On Wednesday, May 9, 2012, BDA-supported legislation on bank-qualified bonds was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The House legislation is jointly co-sponsored by Reps. Tom Reed (R-NY) and Richard Neal (D-MA).
The House legislation mirrors legislation pending in the U.S. Senate that would permanently raise the annual volume limit for bank-qualified bonds to $30M, annually index the limit for inflation, and extend availability for bank-qualified bonds to pooled-financings and 501(3) organizations. The legislation has been referred to the House Ways & Means Committee for its consideration.
The introduction of this House legislation resulted from extensive efforts by BDA in both the House and Senate to advance the bank-qualified bond issue and to educate Members of Congress on the importance of bonds and state and local finance. As a part of this effort, BDA conducted over 50 bank-qualified education meetings with Members of Congress. In addition, BDA successfully worked to secure inclusion of a one-year re-instatement of the $30M annual limit in the federal transportation funding legislation that is currently being negotiated on Capitol Hill. Combined, BDA’s game plan has brought greater focus to the bank-qualified issue and has educated newer Members of Congress on an issue that is vitally important to their constituents.
An article in the Bond Buyer on the introduction of this legislation can be found [here.]
