Washington Report

Advocacy Updates from Washington D.C.

NAR Supports Enhancement of Senate Jobs Bill

March 19, 2012

On March 14, 2012, NAR signed onto two coalition letters, urging Senate Majority Leader Reid and Republican Leader McConnell to expand the Senate jobs legislation to include provisions aimed to enhance the flow of credit to the small business and commercial real estate sectors.

In one letter, NAR requested the Senate leaders to include S. 1835, the “U.S. Covered Bond Act,” sponsored by Sens. Hagan (D-NC) and Corker (R-TN), in the Senate jobs bill. The inclusion of this legislation could provide an additional new source of capital to commercial property owners by creating a statutory framework for a U.S. covered bond market. Already successfully used in Europe and Canada, covered bonds allow banks to raise funds by issuing pools of high quality assets as eligible collateral to investors, enabling these financial institutions to extend vital credit to businesses.

In the other letter, NAR urged Senate leadership to also include S. 509, the “Small Business Lending Enhancement Act,” introduced by Sens. Udall (D-CO) and Snowe (R-ME), as a separate amendment in the Senate jobs legislation. S. 509 will increase the cap on credit union member business lending (MBL) from 12.25% to 27.5% for well-capitalized credit unions, allowing these community-based institutions to provide small businesses with much needed capital to remain competitive and refinance their properties in a safe and sound manner.

Read the Covered Bond Letter
Read the Credit Union Letter

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