Today, Congressmen Randy Hultgren (R-IL) and Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) announced the formation of the Municipal Finance Caucus, a bi-partisan caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives. The intent of the caucus is to bring greater focus to state and local finance issues and, importantly, efforts to retain full tax-exempt status for municipal bonds. A link to the Hultgren/Ruppersberger press release can be found here.
In 2013, Reps. Hultgren and Ruppersberger authored a bi-partisan letter signed by 138 Members of Congress supporting municipal finance and tax-exempt bonds–an effort that the Municipal Bonds for America Coalition was instrumental in urging Members to support. The formation of this Caucus represents another important step in gaining additional congressional support for the municipal exemption and will be extremely beneficial in further efforts to educate Members and their staffs on these important issues.
MBFA Chair Steve Benjamin, Mayor, Columbia, SC had this to say about today’s announcement:
“We greatly appreciate the efforts of Reps. Hultgren and Ruppersberger in forming the Municipal Finance Caucus and strongly encourage all Members of Congress to join in their efforts. In meetings on Capitol Hill in the past several years, the MBFA has seen a surge of interest in understanding municipal bonds, the benefits of the municipal exemption, and learning how potential legislation could impact the ability of state and local governments to finance critical infrastructure projects. Reps. Hultgren and Ruppersberger have experience in state and local government and understand the challenges faced by municipalities in securing cost-effective financing. Their leadership is crucial to expanding the depth of knowledge on this issue among their colleagues in Congress and MBFA looks forward to working closely with them as this caucus grows.”
MBFA has reached out to thank Reps. Hultgren and Ruppersberger for their efforts in forming this coalition and to offer our continued support into the future. In addition, as we meet with offices in the House and Senate, we plan to ask individual Members of Congress to add their name as a member of this important caucus.
We hope this information is helpful. If you need further information on MBFA or issues raised in this update, please contact info@munibondsforamerica.org.
