Weekly Update to Federal Political Coordinators

Treasury Bailout

You’ve undoubtedly heard about the Department of Treasury’s $700 Billion plan to bail out Wall Street this week. While President Bush and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have stated that the bailout is necessary to the stability and soundness of the US economy, many on Capitol Hill have balked at its price tag and the cost to taxpayers.

Congress continues to work on a plan that will adequately protect the taxpayer while also providing the needed actions to stabilize the markets. Such stabilization is key to the ability of applicants obtaining mortgage loans and lenders having liquidity, and thus to the health of the housing market.

To see important information on the proposals available at this time, please visit REALTOR.org at:
http://www.realtor.org/gapublic.nsf/pages/gses_conservatorship?OpenDocument .
If you have questions, please feel free to contact either Tony Hutchinson at thutchinson@realtors.org or 202-383-1120 or Jeff Lischer at jlischer@realtors.org or 202-383-1117.

NAR’s Broker Involvement Program

It’s likely that you’ve heard about the Broker Involvement Program this year as it’s rolled out. Based on the “All Politics is Local” concept, we’re asking brokers to get their agents more involved in the grassroots. Much like a Call for Action (CFA) goes out from NAR, the Broker Program allows brokers to send broker-branded CFA messages to their agents, encouraging them to respond. The results have been excellent so far, and we’ve seen response rates go higher than the national average. We’d now like to reach out to you, our most politically active group of REALTORS, to take part. Are you a broker-owner? Please consider signing up for this most important program. If you’re not a broker-owner, you can still help! Please ask your broker to sign your office up so that everyone in your office can be as responsive as you are to a CFA.

If you’d like more information about the Broker Involvement Program, or to sign up, please contact Ed Lawler at elawler@realtors.org or 202-383-1156, Erin Murphy at emurphy@realtors.org or 202-383-1079 or Jackie Zaporowski at jzaporowski@realtors.org or 202-383-1091.

Tip of the week: Some of you have asked if NAR could use the current bank bailout situation to work to keep banks out of real estate permanently. While Congress will likely do little other than get this bailout bill passed before they leave for the year (to work on their campaigns), NAR this week, began running ads in all of the Capitol Hill papers to that end. To see this ad, please visit the REALTOR Action Center at:
http://www.realtoractioncenter.com/bank_ticker2.pdf . It’s probably worth putting a bug in your Member of Congress’ ear the next time you see them - food for thought is never a bad thing.

Need to get to the REALTOR Action Center? Click:
www.realtoractioncenter.com .
(Coming Soon: A brand new REALTOR Action Center. Stay Tuned.)

Previous Issues |
Monday, September 22, 2008

In This Issue

Business Report
NAR to Meet With OMB on RESPA
Congress Holds RESPA Hearing
NAR Sends Follow-Up Letter to HUD on Administrative Broker Commissions

Federal Tax Report
IRS Issues Guidance on Tax Credit
Leasehold Improvements Renewal, Extension in Senate

Housing Report
Legislation to Permit Seller-Funded Downpayment Assistance Moving in the House
NAR Unveils FHA Toolkit Product

Business Report
NAR to Meet With OMB on RESPA

NAR and other organizations representing the real estate mortgage and settlement service industry will meet with officials from the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) regarding the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposed rule on the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act on September 24 at 3:30 p.m.

This meeting follows the September 16th Congressional hearing conducted by the House Financial Services Committee Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations on RESPA and a letter to OMB authored by Representatives Hinojosa and Biggert urging OMB to advise HUD to send the rule back to HUD with instructions to revise the proposed rule by coordinating RESPA and Truth in Lending disclosures with the Federal Reserve and other agencies.

The September 24th meeting will be the fourth time NAR has met with OIRA officials at OMB on the proposed RESPA rule in the last nine months. In the most recent meeting on July 24th, NAR President-Elect, Charles McMillan, joined the Chairman of the Texas Association of Realtors®, Randy Jeffers and representatives from the Texas Land Title Association and the Independent Bankers of Texas to urge the withdrawal of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).

Scott Rinn 202-383-7508, Marcia Salkin 202-383-1092