編者按：題目中所說的捍衛者，主要是從城市開發商的角度來定義。當類似紐約這樣的大城市能保持50萬的最低投資額時，城市開發商是最大的受益者。投資人當然也是50萬的投資額受益者，但面對問題、子女超齡問題、合理還款周期、投資安全措施等投資人(而不是開發商)更關切的問題時，我們需要更具有投資人保護意義上的捍衛者。在目前這個階段，開發商和投資人的共同利益就是確保發達地區的50萬最低投資額;在未來的某一時間，開發商和投資人的共同利益，會交匯在為投資人爭取更短的、更快的綠卡審理、提供更多的話語權、更透明的投資流程等更以投資人為中心的措施上。當最低投資額不再是主要焦點時，這些措施才是吸引更多投資的最好辦法，不出意外的話，這個“未來的某一時間”就是漲價之后。 -- 劉宇和貝特曼律所團隊
Chuck Schumer、Jeff Flake、John Cornyn和Pete Sessions這幾人之間有何相同之處?
接下來要說的可不是有關國會山的冷笑話。以上四位議員都是國會內延長EB-5計劃期限的擁護者，而且他們都無一例外地收到了來自EB-5延期最大的受益行業——房地產行業——的捐款。
競選資金監督網站OpenSecrets的數據調查結果顯示，房地產行業資金在美國政界發揮的作用正在不斷擴大。例如，紐約州資深議員Schumer自2011年以來從房地產利益集團收到的競選捐款就多達109萬美元。他的第四大個人捐助者為Fragomen，這是一家聲稱為“全球領先的移民公司”，向Schumer的競選委員會捐贈了82,200美元。
Fragomen公司擁有突出的EB-5的實踐經驗，并在其網站上聲稱“處于EB-5計劃現有或未來立法改革的最前沿。”Schumer的捐款人名單中還包括了瑞聯集團以及兆華斯坦地產公司，兩者都曾通過EB-5項目籌集到重要資金。
美國國會于周二通過了延長EB-5計劃期限的決議。EB-5計劃旨在吸引外國人通過在美國投資就業創造項目以獲取綠卡。但由于某些項目方將EB-5資金投入到了一些主要城市街區的豪華地產項目而非低收入地區的項目中，該計劃受到了廣泛批貶。
今年六月，共和黨議員Chuck Grassley和民主黨議員Patrick Leahy提出了一份提案，該提案要求增加城市開發項目獲得EB-5的難度，并提高最低個人投資額。根據The Real Deal的報道，包括瑞聯集團(該集團曾成功為Hudson Yards開發項目融得超過6億美元的EB-5資金)在內的諸多開發商都對這樣的變革表示反對，并在近期增加了游說開支。最終，改革提案沒有贏得足夠的支持，以致EB-5計劃在不經任何變革的情況下獲得了延期。
各家EB-5公司都對延期消息興奮不已。“我們的擁護者——Cornyn議員、Flake議員和 Schumer議員以及眾議員Pete Sessions都拒絕妥協。”Jeff Campion of Pathways EB-5公司于周四在其官方博客中如是寫道。該公司旗下擁有數個區域中心，而這些區域中心則是連接投資人和開發商的橋梁。“請通過郵件或電話向他們表示謝意，因為沒有他們，就沒有EB-5計劃的延期，”博客最后補充道。
這四位“擁護者”都收到了來自房地產行業的大量捐助。OpenSecrets的數據顯示，來自亞利桑那州的共和黨議員Flake從房地產行業籌集到了34萬美元的捐助款，而來自德克薩斯州的共和黨議員John Cornyn籌集到的捐助款項超過了50萬美元。相比之下，代表達拉斯郊區的一個選區的共和黨議員Pete Sessions雖然僅僅從房地產行業籌集到了5萬美元，但房地產行業依然是其競選捐款的第二大來源。
這些國會議員都贊成改革，但他們倡議的改革并非旨在限制房地產行業在諸如曼哈頓中城區和遠西區的項目中使用EB-5資金。上周四，Cornyn議員和Flake議員提出了一份名為2015年“EB-5誠信法案”的提案，該提案呼吁對區域中心和簽證申請者施以更嚴格的監管，但似乎只字未提有關禁止開發商通過所謂的不正當劃分選區獲取EB-5資金的行為。換而言之，開發商仍能如之前一般在位于諸如曼哈頓中城區的項目中使用EB-5資金。
Flake議員在今年十月時曾提出過另一項有關目標就業區(即有資格獲得EB-5項目資金的低收入地區)劃分的改革提案。但移民專家David North在其發表的博客文章中認為，該提案將會使不正當劃分選區的問題得以“永久延續”。
支持對EB-5計劃進行徹底改革的Grassley議員和Leahy議員分別來自愛荷華州和佛蒙特州，而這兩州的絕大部分都為農村地區。2011年以來，他們從房地產行業募集到的資金相比本文先前提到的幾位要少得多，分別為67,100美元和31,350美元。而曾大力批判EB-5計劃的加州民主黨資深議員Dianne Feinstein則從房地產利益集團募集到了驚人的244,721美元。
盡管Dianne Feinstein身為包含著數個主要中心城市的州議員，但她籌集的資金相比前文提到的三位議員——即Schumer、Flake和Cornyn——要少得多，從這一點也可以看出后三位議員讓各大主要開發商繼續參與EB-5計劃的決心。
對于現行的美國競選財政法的批評者們而言，他們一直以來都在擔心政客們可能偏袒為其提供資金支持的房地產利益集團，從而使立法有利于與其有良好合作關系的企業。
作為EB-5計劃改革的支持者，Grassley議員在周四的參議院演講中也明確了這一點。根據《德梅因紀事報》的消息，他在演講中表示：“未能順應改革呼聲證明了有人選擇站在特殊利益集團、土地開發商和擁有雄厚資金實力的企業一邊。”
英文原文：
EB-5 champions show strong financial ties to real estate industry
What do Chuck Schumer, Jeff Flake, John Cornyn and Pete Sessions have in common?
