It’s mid-July here in Washington, D.C.
In just eight days the House breaks for the summer and the Hill is swarming with activity interns hastily scrambling on go-fer missions, mid-level politicos double checking their Palms while chatting on cell phones, and the major players taking it all in with a seasoned eye.
In the middle of this maelstrom I find an island of respite in Jamie Gregory, Senior Legislative Representative for the National Association of Realtors (NAR). There’s something about his relaxed, yet quietly confident demeanor that lets you know this is someone who not only knows the turf inside and out here, but can navigate it smoothly.
Gregory has been on the Hill for nine years in this capacity and if you’re one of the 900,000-plus members of the National Association of Realtors the largest organization of real estate professionals in the country you’re already somewhat familiar with its keen awareness of and devotion to national legislation. Besides being big, the organization is also very active and well-funded.
“We probably have one of the most active membership bases of any professional organization,” Gregory says.
“Approximately one-third of our members, about 350,000 annually, contribute funds specifically for PACs (political action committees). And it’s clear that the average gift comes not from ‘big wheels’ in the business though those are considerable too but from the average licensee. The standard contribution is $30.”
Gregory is one of six NAR lobbyists on the Hill who work closely with the organization’s policy analysts, administrative staff, volunteers, and a political action committee which handles fundraising.
Anticipating legislative hotspots and working to sway opinion is part of Gregory’s job as a “proactive” lobbyist.
Annual policy goals are outlined at the beginning of a year by the membership base, the Government Affairs staff, and NAR’s governing Board of Directors.
This year, priority issues include the Homeownership Tax Credit, Preserving the Separation of Banking and Commerce, the American Dream Downpayment Fund, Depreciation of Leasehold Improvements, Natural Disaster Insurance, and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Reform.
Although his salary comes directly from a portion of the national membership dues, any monies that Gregory and the other lobbyists have to work with to curry favor with candidates comes directly from contributions marked solely for political action.
In fact, NAR is the largest contributor of individual funds to candidates through its Realtors Political Action Committee and it is NAR’s extremely active membership base which Gregory sites as one of the “three pillars” of successful lobbying, the other two being credible representation, and grassroots involvement.
The other type of lobbying NAR takes on is “reactive” lobbying. When a piece of legislation is passed, such as the National Do-Not-Call Registry, that can impact the industry, NAR’s Government Affairs division goes to work.
Even though Gregory and NAR’s staff lobbied “proactively” during the drafting and revisions of the Do-Not-Call legislation, just before the bill went to the floor for passage, the FCC extended coverage of the National Do-Not-Call Program to include intrastate telemarketing calls pre-empting less restrictive state do-not-call laws.
These state laws often included exemptions for calls by certain professionals, including real estate licensees. Anyone knows the difference between the intrusive “auto-dialed” calls from mass-marketers that come out of the blue and the crucial, targeted calls an agent may make to pique someone’s interest in a property. But the legislation, as currently worded, basically views all calls as one in the same.
NAR’s staff and any other interested parties now have a total of 45 days to try and hammer out differences, reach compromises, and “tweak” the bill.
Today, Gregory starts his day on the Hill just past sunup at a policy input breakfast. From there, he heads to the committee markup session for house bill HR2622, also known as the Fair Credit Reporting Act. “This is a major piece of legislation that’s been a focal point of NAR from the beginning of the year,” Gregory says.
“I attended this morning to make sure that all the elbow grease we’ve put in since the beginning of the session paid off, and to reiterate our position just before it goes to the floor.”
Somehow or another Gregory manages to slip in lunch and then he’s off to meet with a working group (including members from the National Association of Home Builders) on the Affordable Housing Tax Credit.
He winds up his day on the Hill with a sub-committee hearing on the Gramm-Leech-Bliley Act, a key issue to NAR in 2002 and a major win for the organization. Gramm-Leech-Bliley basically purported to allow banking institutions to enter the real estate market. After intense lobbying from NAR and other organizations, the act was tabled for a year. Gregory gets some good news to end his day on the Hill.
One of NAR’s biggest wins in 2002 sticks.