August 14, 2012

Richard Spees, chair of Akerman's National Government Affairs & Public Policy Practice Group and managing shareholder of the firm's Washington D.C. office, and Steven Polivy, managing shareholder of Akerman's New York office, were quoted in the Commercial Observer article, "EB-5 Legislation Clears Senate, Now Congress Awaits."  EB-5 legislation allowing overseas investors to fund job-creating real estate projects in exchange for green cards. Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a bill that would restore an important component of the program set to expire at the end of September. A similar bill must now pass through the U.S. House of Representatives in the next few weeks before the program sunsets on September 30, a deadline that could possibly cut off millions of dollars of financing for a number of construction projects.

Spees stated, "They have the right to say we need more time. I would put the odds of this legislation getting renewed at about 65 percent to 35 percent in favor of it getting done."

Spees feels the legislation will get passed eventually, if not by September 30.

If the legislation were to stall, Polivy stated, "You would have projects that were partially funded that can’t proceed and suddenly they have to go out and find alternative financing and they’re scrambling."