US CHIEF OFFICERS OF LEADING CORPORATIONS SPEAK OUT!


RISMEDIA, June 11, 2009-The Housing Working Group of Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. corporations, announced bipartisan proposals to help return stability and growth to the U.S. housing market.
“We recognize the earlier efforts made by the Administration and Congress, but strongly recommend taking additional steps to jumpstart the lagging housing market in order to stimulate a broader economic recovery,” said Richard A. Smith, president and CEO of Realogy Corporation and Chair of Business Roundtable’s Housing Working Group.
“If the housing market is not corrected or stabilized, the tide of the recession is not likely to reverse in the near term, and the slide in the economy overall will continue. We believe targeted, demand-side solutions-such as the ones Business Roundtable is recommending today-will provide a critical next step for a housing recovery that will help create jobs and boost the economy as a whole.”

The recommendations include expanding home buyer tax credit incentives from $8,000 to $15,000 while expanding eligibility from strictly first-time home buyers to all home buyers, regardless of income, on homes purchased as a primary residence. Among other recommendations, the CEOs also strongly encourage the Administration to continue ongoing efforts by the Federal Reserve to keep 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates at historically low levels and do so for the next 12 months, and to undertake a comprehensive review of existing foreclosure mitigation and loan-modification programs.

“The Obama Administration’s extraordinary efforts to lower interest rates, along with its passage of the stimulus package, were both essential first steps toward stabilizing financial markets and promoting U.S. economic confidence,” said John Castellani, president of Business Roundtable. “Congress and the Administration must now build on these gains by stimulating demand for housing, which will create new jobs and trigger expansive economic recovery for America’s citizens, communities and companies.”


The group strongly believes adoption of its proposals will have a cascade effect, creating jobs and hastening U.S. economic recovery. The group’s recommendations are to:Read more: