CAPITOL RECAP
NANCY BURKE, VP OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
AAMD/CAA Visits with Congressional
Delegates at NAA's Advocate Conference
AAMD and CAA members attended
the National Apartment Association’s 2018
Advocate Conference in Washington, D.C.
to discuss pertinent industry issues with
our Colorado Congressional delegates
and their staff. The annual conference
provides an opportunity to lobby on current
legislative issues on the federal level to our
policymakers. Being active constituents
and educating our Congressmen on the
multifamily housing industry is critical to
create important policy decisions.
Our members lobbied on Capitol Hill
to discuss recent marketplace dynamics in
multifamily rental housing. This year they
highlighted concerns which centered on
the reauthorization of funding the National
Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). While
flooding continues to be the most common
natural disaster in the United States, the
CAA President Rocky Sundling and
AAMD President-Elect Mike Holt
Luke Miller, Mike Holt, Pat Hutchison and Scott Kirkwood meet with Congressman Ed Perlmutter.
NFIP is a critical risk management tool
for multifamily housing to not only protect
properties, but to maintain affordable
coverage and manage the increasing costs
of providing housing. Long-term funding is
within reach and we hope to see that come
to fruition.
Litigation driven by financial gain,
not the improvements to access for
the disabled, is a continued trend and
policymakers heard the Apartment
Association’s position on this. Although
the rental housing industry supports the
goals of the Americans with Disabilities
Act and Fair Housing Act, it is fully
committed to creating communities that
are accessible to people with disabilities,
www.aamdhq.org
and our industry encourages policymakers
to support legislation that offers businesses
a time to cure any alleged ADA deficiency
prior to the initiation of a lawsuit which
would ultimately create a disincentive for
complaints motivated by financial gain.
These issues, along with others, spurred
dynamic conversation with our elected
officials from Colorado.
For more information on how you
can participate in next year’s Advocate
Conference, please contact the Government
Affairs Department of the Association at
303-329-3300.
APRIL 2018
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