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Lawmaker Tells Realtors(R) Endangered Species Law Needs Reform

Posted on: Sunday, 30 October 2005, 15:00 CST

U.S. Rep. Dennis Cardoza (D-Calif.), addressing Realtors(R) at a forum here, said the current endangered species law needs reform because it is failing the habitats and the species its supposed to protect.

Cardoza also updated Realtors(R) on other federal issues at a legislative and political forum held yesterday during the REALTORS(R) Conference & Expo here, Oct. 28-31.

Cardoza has cosponsored legislation with Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) that balances the need to protect endangered species with the need to support private property rights and economic development. The Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act, which was approved by the House of Representatives with bipartisan support last month, would reform and improve the 1973 Endangered Species Act.

The bill, H.R. 3824, addresses many of NAR's policy principles on new and better ways to recover and protect endangered species. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, only 10 of 1,264 endangered species have recovered and been removed from the list over the act's 30-year history.

"The Endangered Species Act, which was enacted during the Nixon administration, provides a roadmap to preserve endangered habitat and species. But aspects of it are failing species and failing all of us who live in a bureaucratic environment," Cardoza said.

"I've been working with my colleague Richard Pombo on a plan that replaces critical habitat with recovery habitat. Our bill will designate a recovery plan before we designate habitat. You need to figure out what it takes to save a species before you take land. If the government does take private land, it must properly compensate the property owner," Cardoza said.

Cardoza also addressed President Bush's federal tax reform panel's expected recommendation to make several changes to the mortgage interest deduction (MID). "There's a proposal to change the way we tax ourselves. Changing the mortgage interest deduction is a really bad idea. I don't think it's going to pass Congress, but that doesn't mean they're not going to try," Cardoza said. "With the mortgage interest deduction fight, you've got to kill it so dead that they never, ever offer it as an alternative again."

Rep. Lincoln Davis (D-Tenn.) also opposed altering the mortgage interest deduction. "When you talk about changing the mortgage interest deduction, you're talking about revising a tax deduction for families," Davis said.

Davis also weighed in against the recent Supreme Court Kelo v. City of New London decision that allows local governments to seize private property in the name of enlarging their tax base and promoting economic development. "To take a person's private property for use by another private group -- I don't think the Constitution supports that. Personal property rights are one of the most important things our Constitution is based on. It's clear the Supreme Court made the wrong decision," Davis said.

Cardoza said, "I believe if the government takes the extraordinary step of taking property under eminent domain, the owner should not have to pay capital gains tax on the property, and that's why I've introduced a bill that does just that."

"The real estate industry help drives the economy and provides opportunity for citizens," said Cardoza, who used to be a Realtor(R). "Real estate is a great primer for serving in Congress -- you have to adapt quickly, think on your feet and work hard."

Cardoza also praised NAR's political operation. "Realtors(R) have the most effective lobbying corps in all of Congress bar none. You're the cream of the crop. One of things Realtors(R) do well is respect both Democrats and Republicans and not be manipulated by the party in power," he said.

Cardoza said he fought to make it easier for families living in high-cost markets to purchase their own homes by supporting efforts to increase the conforming loan limits for high-cost areas under the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act, H.R. 1461. In addition, he is a sponsor of the Community Choice in Real Estate Act, H.R. 11, that would keep banking conglomerates out of real estate, and the Community Homeownership Tax Credit Act, H.R. 1549, that would enact an affordable housing production tax credit.

More than 26,000 Realtors(R) from across the United States are expected to attend the four-day conference.

The National Association of Realtors(R), "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing more than 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.

Information about NAR is available at http://www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the Web site's "News Media" section in the NAR Media Center.

Source: Business Wire

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