What Year-Round Advocacy Looks Like at MBA

(MBA’s Bob Broeksmit, CMB [right] presented the annual Burton C. Wood Legislative Service Award to 2025-2026 MAA Vice Chair Becky Sandiland, CMB, senior loan advisor at Belay Bank Mortgage. Credit: Allison O’Brien.)

For the Mortgage Bankers Association, advocacy is not just a singular event, or something limited to specific time periods–like the election season, MBA’s annual legislative fly-in or quarterly webinars.

Rather, it’s a dedicated, continuous, year-round effort.

MBA’s advocacy efforts serve a few different purposes–they give real estate finance industry professionals a valuable platform to participate in shaping policies and outcomes that directly impact their daily work. Moreover, “MBA’s political programs significantly benefit our industry members, fostering a powerful sense of connection, meaningful engagement, and enduring commitment,” said MBA’s Senior Vice President of Legislative and Political Affairs Bill Killmer.

MBA has a range of political programs that serve different aims and provide a variety of benefits to its members.

For example, MBA’s federal, bipartisan Political Action Committee, MORPAC, is a powerful tool that helps MBA drive positive policy change. As the only federal PAC that represents the entire real estate finance industry, MORPAC helps build and strengthen relationships with pro-industry candidates, providing access to decisionmakers and advancing MBA’s legislative and regulatory agenda within our nation’s political system. “With a healthy MORPAC, MBA can effectively advocate for our members and achieve legislative successes. One great recent example is the preservation/expansion of pro-housing and real estate finance tax provisions in the sweeping tax/reconciliation bill,” explained MBA’s 2025–2026 MORPAC Chairwoman Nanci Weissgold of Alston & Bird.

Another key advocacy platform is the Mortgage Action Alliance or “MAA,” MBA’s free grassroots advocacy network for real estate finance industry professionals. MAA is a tool that can help bring the industry’s collective voice to the table, leveraging relationships with lawmakers and activating advocates on short notice to impact urgent policy issues. MAA is open to all industry professionals, meaning you don’t need to be an MBA member to join.

MAA routinely organizes regular Calls to Action to help participants reach lawmakers and their staff at the federal, state and local levels. These alerts help elected officials understand how policy issues affect the industry, our members’ customers/end users, and the communities they serve. “There’s strength in numbers,” said MBA’s 2025–2026 MAA Chairman Bill Nelson of Standard Mortgage Corp. “When a large group weighs in, policymakers pay attention.”

Another vital part of MBA’s advocacy programs is the National Advocacy Conference, the industry’s legislative “fly-in” held annually in Washington, D.C. During this two-day event, advocates meet with and educate policymakers and their staff on priority issues.

These in-person meetings with policymakers are key to MBA’s advocacy efforts, as participants can add a real name, face and personal story to complex issues, making them relatable to members of Congress with no background or education in the industry.

“You are the voters. You are the people who will determine whether this elected representative remains in office or leaves office,” said MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB, to attendees during his speech at the 2025 conference. “They want to hear from you. You employ people in the district, and you make financing possible for so many people in their home state. It’s always the case when I accompany you on these visits that they’re polite to me, but they’re engaged with you.”

Similar to the National Advocacy Conference, MAA’s Advocacy in August initiative is a political engagement strategy that aims to advance MBA’s legislative agenda. During the traditional congressional August recess, elected officials will be home in their states and districts to hear from constituents, without distractions like committee hearings and competing responsibilities. MBA’s Legislative and Political Affairs team works to coordinate direct, in-person and virtual meetings for the advocates, as well as providing participants with the resources and pre-meeting preparation that is needed.

MBA’s 2025–2026 MORPAC Vice Chair Ryan Black, AMP, of Black, Mann & Graham, LLP, a former congressional staffer himself, noted the importance of these types of meetings. “When you show up in numbers and you show the real impact to an official’s district and state, it carries quite a bit of weight.”

In addition to meeting with Members of Congress and their staff members during NAC or August recess, industry members can also engage in various other ways year-round, including running an MAA campaign to help boost overall membership and increase participation, attending advocacy receptions at most MBA-sponsored conferences, responding to MAA Calls to Action alerts, or learning more about MORPAC.

As the leading association for the entire real estate finance industry, MBA’s representation extends far beyond sporadic efforts but rather works to help engage our members in continuous advocacy — no matter what the time of year.

“As a real estate finance professional, you, your firm and your industry colleagues are all impacted by political developments, regardless of whether you’re serving a potential homeowner or renter. Public policy shifts create ripple effects through the market,” said MBA’s AVP of Political Affairs Jamey Lynch, AMP. “Therefore, it’s a proven fact that engaging in MBA’s advocacy efforts–all year-round–is important to your bottom line and overall success.”