Letter to the Hon. Richard Neal, Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, the Hon. Al Green, Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, and the Hon. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Chairman of the House Commitee on Oversight and Reform - Congresswoman Tlaib Asks House Committees for Investigation on Opportunity Zones Influence

Letter

I am writing to request that your respective committee/subcommittees hold an investigative hearing into
whether political campaign contributions have influenced the designation of so-called opportunity zones
in my district and across the country.

On October 24 th , 2019, ProPublica published an article titled "How a Tax Break to Help the Poor Went to
NBA Owner Dan Gilbert." 1 The article contained disturbing details that suggest that opportunity zones
have been designated in census tracts that did not meet the legal criteria, and that political donations and
influence have overridden the law to reward donors with generous tax breaks supposedly intended to
benefit the poor.

According to ProPublica, billionaire Dan Gilbert's Quicken Loans company donated $750,000 to
President Trump's inaugural fund, hosted Ivanka Trump in 2017 for a panel discussion, and last year
Gilbert watched the midterm election returns at the White House with President Trump, who has called
Gilbert "a great friend." In return, three census tracts in downtown Detroit, where Gilbert owns valuable real estate, were selected as opportunity zones. According to ProPublica, multiple studies have found that
property values in opportunity zones increased because of the tax break, and Gilbert has poured more than
$3 billion into real estate in Detroit -- the vast majority of which is now in opportunity zones.

At least one of the Gilbert tracts did not meet the poverty requirement for being an opportunity zone and
appears to have been designated solely due to political influence. Email exchanges revealed Quicken
executives working in concert with the White House to designate tracts with Gilbert's investments as
opportunity zones. Quicken lobbyists were enmeshed in the selection process at every level, lobbying
City, State, and Federal officials to include Gilbert's investment zones in the opportunity zone law.
According to the City of Detroit's recommendations, one of the Gilbert tracts -- where he owns more than
10 buildings -- was ineligible for the program because its median family income was almost 1.5 times the
eligibility requirements. Yet when the Treasury Department released a revised list of eligible tracts, it had
transformed that tract into a "low-income community." I am deeply concerned that the Treasury
Department has approved opportunity zones as political favors to donors, and Congressional hearings
must be empaneled swiftly to root out abuse and corruption.

The stated purpose of opportunity zones was to encourage new investment in poor areas around the
country with tax breaks on those investments, to create housing and economic opportunity. Census tract
eligibility was based on poverty and income levels. Two of the downtown Detroit census tracts
designated as opportunity zones, however, are sites of significant wealth and existing investment, with
companies like Microsoft and JP Morgan leasing space in Gilbert-owned buildings. Instead of fostering
the creation of housing or new jobs, though, these Detroit opportunity zones are the sites of several long-
planned Gilbert mega investments, including the construction of a skyscraper that has already received
$618 million in tax breaks from the State of Michigan. Of the 10 most impoverished areas in Detroit,
only 2 were designated opportunity zones, while of the 10 least impoverished areas in Detroit, 6 were
designated opportunity zones.

Not content with buying the opportunity zone designations, Gilbert's lobbyists are apparently now
lobbying the Treasury Department to adopt lax, pro-developer regulations for the opportunity zone
program, including loosening the rules around how quickly opportunity zone investments must get under
way. In response to the concerns raised by ProPublica, representatives from both Gilbert's companies
and the Treasury Department denied wrongdoing and refused to answer questions. I am deeply concerned
that the Treasury Department is doing the bidding of wealthy investors and political donors and we
should use Congress' investigative authority to uncover the truth.

The problem is not limited to my district. ProPublica reported 2 that the Treasury Department's mapping
analysis for determining eligibility was "deeply flawed" and resulted in unqualified census tracts being
designated opportunity zones across the country, including in Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and
Oklahoma City. In Baltimore, this flawed process allowed billionaire Under Armor CEO Kevin Plank to
take advantage of opportunity zones for his own pre-existing, sprawling development in a wealthy area.
There, Plank's lobbyists succeeded in securing an opportunity zone covering his major investment in the
Port Covington area of Baltimore, despite it being deemed unqualified as a low-income tract by Maryland
Governor Larry Hogan's own deputy chief of staff. Hogan chose the area as an opportunity zone on a technicality after a meeting with Plank developers and lobbyists, who had given at least $24,000 to
Hogan's campaigns in recent years.

Public trust in our federal government is eroded when the rules are applied unevenly, and seem to reward
the wealthiest and best connected amongst us. It appears that a tax program supposedly designed to
benefit the poorest amongst us is now being used to reward political donors and wealthy investors. A
Congressional hearing in your subcommittee on political influence in the opportunity zone designation
and regulation process will help root out corruption and protect our most vulnerable constituents.

I appreciate your consideration of this request and would be happy to answer any questions you may
have. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

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