The nation's Realtors launched a multi-million dollar advertising campaign today to encourage members of Congress to cosponsor the Community Choice in Real Estate Act, which would prevent large banking conglomerates from taking over locally owned and operated real estate companies.

The multi-media campaign opened with the first in a series of newspaper ads. Ads appear today in newspapers in congressional districts represented by nine members of the House Financial Services Committee: U.S. Reps. Douglas Bereuter (R-Neb.), Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas), Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.), Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Jim Maloney (D-Conn.), Michael Ross (D-Ark.), Edward Royce (R-Calif.), Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), and Dave Weldon (R-Fla.). Additional waves of advertisements are planned in the weeks ahead as support for the legislation grows.

Today's New York Times, Omaha World Herald, Orange County Register, San Antonio Express-News and The Oregonian are among the newspapers that carried the ads, which urge constituents to call their member of Congress and ask him or her to "do the right thing" and cosponsor the Community Choice in Real Estate Act.

The ads read in part, "H.R. 3424 will keep the personalized service consumers now receive from their local neighborhood real estate professionals… We need the support of strong (congressional) leaders so that consumers and local communities will win."

"Congressional support for keeping big banks out of real estate is growing even faster than we had anticipated. It's clear that large numbers of members of Congress understand that if the biggest banks in the nation are allowed into the real estate business, the market will soon be dominated by a handful of large banking conglomerates whose primary goal is to cross-sell various financial products, not to help people achieve the American dream of homeownership," said NAR President Martin Edwards Jr. "If big banks are allowed to gobble up local real estate firms, the result will be fewer choices for consumers, higher costs and less competition. Consumers would also lose the personalized customer service they now receive from Realtors who live and work in the same community as their customers."

Big banking conglomerates are seeking permission to sell and manage real estate through a proposed regulation before the Federal Reserve Board and the Treasury Department. However, the proposed rule is contrary to what Congress intended when it passed financial services modernization legislation called the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999. The Community Choice in Real Estate Act (H.R. 3424 and S. 1839) clarifies congressional intent to preclude any such action by the Federal Reserve or Treasury.

Over 150 members of the House have signed onto the bill since it was introduced in December by U.S. Reps. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) and Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio). U.S. Sens. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) introduced a companion bill last December.

Published: February 8, 2002

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