CAI New England has had a very busy summer

Washington DC can become a sleepy town during the summer. Members of Congress are in their home states, the president goes on vacation, and the normal hustle and bustle of life in the nation's capital eases up. This was not the case at CAI as members took full advantage of their federal representatives being home and organized meetings in support of CAI's August Advocacy Campaign. According to the Congressional Management Foundation, 97% of Members of Congress say that in-person visits to their office influence their decisions on issues that they have not already arrived at a firm decision on. In-person meetings with Members of Congress add tremendous value to CAI's advocacy process. During August, Congress was on recess and members of the Senate and House of Representatives were home in their district (local) offices. Meetings with Federal Legislators CAI members around the country met with their U.S. Representatives and Senators to discuss important issues for community associations including seeking changes to federal disaster recovery rules so community associations are eligible for federal assistance when clearing roads and waterways after a presidentially declared natural disaster; and asking Congress to be mindful of community association concerns like condominium approvals in the debate on the future of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. CAI was also hard at work in Washington DC, fanning out over Capitol Hill to educate key staff members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on the need to ensure fairness in disaster assistance for community association homeowners. The House Transportation Committee has jurisdiction over the Stafford Act, the federal law that governs the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Local Politics On the local government level, CAI's Legislative Action Committee began to gear up for an election-year legislative session. This will be a very busy and trying 2014, as state legislators hope to conciliate constituents by supporting issues seen as noncontroversial and dodging issues seen as contentious in order to earn reelection. The committees began carefully strategizing a balanced approach to proactively support priorities while preparing to respond to unforeseen legislation. Paul Garrett, CMCA, AMS, PCAM, is 2013 CAI-NE chapter president, and president and CEO of Maine Properties, Inc., Scarborough, Me.