[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 110 (Monday, September 18, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1515]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           A TRIBUTE TO REIT

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                           HON. PHIL ENGLISH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 18, 2000

  Mr. ENGLISH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the real 
estate investment trust industry on the occasion of its 40th 
anniversary.
  The REIT was created by this very body and signed into law by 
President Eisenhower on this date in 1960.
  A committee report issued that year that through REITs, ``small 
investors can secure advantages normally available only to those with 
large resources.''
  Since then, REITs have lived up to the vision of this institution, 
making investment in large-scale commercial real estate accessible to 
people from all walks of life.
  Last year, I joined several of my colleagues in co-sponsoring the 
REIT Modernization Act. The law, which will take effect in 2001, 
empowers REITs to offer the same range of services as private 
competitors in the fast-changing real estate marketplace.
  I also want to take this opportunity to commend the industry's trade 
association, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, 
which also came into being four decades ago.

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