Congressional Gridlock on the Agenda in 2019

In the latest edition of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast, Nareit Senior Vice President for Government Relations Robert Dibblee and Nareit Vice President for Government Relations John Jones discuss the outlook for the 116th Congress.With the House of Representatives now under Democratic control, and a divided Congress for the first time in nearly a decade—in addition to a looming presidential election cycle—prospects for legislative accomplishments are modest.“There will mostly be gridlock where policy is concerned, which we’re seeing reflected in the recent government shutdown,” Dibblee said. Must-do items, such as appropriations bills and debt limit legislation, could be the only two exceptions to the gridlock for the next two years, he said. “However, the current standoff could have long-term impacts on every aspect of the legislative agenda that we can’t anticipate right now.”Jones noted that “most issues will end up becoming polarized and it will be very difficult to accomplish anything of great importance during a presidential election cycle, especially beginning late 2019.”