Make the Voice of EB-5 Heard: Send Joint Industry Letter to Your Congressman and Senators
As Congress heads back home for summer recess, it is a critical time for the EB-5 Regional Center industry to engage in grassroots advocacy to succeed in reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program (the “Program”).
Last week, IIUSA joined with other leading EB-5 industry stakeholders in sending a letter to Congress urging for long-term reauthorization and responsible reform to the EB-5 Regional Center Program. The letter, available here, is the result of an important consensus-building strategy by IIUSA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate Roundtable, EB-5 Immigration Coalition and American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the leading industry advocacy and trade organizations, to speak with one voice to Congress and show them we are prepared for serious and constructive negotiations to extend and improve the Program.
Members of Congress respond best and are more likely to act when they hear from the people who elect them to office– you, their constituents. We need you to carry this important message of unified support directly to your elected officials in Congress and let them know how important this issue is to you and their district/state. Please take 3 minutes of your time to send messages to your Congressman and two Senators urging them to strongly support reauthorization o the EB-5 Regional Center Program ahead of its sunset date of September 30. If you live and work in different Congressional districts, be sure to send the letter to both representatives.
To find your elected officials and send them a message, click here. Please note that you cannot include attachments in emails to Congress, so be sure to include the link to the letter on IIUSA’s website by using this link.
Additionally, below is some sample language to include with the email when writing your legislators. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to IIUSA at advocacy@iiusa.org.
Again, it is crucial that members of Congress understand the urgency to which the Program must be reauthorized ahead of September 30 as well as the importance of this joint industry letter. Use the summer recess (beginning later this week) to communicate with your legislators and do your part to ensure the Program secures no lapse, long-term reauthorization and responsible reform.
Sincerely,
Peter D. Joseph
Executive Director
SAMPLE EMAIL TO CONGRESS:
Subject: Support Reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program
Dear ________ :
I write to offer my strong support for the reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program, which Congress must reauthorize, and not allow to lapse, prior to its scheduled sunset date of September 30, 2016.
A joint letter from the leading industry trade and advocacy organizations is available here: https://goo.gl/7nvKQv, which broadly represent the EB-5 industry. I share the view that the EB-5 Regional Center Program must be reauthorized and not allowed to lapse. I also share the view that reforms to the program must be effective and fair, and designed to encourage continued direct foreign investment in American communities, which annually creates tens of thousands of American jobs at no cost to the taxpayer.
As an [EB-5 stakeholder], I have raised $XXX through the Program that has been put to use to develop [project description] in [your state/district]. Since the economic recession hit in 2008, the EB-5 Program has allowed me to complete economic development projects that are creating local jobs and economic activity. As my elected representative, I hope that you will strongly support reauthorization of the Program, and that you will work to ensure that any reforms to the Program will not diminish the economic potential of the program but rather make it more viable and sustainable for the long-term. I would welcome the chance to speak with you or your staff about the program, its impact in your state/district, and the potential positive and negative impacts that various legislative proposals will have on my business and the overall effectiveness of the program.
I encourage you to read the joint industry letter and to urgently support reauthorization of the EB-5 Program before September 30. To read the letter, please visit this link: https://goo.gl/7nvKQv.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME, TITLE, ORGANIZATION
