CREFC’s 2023 DC Fly-in
December 4, 2023
On November 29, CREFC members spent the day meeting with lawmakers and their staff on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The series of meetings included market updates and discussion of several key issues.
Why it matters: Direct, in-person engagement with Congress is a key tool to highlight the industry and critical issues it faces, especially during market distress and amid increasing regulation.
What they’re saying: Overall, there is bipartisan concern on regulatory overreach and the impact on CRE and Housing. Beyond the agenda items, discussions spanned CRE loan performance, housing, office conversions, and return to work.
CREFC’s meetings focused on three key policy issues:
- Basel Endgame Capital Requirements: CREFC is concerned increased capital requirements will further hamper credit availability.
- SEC Conflicts of Interest: As the rule was finalized days before, CREFC highlighted key “wins” in the regulation but cautioned that there could still be negative impacts on some participants.
- SEC 15c2-11 and Rule 144A: CREFC thanked lawmakers for their focus on exempting 144A bonds from a backdoor rule change that was set to take effect in 2025.
Over the course of the day, CREFC met with offices including, House Financial Services Chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), Rep. Bryan Steil (R-WI), Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA), Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), and Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA).
Interested in joining next time? CREFC will be scheduling future fly-ins in 2024.
- Join a CREFC Forum (click here if you have not yet joined a forum).
- Contact David McCarthy (dmccarthy@crefc.org) to get more involved on Capitol Hill efforts.