George Friedlander and Tom Kozlik to lead Municipal Bonds For America Technical Advisory Committee

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Municipal Bonds for America (MBFA) announced today that Citigroup chief municipal strategist George Friedlander and Janney Montgomery Scott Director and Municipal Credit Analyst Tom Kozlik will lead the coalition's Technical Advisory Committee.

"We're delighted that several of the bond market's brightest minds have agreed to support this issuer led Municipal Bonds For America coalition as they provide Members of Congress with research and analysis about the consequences of changing the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds," said MBFA Interim Executive Committee Chairman Marc Jahr. "It is important that elected leaders consider how changing our nation's public financing system would impact borrowing costs and the negative impact on capital improvement projects in every State, city, and town in America."

"The risk of changes in the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds is greater than at any time since 1986," said Citigroup's George Friedlander.  "Elimination of the muni tax exemption would sharply increase the cost of borrowing for new state and local projects and would ultimately increase the taxes that every American would have to pay."

Friedlander and Kozlik will lead a committee composed of many of the industry's leading municipal market professionals as they provide technical support to the direct advocacy from municipal bond issuers leading the MBFA coalition.  Members of the MBFA Technical Advisory Committee include:

About Municipal Bonds for America

Municipal Bonds for America is a group of municipal bond issuers, representing every segment of the market and located coast to coast, who are working with other municipal bond professionals from across America to explain the many benefits of the traditional municipal bond market, including the tax exemption which enables state and local governments to finance vital infrastructure at the lowest cost to their taxpayers while maintaining the integrity and value of the municipal bond market. For more information, please visit www.munibondsforamerica.org.

SOURCE Municipal Bonds for America