An improbable relocation of FBI headquarters, HUD’s misplaced priority on climate and NAR’s too-generous donation to a Montana mayoral race. Looking into the wild and wooly world of real estate, here are our Hits and Misses for this week.
Miss: Sweet FBI Home Alabama? One of the most unusual actions to take place on Capitol Hill this week was the announcement by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) that he will attach a provision to the upcoming appropriations bill that will freeze the funding for a proposed new FBI headquarters unless the facility is moved to Huntsville, Alabama. In Jordan’s view, having the FBI outside of Washington, D.C., would make it less likely to be influenced by left-wing political influences within the Beltway. Whether or not you agree with Jordan’s concerns that the FBI’s actions are being orchestrated by progressive partisan concerns, the idea that it would operate without such influences if relocated to another part of the country is almost too silly for words.
Hit: A Better Job for the Best Man. Perhaps the most surprising news of the week was the announcement that Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis President and CEO James Bullard is stepping down next month to become dean of the Mitchell E. Daniels Jr. School of Business at Purdue University. Bullard is the longest serving chief executive among the regional Federal Reserve institutions and he is widely respected as being among the most forceful thought leaders in the national economic sphere. Bullard is especially celebrated for his advocacy of the Fed’s independence – a situation that could be in grave danger if the Biden administration opts for a political hack as his replacement. Still, the central bank’s loss is Purdue’s gain and the university couldn’t get a better leader.
Miss: Fudged Priorities. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge was in Japan last weekend to attend the G7 Sustainable Urban Ministers’ Meeting, and her office highlighted that visit by announcing she signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Japanese leaders in housing and urban development – with a focus on “best practices for the implementation of carbon neutrality and climate resilience in cities.” The HUD PR team added in a press statement that the department’s goal is “to prioritize sustainability and climate resiliency in housing.” Clearly, Fudge and her underlings are more concerned about the effects of housing on the weather rather than the too-obvious shortage of affordable housing for Americans – which could explain her absence of answers in handling the affordable housing crisis.
Hit: Helping Those in Need. While Fudge’s HUD has a screwed-up sense of priorities, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) has its priorities in order. Case in point: This week, the MBA Opens Doors Foundation announced that it raised $234,536 at its Annual Charity Wine Auction held during MBA’s June Chairman’s Conference in Manalapan, Florida. The funds will support the Foundation’s mission of providing mortgage and rental assistance grants to families with critically ill or injured children, thus enabling parents and guardians to be by a child’s side during treatment without fear of losing their home. Open Doors is among the most admirable endeavors within this industry, having provided more than $22 million in mortgage and rental payment assistance to nearly 15,000 families since its founding in 2011. Deep and sincere thanks go to the Open Doors team for their invaluable work.
Miss: Montana Moolah. When was the last time you saw any mention of Missoula, Montana, in any major media? Well, that city of roughly 75,000 is on the radar of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). According to a report in the Livingston Enterprise, NAR has channeled at $125,000 into the Missoula mayoral race to back Mike Nugent, a city council member and CEO of the Missoula Organization of Realtors. Of course, NAR has a right to financially back any candidate, but the massive donation into a small city mayoral race is more than double the total level of funds raised during Missoula’s last mayoral election in 2017. NAR offered no explanation regarding why it is being so generous with this obscure political campaign. And Shawn Kopp, one of the candidates in the race with Nugent, offered the most cogent observation of NAR’s actions: “Holy crap!”
Phil Hall is editor of Weekly Real Estate News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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