WASHINGTON (May 22, 2003) – For the second consecutive Congress, a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives has cosponsored legislation that will keep banking conglomerates out of real estate brokerage and property management and permanently stop a proposed rule pending before the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board, the National Association of Realtors® announced today.

A total of 229 members of the House and 17 U.S. Senators have signed onto the Community Choice in Real Estate Act (H.R. 111/S. 98) since the legislation was reintroduced on January 7, the first day of the 108th Congress, by Reps. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) and Paul E. Kanjorski (D-Penn.) and Sens. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). These latest cosponsorship numbers reflect recent Capitol Hill visits by Realtors who were in town for NAR's Midyear Legislative Meetings last week.

Banking conglomerates are seeking permission to sell and manage real estate via a proposed rule before the Federal Reserve and Treasury. However, the proposed rule is contrary to what Congress intended when it passed the 1999 Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. At the behest of Rep. Anne Northup (R-Ky.), a budget provision barring Treasury from finalizing the rule was included in the fiscal year 2003 spending package passed by Congress and signed by President Bush earlier this year. The Community Choice in Real Estate Act would amend the Bank Holding Company Act and permanently prohibit big banks from entering the real estate business.

"For the second Congress in a row, a majority of the House of Representatives has affirmed that banking conglomerates should not be allowed to add real estate brokerage to their ever-expanding list of business ventures," said NAR President Cathy Whatley, owner of Buck & Buck Inc. in Jacksonville, Fla. "The new cosponsorship numbers, coupled with passage of the Northup amendment earlier this year, show that Congress never intended to allow banks to get into real estate."

"We had over 245 members of the House and 15 Senators on board the Community Choice in Real Estate Act last year and we're on track to surpass those milestones this year," said Martin Edwards Jr., NAR immediate past president. "On behalf of almost 900,000 Realtors and countless communities all across the country, we call on Congress to accede to the will of the majority and pass the bill. We will not relent until the Community Choice in Real Estate Act becomes the law of the land."

"We also expect the Treasury Department to abide by congressional intent – the cosponsorship numbers don't lie – and deny the proposed rule. We continue to believe that banks cannot obtain through regulation that which they obviously cannot get through legislation," Edwards said.

A number of consumer, community and small business advocates have voiced their support because they agree that if big banks were allowed to take over local real estate businesses, there would be a negative impact on communities across America, leaving home buyers and sellers with fewer choices, higher loan fees and reduced customer service.

Organizations that have voiced support for the Community Choice in Real Estate Act include the Building Owners and Managers Association, CCIM Institute, Consumers Union, Institute of Real Estate Management, International Council of Shopping Centers, National Affordable Housing Management Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, National Auctioneers Association, National Fair Housing Alliance, National Federation of Independent Business, National Leased Housing Association and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

"Housing continues to be the leading sector of our economy. Approximately 68 percent of new growth in our gross domestic product (GDP) last year was housing-related. We're thrilled that a majority of the House and close to 20 Senators agree that America simply cannot afford to allow big banks to take over the real estate business, which continues to be the leading pillar of our economy," Whatley said.

The National Association of Realtors®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing over 880,000 members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Published: May 23, 2003

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