Dear Fellow Members,
I just returned from the NAR Mid Year meeting in Washington D.C. The main reason for this meeting is to have the opportunity to go to the Capitol and meet with our area legislators to make sure they understand the issues that are important to Realtors, Homeowners and our industry. As the only trade organization that advocates for private property rights, this is one of the most important things we can do to protect the future of home ownership in this country. And while this year was no different in that regard, there was one other issue that was creating much more buzz: RPPSI.
For those of you who don’t know what that stands for –it is the Realtor Political Party Survival Initiative. This initiative is in response to a 2010 Supreme Court ruling, which changed the requirement that only Hard funds (such as those contributed by you to RPAC) be used to pay for Independent Expenditures. IEs’ are campaign efforts, such as ads and mailings, used by third parties to influence the outcome of a particular race. This ruling allowed Corporations to contribute unlimited soft funds to help shape public opinion about candidates and issues.
If Realtors want to still be able to effectively advocate for private property rights, we would need to support this Initiative to compete with corporate interests. So on the subject of the Initiative, there was little or no debate.
The debate came on how to fund the Initiative. One option was to put the Public Awareness Campaign on the back burner and use the $35 that we each pay annually, to fund the RPPSI. The other option was to increase our NAR by $40 annually. The second option was the one for which the delegates ultimately voted.
Here are just a few of the Legislative issues that NAR is dealing with at this time on your behalf:
- Affordable and Available Property Insurance-NAR is urging Congress to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program for at lease five years and end the uncertainty of extensions and shutdowns.
- The future of the Secondary Mortgage Market-NAR is urging Congress to enact legislation to restructure the secondary mortgage market GSE’s (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) in a way that provides the federal government with a continued role to ensure mortgage liquidity in all markets under all economic conditions.
- Access to Affordable Mortgage Products-NAR opposes mandatory increases in mortgage down payments as proposed by financial regulators.
- Preserving Home Ownership Tax Benefits-NAR urges preservation of the tax rules that apply to home ownership, specifically the Mortgage Interest Deduction.
- Short Sales-NAR urges passage of H.R. 1498 that will require servicers to approve or disapprove a short sale within 45 days of a request for approval of a short sale.
These issues strike at the very heart of our industry and the future of homeownership as we know it. $40 is a small price to pay to protect them.
Monica Spillane
2011 SABOR President
