There is nothing quite like a presidential election to bring politics and policy issues to the forefront. However, it doesn’t take a Bush-Kerry battle to get our industry’s focus toward Washington. Led by NAREIT, our industry maintains an active presence on Capitol Hill, with the Executive Branch, and at the state government level as well. NAREIT and member companies have worked with bipartisan legislators to see the passage of the REIT Modernization Act and the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA), among others.

On the national level, there are two major policy initiatives underway. The REIT Improvement Act (RIA) would make a number of enhancements to the existing tax rules to allow the industry to meet its charge set forth by Congress in 1960: to make investments in large-scale, income-producing real estate accessible to all investors. The principal goals of the RIA are to eliminate a discriminatory barrier to foreign investment in publicly traded U.S. REITs and to provide the IRS with the ability to impose monetary penalties for reasonable cause violations of REIT tests in lieu of the loss of REIT status. Combined, the House and Senate have incorporated all the titles of RIA into a larger corporate tax reform bill, which is expected to be discussed by conferees in September. When these bills go to conference, NAREIT will work with the conference committee to incorporate all key aspects of the RIA into the final bill.

In addition, NAREIT continues to direct the efforts of the 70-member Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism (CIAT), which recently saw its efforts rewarded when the Treasury Secretary extended the “make available” provision of the TRIA. CIAT also supports legislation introduced in the House to extend TRIA through 2007.

NAREIT has achieved a number of regulatory successes in the tax, securities law, financial standards and terrorism insurance areas. However, NAREIT’s efforts are not confined to our nation’s capital. NAREIT also takes an active role on the state level ensuring that any new legislation being proposed is in the best interest of members operating within that region.

As part of our effort to increase the awareness and visibility of the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry on Capitol Hill, REITPAC (NAREIT’s political action committee) was established to provide financial support to candidates supportive of the REIT and publicly traded real estate industry. One of the largest and fastest growing PACs, REITPAC has set an ambitious two-year cycle goal of raising $1 million going forward. While we are well on our way to reaching that goal, it is essential that we receive support from all NAREIT members.

This is my final column as NAREIT Chair. It has been an honor to serve in this role for the past year and I want to recognize the dedication and competence that is put forth on a daily basis by Steve Wechsler and his team at NAREIT. As the efforts outlined in this column show, they are a proactive group and as chairs come and go they are the institutional glue that holds all this together. I also want to thank the board of governors for their hard work alongside me. We all have a day job, but it is a testament to the importance of the work conducted by NAREIT that so many of us volunteer our time to help meet our industry’s core goals. With that said, I encourage all of you to get involved in some way. At the end of the day, NAREIT is an organization that helps support all of our livelihoods and the interests of our shareholders.

Hamid R. Moghadam
NAREIT Chair
Chairman and CEO,
AMB Property Corporation