CL&LR Capitol Hill Day Was Just the Beginning of Our Federal Advocacy in 2026

Eric Schmutz for Market Share Blog | February 11, 2026

 

 

Last week, NAIOP members from chapters across North America came to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 2026 Chapter Leadership & Legislative Retreat. The event capped off on Wednesday with NAIOP’s Capitol Hill Day, when NAIOP members and chapter local executives to meet with Senate and House members and their staff.

Getting to know your elected officials is an essential element in promoting public policies that make commercial real estate successful.  As former Speaker of the House Thomas Phillip “Tip” O’Neill Jr. famously said, “All politics are local,” and the purpose of these meetings was not only to educate policymakers on NAIOP’s national priority federal issues, but to also introduce NAIOP members and inform members of Congress of the contributions that they are making to their states’ economies.

Lobbying Congress is a right that you are guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Lobbying is essentially developing a professional relationship with your elected officials, and through those relationships educating them on how legislation and regulations influence your business decisions and affect economic activity.

NAIOP’s Capitol Hill Day should serve as the beginning of your efforts to meet your senators and representatives, and your NAIOP chapter offers many opportunities for you to continue to develop those relationships. Inviting your elected officials to attend your chapter events is a great way to connect them to the broader NAIOP membership. Your senators and representatives should also be invited to tour projects and learn about how your buildings create jobs and housing opportunities for the people that they represent. The work that NAIOP members do improves the quality of life in your community and you need to continue to tell that story.

This year, NAIOP members are focused on three priority issues:

Adaptive reuse incentives and housing affordability. NAIOP members probably recognize this as a topic on which we engaged with Congress over the last couple of years as office vacancy rates persist in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related increase in work-from-home patterns. While many companies are implementing return-to-office policies, the impact on many Class B and C buildings in terms of reduced occupancy is persisting, with demand largely shifting to Class A trophy buildings. At the same time, the availability of affordable rental housing has been worsening over the last few years.