ARA to scale back caucus 2022

With the coronavirus (COVID-19) omicron variant raging through the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., area and the uncertainty that brings, the American Rental Association (ARA) has decided to significantly scale back the National Legislative Caucus for 2022.

“Caucus is one of our premier events and one I look forward to every year,” says Dan Hooks, CERP, president, Party Reflections, Charlotte, N.C., and ARA president. “However, a successful caucus requires access to Congressional offices and that is very unlikely to happen by the time we are supposed to be in Washington, D.C., on March 22-24. This has led us to a decision not to invite state delegations to Washington for caucus,” he says.

“However, the ARA Board of Directors is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., on March 22, 2022. We are still considering our options with respect to that meeting. If we do go forward with a meeting in Washington, ARA board members and a small number of advocacy workgroup members will likely engage with members of Congress and staff,” Hooks says.

“This is a very tough situation,” says John McClelland, Ph.D., ARA’s vice president for government affairs and chief economist. “Anyone entering a Congressional office building must go through enhanced security and check in at the security desk. They must then be escorted by staff from the member’s office to their meeting. Once the meeting concludes, they must be escorted back to the security desk. The public is not allowed to wander the halls as in years past. This obviously makes having the dozens of meetings that are typical at Caucus virtually impossible.”