This isn’t the beginning of a bad Capitol Hill joke. The four lawmakers all championed an extension of the controversial EB-5 visa program in Congress, and they all received major donations from the industry benefiting most from such an extension – real estate.
The findings, based on data from campaign finance watchdog site OpenSecrets, illustrate the ever-expanding role of industry money in U.S. politics. Schumer, New York’s senior senator, received $1.09 million in campaign donations since 2011 from real estate interests. His fourth-largest individual donor was Fragomen, a firm that claims to be “the world’s leading immigration firm” and has donated $82,200 to Schumer’s campaign committee.
Fragomen has a prominent EB-5 practice, and on its website claims to be “at the forefront of any current orimpending changes made to the legislation.” Schumer’s donor list also includes Related Companies and Silverstein Properties, two development firms that have raised seriouscash through the EB-5 program.
On Tuesday, Congress renewed the EB-5 program, which gives foreigners green cards in exchange for their investments in job-creating U.S. projects. The program has been widely criticized for funneling cash to luxury real estateprojects in prime urban neighborhoods, rather than in low-income areas.
In June, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) introduced a reform bill that would have made it much harder for urban development projects to qualify and would have raised the minimum individual investment under the program. Developers like Related, which raised more than $600 million in EB-5 money for its Hudson Yards development, opposed the changes and recently ramped up their lobbying expenses, as The Real Deal reported. The reform did not win enough support, and EB-5 was extended without any changes.
The extension was cheered by EB-5 firms. “Our champions – Senators Cornyn, Flake and Schumer and Congressman Pete Sessions – refused to give up,” Jeff Campion of Pathways EB-5, a firm thatmanages several so-called regional centers that play matchmaker betweeninvestors and developers, wrote in a blog post Thursday. “Please thank them through an email or phone call because without them, there would be no extension,” he added.
These four “champions” all received significant donations from the real estate industry. Flake, a GOP senator from Arizona, has raised over $340,000 from the real estate industry,OpenSecrets data show. Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas, has raised over $500,000. Rep. Pete Sessions, who represents a district in suburban Dallas, has raised only $50,000 from industry players, but they account for the second-largest share of his campaign donations.
These congressmen are in favor of reform, but the reforms they push for don’t address the real estate industry’s ability to use EB-5 funds for projects in prime urban locations like Midtown Manhattan and the Far West Side. On Thursday, senators Cornyn and Flake introduced a bill called the “EB-5 Integrity Act” of 2015 that calls for stricter oversight of regional centers and visa applicants, but the bill appears to have no provision to end the so-called gerrymandering of districts that allows developers to use EB-5 funds in areas like Midtown. In other words: developers would still be able to access EB-5 funds much like before.
Flake in October introduced another bill to reform the drawing of Targeted Employment Areas, or low-incomedistricts where projects can qualify for EB-5 funding. But according to a blogpost by immigration expert David North, the bill would “perpetuate the problem” of gerrymandering.
Grassley and Leahy, proponents of more far-reaching EB-5 reform who represent the predominantly rural states of Iowa and Vermont, raised far fewer funds from the industry since 2011 – $67,100 and $31,350 respectively. California’s democratic senior senator Dianne Feinstein, who blasted the EB-5 program, has raised a significant sum,$244,721, from real estate interests.
But despite representing a state with several major urban centers, she has raised significantly fewer funds than the three senators — Schumer, Flake and Cornyn — who appear bent on allowing major developers continued access to the program.
Critics of current U.S.campaign finance laws have long worried that politicians could become biased towards the industries that bankroll their campaigns, tilting legislation in favor of well-connected corporations.
Grassley, the EB-5 reformproponent, seemed to make this point in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday. “This failure to heed calls for reform,” he said, according to the Des Moines Register, “proves that some would rather side with special interest groups, land developers and those with deep pockets.”
文章轉自：The Real Deal
編輯整理：劉宇和貝特曼律師事務所
