Industry Groups React to the Re-election of President Obama

Industry issued statements in response to last night's reelection of President Barack Obama. 

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), SIFMA and the NAHB congratulated the President on his victory and expressed their willingness to work with him and with Congress so, as MBA put it, "continued progress can be made on the critical issues our nation continues to face."  They also used the occasion to speak about their critical interests.

MBA renewed its call for the President to appoint a federal housing policy coordinator to ensure federal and regulatory agencies are communicating as rulemakings and policies are proposed and adopted.  The Association also urged that attempts to protect consumers do not cut off the supply of mortgage credit through 'burdensome regulation and exposure to litigation." 

SIFMA, which represents the interests of securities firms, banks and asset managers, urged that President Obama and his administration use their second term to review the goals of Dodd-Frank "which were to create a safer and stronger financial system-to ensure that the process is helping achieve that and if not, find a better approach to getting it done."

The company also referenced the so-called fiscal cliff and the need for both Republicans and Democrats to come together to address it.  "The potentially negative market consequences of not dealing with this issue are simply too great to ignore." 

Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) issued the following statement:

"The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) congratulates President Obama on winning a second term as President of the United States of America and all the lawmakers who were elected to the 113th Congress.

"In the closing weeks of the 112th Congress, NAHB urges President Obama and congressional leaders to work together to resolve issues related to the 'fiscal cliff' by extending all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts while being mindful of how broad-based tax reform will affect the fledgling housing recovery. Any effort to engage in tax reform should be done in a careful and deliberate manner and demands the proper vetting by Congress and all relevant stakeholders. There should be no rush to judgment on an issue that will affect virtually every American citizen.

"Moreover, when the new Congress convenes in January, NAHB looks forward to working in a bipartisan manner with the Administration and with Republican and Democratic leaders to tackle critical issues facing the housing industry.

"Making sure creditworthy consumers and small businesses can get mortgages and loans, tackling housing finance reform in a responsible manner and resolving the foreclosure crisis are vital to spur job growth and strengthen the housing and economic recovery."

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) President Jeff Potter issued the following statement:

“Now that the election battle is over, we urge both the White House and the newly elected Congress to launch a new era of statesmanship by putting aside differences on the budget and by enacting policies that will help put the economy on a more solid footing for all Americans. In particular, we urge both parties to solve the impending budget impasse known as the “Fiscal Cliff,” where mandatory budget cuts and tax hikes threaten to cost more than 60,000 construction jobs beginning on January 2, according to a recent AIA study.