Support Letter for One-Year EB-5 Extension

EB-5 Regional Center Investments:
Congress Should Extend This Job Creation Program With “Integrity Measures”

Dear Congressional Leaders:
November 19, 2015

Our organizations write regarding reauthorization of the EB-5 “Regional Center” investment and job creation program. The program recently received a short-term extension through the continuing resolution, which funds the Federal Government through December 11. We seek your leadership to assure that the EB-5 Regional Center program does not expire on that date.

With only 22 calendar days remaining before the program’s sunset—and mindful of the appropriations matters that will preoccupy the legislative calendar for the year’s remainder—we ask Congress to swiftly enact an EB-5 extension with “integrity measures” to safeguard national security and deter evolving risks of investor fraud. We also recommend that EB-5 extension be accompanied with extensions for other expiring programs (namely, R-1 visas for religious workers, the Conrad 30 waiver program for J-1 medical workers, and the E-Verify platform).

As Chairmen Grassley, Corker and Johnson wrote in a November 6, 2015 letter to Senate leadership, any EB-5 extension must provide the Department of Homeland Security “with the tools necessary” to increase Regional Centers’ accountability “to better guard against fraud and abuse.” We agree and support this recommendation.

Our organizations are committed to help build consensus for comprehensive Regional Center reform. We have provided input to numerous congressional offices on many occasions, on no less than five (5) EB-5 reform bills introduced since last February. Regrettably, given the complexity of the most recent discussion language made available one month before the program’s sunset date, we believe that bipartisan compromise on deeper regional center reform is unlikely before December 11. We thus encourage the Regional Center program’s extension before December 11 combined with integrity measures for which there is widespread support. This approach will provide all interested congressional offices and stakeholders with time to resolve many outstanding difficult issues (including Targeted Employment Area designations).

Although the adverse consequences that would result from the program’s termination are many, it needs to be emphasized that the failure to reauthorize the program will clearly result in a loss of jobs to many Americans with the withdrawal of as much as $6.5 billion dollars from the U.S. economy. This would be the hard reality if Congress fails to act.

We thank you for your consideration to equitably preserve and enhance EB-5’s positive economic impact on communities across the nation.

American Gaming Association
American Hotel and Lodging Association
American Resort Development Association
American Seniors Housing Association
American VIP
Ameri-Link Capital Regional Center
Appalachia Drilling
Artis Senior Living
Artisan Business Group
AVIP Regional Centers
Brevet Capital
BridgeForth Capital, LLC
Brookstone Resources, LLC
Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International
C2i Solutions, Inc
City of Miami Regional Center
Commercial Real Estate Finance Council
Dai & Associates, P.C.
EB-5 Investment Coalition
EB-5 Investors Magazine
EB-5 Regional Center Florida
Economic & Policy Resources
Education Fund
Extell New York Regional Center
Florida EB-5 Investments, LLC
Front Range Regional Center
Genting Americas, Inc.
Greystone & Co., Inc.
Greystone Investment Capital Regional Center, LLC
Gulf States Regional Center
Hilton Worldwide
Homeier & Law, P.C.
MB Consulting
Marriott International, Inc.
Midwest Metropolitan Regional Center
National Apartment Association
National Association of Home Builders
National Association of REALTORS®
National Multifamily Housing Council
NES Financial
Northeast Regional Center
Pathways EB-5 Regional Center
Piedmont Regional Center
Progressive Funding Solutions, LLC
Pyramid Management Group
Queensfort Capital
Real Estate Board of New York
Related Companies
Resorts World Las Vegas
Retail Equity Partners Holdings, LLC
Rockbridge Assisted Living
Running Subway/Discovery Times Square Museum
Scannell Properties
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP
Signature Bank
Silverstein Properties
SMASH Hotels
Southern Opportunity Regional Center – Woodville TX Project
Sun Corridor Regional Center
Sunshine State Regional Center
TDI FC Management, LLC
Texas Regional Center, LLC
Texas Urban Triangle Regional Center
The National Immigration Forum
The Odyssey Experience
The Real Estate Roundtable
The U.S. Conference of Mayors
Three Streams Mid-Atlantic Regional Center
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
U.S. Freedom Capital
Vermilion Consulting LLC
West Coast Regional Center
Wilcrest Economic Strategies

cc:
Members of the Judiciary Committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
Members of the Appropriations Committees of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives