Advocate for Your District
Advocate for Your District
HOT ISSUE: Ask Your Representatives to Cosponsor the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act!
After months of negotiations and outreach, legislation to provide tax credits for an office conversions bill has been introduced in both chambers of Congress.
The “Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act” was introduced in the House as H.R. 9002 by Reps. Mike Carey (R-OH) and Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), and in the Senate as S. 4693 by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). In addition, a number of other lawmakers have already cosponsored each bill.
Now that the bills have been introduced, we need to build support for it on Capitol Hill. Please consider sending a message to your elected representatives to ask them to cosponsor the bill.
Every member of Congress has a link on their website that lets you send messages to them. If you know the name of one of their staff members, you can email them directly.
Below is a sample message you can send, or you can write your own. Either way, highlight your connection to the state or Congressional district.
Dear [Rep./Sen.],
I am writing on behalf of [BID name] to ask you to cosponsor the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act, bipartisan legislation that will help restore vitality to our downtown while addressing the crisis in affordable housing.
Since the pandemic, we’ve seen a massive acceleration in remote working. In fact, the McKinsey Global Institute estimates that 20-25% of the workforce could work remotely in the future – four to five times more than before the pandemic. This is the new normal. As workers leave city centers, the shrinking demand for office space results not only in lost tax revenue for municipal budgets; it will threaten the livelihoods of millions of small business owners that depend on the daily flow of office workers and drain vitality from city centers. [OPTIONAL: Mention any stats or anecdotes from your downtown.]
Meanwhile, our region and metropolitan areas across the country are facing a severe shortage of affordable and workforce housing. In many cities, even people earning above the median income have difficulty finding housing they can afford.
Converting unused office and commercial space into housing and mixed-use developments can help relieve this urgent housing shortage. And it ensures that downtowns remain vibrant centers of community activity and economic development. However, converting empty office buildings into housing and other uses is expensive. As a result, many office buildings sit unused.
I am pleased to let you know that Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Rep. Mike Carey (R-OH) have introduced the Revitalizing Downtowns and Main Streets Act. This bipartisan bill provides a tax credit of 20% of eligible costs involved in converting commercial real estate to housing and requires that at least 20% of residential units created by the credit are reserved for individuals whose income is at or below 80% of median income. The credit can be used on office buildings in urban downtowns, shopping malls in suburban areas, and main streets in communities everywhere.
Providing an incentive to convert unused office and commercial space into housing can help relieve this urgent housing shortage. And it will ensure that downtowns and main streets remain vibrant centers of community activity and economic development.
We urge you to cosponsor this important legislation.
If you are not sure which Senators and House members represent your downtown, you can look them up online.
- For the Senate: Go to senate.gov and click on the “Find Your Senators” drop-down menu at the top.
- For the House: Go to house.gov and enter a zip code at the top, under “Find Your Representative.” Note that it is possible that more than one Congressional district covers your downtown or city center.
There are several ways you can engage your federal elected representatives.
In general, direct personal communications (phone calls or meetings) have a greater impact, but any of these methods can be effective. If you have an existing relationship with a member of staff, it is more effective to reach out to them, even if they are not the staff person who handles the issue for the Senator or House member. Even if you do not know anyone on staff, you can still make contact.
- Send an Email
Every member of Congress has a link on their website that lets you send messages to them. If you know the name of one of their staff members, you can email them directly.
IDA provides template emails for you to use on our top issues, or you can write your own. Either way, highlight your connection to the state or Congressional district and make clear what you are asking for (i.e., for the Senator or Representative to cosponsor the bill).
- Pick Up the Phone
A phone call to the Senator or House representative’s office is a more immediate, effective way to get your message across – as long as you call the right person. If you cold-call the office, your message may get to the appropriate legislative staff person, but it’s not a given.
You can find your representative’s office numbers on their website or here (Senate and House)
- Request a Meeting
Meeting with a member of the House or Senator or their staff in the district or state can be an effective way to not only gain support for IDA’s top issues, but to begin developing a collaborative relationship between your organization and the policymaker.
To schedule a meeting in the state or district, visit the representative’s website; there usually is a link to a page where you can request a meeting. You also can send an email directly to a member of the staff.
Final Note: When you do contact your elected representatives, please inform IDA about it at andrew@agoragov.com so they can keep track of which representatives have been contacted.