Roundtable President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer yesterday discussed the organization’s national policy priorities in the current Congress with Roundtable Board Member Holly Neber (CEO, AEI Consultants and President, CREW Network) during the 2019 Connect Los Angeles conference.  (Watch video of DeBoer’s discussion, March 21)

RER President and CEO Jeffrey DeBoer yesterday discussed the organization’s national policy priorities in the current Congress with Roundtable Board Member Holly Neber during the 2019 Connect Los Angeles conference  .

The policy discussion, “What’s Next!? What’s Happening in Washington and What Does it Mean for Your Business?” explored topics such as terrorism, infrastructure, foreign investment and tax reform before a standing-room only crowd of more than 500. (Video, LA Connect)

• DeBoer profiled several compelling policy issues of importance to commercial real estate, including terrorism risk insurance.  DeBoer explained, “… TRIA, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, put in place after 9-11 because the direct insurance industry and the resinsurance industry said they couldn’t measure and predict a terrorism attack.  If they can’t measure and predict it, they can’t offer the product.  If they can’t offer the product, businesses can’t get all-risk insurance.  If you can’t get all-risk insurance, you can’t get financing.  So this issue of TRIA being extended … since being in place since 2002, is very important to liquidity. It’s very important to market stability.  And we want to get it extended by the end of this Congress, by the end of 2020.”    

•  TRIA was enacted in 2002 and was extended in 2005, 2007 and 2015. Without Congressional reauthorization, the program will expire on December 31, 2020.

• DeBoer also addressed the need for Congress to pass legislation that will address infrastructure improvements on a national level.  "We need to recognize that we are in a new transportation revolution.  And it’s changing and we’re going to change in the next 10, 15 years; the way we access our infrastructure.  We want to get this infrastructure bill done.  We want to get it as broad as possible.  We want to bring in as much private capital as we can," DeBoer said, emphasizing that public-private partnerships can play a major role in infrastructure improvement projects.  (see Infrastructure story above)

• He also discussed tax policy priorities, including repeal of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) and recently introduced legislation that would change taxation of carried interest (see Tax Policy story above).

• Among the other policy issues that DeBoer said The Roundtable is focused on are reform of the Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; encouraging the development of affordable and workforce housing; and environmental issues with the EPA, including ENERGY STAR.  (Video of DeBoer’s discussion, March 21)

The Roundtable released its 2019 National Policy Agenda during its January State of the Industry Meeting in Washington (Roundtable Weekly, Feb. 1).