[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 122 (Monday, September 13, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Page S7023]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           50TH ANNIVERSARY OF REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS

  Mr. HATCH. Madam President, I rise today to recognize the 50th 
anniversary of the enactment of legislation that created real estate 
investment trusts, REITs. The development of real estate investment 
trusts is among the true success stories of American business. 
Moreover, REITs legislation enacted over the past 50 years presents a 
remarkable example of how Congress can create the legal framework to 
liberate entrepreneurs, small investors, and men and women across the 
country to do what they do best--create wealth and, more importantly, 
build thriving communities.
  When REITs were first created in 1960, small investors had almost no 
role in commercial real estate ventures. At that time, private 
partnerships and other groups closed to ordinary investors directed 
real estate investments, typically using debt, not equity, to finance 
their ventures. That model not only served small investors poorly, it 
resulted in the misallocation of capital, and contributed to 
significant market volatility.
  Since that time, REITs have permitted small investors to participate 
in one of our country's greatest generators of wealth--income-producing 
real estate--and REITs have greatly improved real estate markets by 
promoting transparency, liquidity, and stability. The growth in REITs 
has been particularly dramatic and beneficial in the past 15 years, as 
capital markets responded to a series of changes in the tax rules that 
modernized the original 1960 REIT legislation to adjust it to new 
realities of the marketplace.
  Equity REITs have outperformed the major U.S. equity market 
benchmarks for all multi-year periods over the past 35 years, as well 
as over the entire 38-year period since the inception of the U.S. REIT 
indexes.
  I am proud of my role in sponsoring legislation that included many of 
these changes that modernized the REIT rules, and I remain committed to 
making every effort to ensure that the people of Utah and across our 
Nation continue to benefit from a dynamic and innovative REIT sector.
  I have seen firsthand what REITs have done for communities across my 
State of Utah. It is very much in Utah's interests, and in our 
country's interests, to make sure that REITs continue to work 
effectively and efficiently to carry out the mission which Congress 
intended.

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