable will provide comments to the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, summarizing our energy efficiency advocacy agenda.  The committee’s questions for stakeholders are posted at https://climatecrisis.house.gov/inforequest, with submissions due by November 22.