Make Your Company’s Voice Heard TODAY
Over the past month across our country and around the world, the lives of so many have been deeply impacted by the unprecedented and difficult circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 coronavirus and its rapid spread. Our hearts go out to all those who are affected directly and indirectly, especially to those in the repossession community that we serve.
We know that many of you in our industry are facing growing pressure due to the increased stress and diminished revenue during this period. Know that ARA is working diligently on a daily basis to help get our industry back to work as quickly as possible so that each of you can once again serve your clients and provide a livelihood for you, your families, your employees and their families. Towards that end, we must bring a critical and timely issue to your attention and need your immediate response.
Right now, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, our industry is facing a different kind of crisis due to the introduction this week of new potential legislation that if passed would devastate our businesses over the coming months in ways that most would not be able to recover from. Bills in both the Senate and the House of Representatives have been introduced (that would become attached to the next round of small business loan assistance if approved) which would not allow any repossessions for a period of 120 days from the ending of the National State of Emergency. Needless to say, an additional 120-day moratorium on top of the downtime currently being experienced by the repossession industry would be devastating to most of our members.
Over the last 48 hours, the Leadership of ARA has been interacting with multiple legislators to fully understand where this bill is in the process. We have been collaborating and strategizing with other trade associations inside our industry on how to fight this legislation together (as all will be affected by this legislation), and have been meeting with a key lobbyist group to determine the most effective ways to engage this process immediately and fight back against these bills.
The lobbyist group has shared very clearly that in order to assist us in the fight to preserve our industry, we MUST provide an accurate representation of the companies in our industry and what congressional districts and states they fall under, as the first question lawmakers always ask is “who do you represent and how many are affected.” We MUST put this information together right away for our repossession community, and then we will combine it with the other associations that are working together on this situation to create the biggest influence possible towards hopefully changing the course of these bills that would block us from returning to work.
Helping us gather this information will not only allow an immediate effort on this matter, it will also allow ARA to be prepared for any other matter in the future where we need to engage a lobbying effort on your behalf. ARA has been calling for our community to rise up and become a strong and united voice for a long time, and it has never been more crucial than this moment. Whatever your political views, association status, or opinions are regarding ARA, we need your help to make sure that every repossession company in the country is accounted for as we fight back against this legislation that could prevent us from doing business far after the COVID-19 crisis subsides.
We cannot win in this fight to sustain our industry without your help and we must act quickly. We urge you to fill out the below questionnaire today to make sure that your company and all of its employees are counted. Then, please get word to all other repossession company owners you know across our industry and ask them to do the same right away. Together – UNITED – gives us the best chance at success today and in the future. Thank you in advance for your support.
