My report from Capitol Hill/Investor's Unite Gathering -
First of all it, it was great to meet in person so many iHubbers. Tim Pagliara did a great job organizing the event. The event participants were well taken care of, and the event well managed.
In the press conference I felt like we did a good job breaking through the cynicism in Washington towards powerful lobbyists for special interests. Looking into the faces of the reporters present, I sensed that they came into the conference uninspired and already certain of their 'angle': wealthy hedge funds have created shell 501c3 organizations to manipulate congressional outcomes with 'big money'.
I think they came away recognizing the authenticity of our movement as something separate and distinct from the hedge fund efforts.
In my meetings with the offices of three senators I was surprised to find them surprisingly uniformed about the important issues surrounding Housing reform and particularly the plight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders. The staffers I met with were open, curious, wanted information and background and they all informed us that housing reform 'wasn't going anywhere this year'.
I get the sense that the mainstream of the Senate is not engaged in the debate, and that we have only been reading the headlines of Corker and Warner repeated for the past year. All this repetition does not mean that they are winning over the rest of the Senate. I don't get the idea that either Warner or Corker are particularly popular or influential in the Senate.
I did hear second-hand that some of the other groups had rougher times in their meetings - particularly in Warner's office!
Over all, I feel much better today about our investment. I feel strongly that reason and compromise will win the day in any ultimate reform, helped along by our combined efforts. I think shareholders and the GSE's will be treated fairly when reform is seriously taken up. Crapo-Johnson is a serious threat, but is not serious legislation.
I also now believe that the chances of Crapo-Johson even getting out of committee are even lower than we have heard - I would put it at a coin flip and waning every day, rather than waxing.
I do not believe that there is any real pressure, momentum or desire for Senator Reid to bring the legislation to the floor, even if it passes committee. I think that about eighty of the hundred senators could care less about housing reform because there are no really emergent issues in housing at the moment, and in this climate of acrimony even emergent issues have a hard time getting a hearing.
I feel more and more that Warner and Corker are serving the interests of large bank lobbyists, and that so far they have done a good job controlling the narrative in the media, but that is changing and Investor's Unite made a big and positive difference that will continue.
If there are any shareholders from the midwest and west (Dakotas, Iowa, etc) it would do the organization a world of good for you to visit your Senator in Washington and speak out and give an Investor's Unite press packet to them. Every state has two senators, no matter how small. Also, these states far away from Washington seldom get visits about legislation from their constituents, and they are glad to see their people. You can visit both senators while in DC. Find out who the staffer is for your Senator - they are the ones who handle constituent concerns and with whom you will probably meet. I think it would be worthwhile to contact Tim at Investor's Unite and see what help and assistance they could give you. Additionally, I would pick you up at an area airport and offer a place to stay for a night here in Rockville and would personally escort you through the maze of Washington and the Senate buildings to your meeting.
MB
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
