Senate Proceeding on Jun 19th, 2008 :: 3:01:57 to 3:10:03
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3:01:42 to 3:01:57( Edit History Discussion )

senator sanders be recognized to speak for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. baucus: madam president,re confucius said, "the strength of the nation derives from the integrity of

3:01:57 to 3:02:06( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: the home." today we're here to protect the strength of our nation, and we're here to help keep families in their homes. the tax provisions are meant to stabilize the housing market and boost our economy

3:01:57 to 3:10:03( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Robert P. Casey, Jr.

3:02:06 to 3:02:19( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: and designed to provide temporary, targeted and family tax relief for the housing market. in 2007, 1% of all homes were in default. that's 1%. that's 1.2 million homes. the nation's foreclosure rate

3:02:19 to 3:02:34( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: in 2007 was two and a half times than what it was earlier. in my home state of montana, the tefpb foreclosure rate was up almost 30% from the preceding year and 50% of two years earlier. the number

3:02:34 to 3:02:44( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: of foreclosures continues to growth. in may, the number of homes receiving a foreclosure notice was up 7% from the month before and 48% from a year before, which means that one in every 483 american

3:02:44 to 3:02:55( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: households received a foreclosure notice last month. that's a record high. behind every foreclosed property, there is a family. there is a family losing its home. there is a family losing a piece of

3:02:55 to 3:03:05( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: its future. our economic weakness is largely the result of the weak housing market. more than 5 million households now own more on -- owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth. one of every

3:03:05 to 3:03:17( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: ten mortgages in this home mortgage crisis, as home prices fall, these numbers will get worse. the amendment before us is a response to that problem, is a request to deal with it. we provide tax relief

3:03:17 to 3:03:30( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: for homeowners, home buyers and home builders. first, the tax provisions, it would provide additional $11 billion of mortgage revenue bonds so that statehousing agencies can immediately respond to the housing

3:03:30 to 3:03:44( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: tkwurpb. this would help homeowners avoid foreclosures. tax-exempt bonds issued by state and local housing finance agencies, they are bonds which help those agencies provide mortgages for home buyers

3:03:44 to 3:03:57( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: below market rates of interest. the virtual collapse of the subprime and affordable marts has increased the demand for mortgages financed through mortgage revenue bonds, increasing the cap on these bonds

3:03:57 to 3:04:20( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: and providing states the option to refinance subprime mortgages can allow statehousing agencies to respond to homes at risk of foreclosure. and additional mortgage revenue bonds could help clear out the glut

3:04:20 to 3:04:37( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: of homes on the market. additional mortgage revenue bonds can lead to more first-time home purchases. the amendment would provide broad-based tax relief by expanding the number of people who may deduct property

3:04:37 to 3:04:55( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: taxes. currently homeowners are allowed to deduct local real estate property taxes with their federal tax returns only if they are itemized. according to the joint committee on taxation more than 20 million

3:04:55 to 3:05:09( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: americans pay property taxes but do not itemize. this proposal allows those taxpayers to deduct the amount of their property taxes up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for married filers. they can

3:05:09 to 3:05:23( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: take the deduction even if they do not itemize their deductions. this change would benefit low-income individuals, benefit those who have paid off their mortgages and don't have a reason to itemize.

3:05:23 to 3:05:34( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: it would benefit young families just starting out. it would benefit senior citizens. the congressional research service estimates 150,000 in montana could benefit. to help reduce the excessive inventory

3:05:34 to 3:05:48( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: of foreclosured home, the amendment includes a credit of $8,000. the credit would apply to first-time home buyers. it would begin to phase out to home buyers with $75,000 for individuals and $150,000

3:05:48 to 3:06:04( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: for joint buyers. the credit would be repaid over 15 years at 0% interest. the short-term nature this have credit is critical. it would help provide immediate stimulus to help put home builders

3:06:04 to 3:06:14( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: in the housing industry back on track and help over oversubsidizing the housing industry. this program is the engine that drives -- that low-income rental housing in america, but is long overdue for

3:06:14 to 3:06:32( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: a tuneup. the amendment would increase the total number of credits available by 10% per state, and the amendment would broaden the class by allowing it be taken against the a.m.t. the statehousing

3:06:32 to 3:06:47( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: federal agencies are good stewards of this program and the amendment would give these agencies more discretion to direct dollars to projects the state deems high priority. these tune ups would help to make

3:06:47 to 3:06:58( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: this engine run much more smoothly and lead to an increase in affordable rental housing across the country. the amendment would also allow taxpayers to choose to take a refund of alternative minimum taxes

3:06:58 to 3:07:12( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: or r&d credits in place of bonus depreciation deductions. under this amendment, they could take advantage of a refund and they could use that funding investment in capital assets. and that would create

3:07:12 to 3:07:27( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: and maintain jobs. these proposals would be fully paid for, paid for with responsible offsets. i believe as much as possible, we should avoid increasing our national debt and our reliance on foreign

3:07:27 to 3:07:40( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: creditors. that means when we lower taxes, we should have offsets that make up the difference. the amendment includes a house-passed proposal to close a loophole that involves the sale of second homes.

3:07:40 to 3:07:51( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: it would apply to houses that are used both as a principal residence and other purposes. an example would be a principal residence also used as rental property. under current law, an owner can exclude

3:07:51 to 3:08:04( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: income from the sale of that second home. the oerpbl needs to have tphraoeufd that home for two out of the last five years. the proposal would limit the gain the owner could exclude from income when the

3:08:04 to 3:08:14( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: owner sells the residence. the idea behind the proposal is that a personal income exclusion should be limited to the personal use of the residence. a second pay-for wouldteletext

3:08:14 to 3:08:25( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: require information reporte on credit card transactions. merchant banks that sell credit and debit card sales would report annual sales to the businesses making

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Robert P. Casey, Jr.: its way to the i.r.s. third-parties would do the same. in response to concerns about possible burdens this proposal could put on small e-business sellers, the proposal contains a de minimis exception.

3:08:44 to 3:08:58( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: the exception excludes from the reporting requirements operations of aggregate sales of $10,000 or less a year. the exception would also exclude a volume of 200 trapbgz actions or fewer.| the proposal

3:08:58 to 3:09:10( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: gives ample time to banks so they can program their system that need from sellers before initiating the information documents. this proposal does not raise taxes on anyone. it would cause people to

3:09:10 to 3:09:21( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: file more accurate returns. the administration has included this proposal in its annual budget for the last three years and earlier this year senator grassley and i released a bipartisan draft as

3:09:21 to 3:09:36( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: a proposal for public comment. working together with the house, we have taken this into account to have a proposal that reflects industry practices. it would enhance the i.r.s. penalties, it would

3:09:36 to 3:09:49( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: have timely tax reported information returns. it is an effective tax administration and voluntary tax compliance. a lot of irresponsible actions have led to the current housing crisis, but now a lot of

3:09:49 to 3:10:03( Edit History Discussion )

Robert P. Casey, Jr.: responsible homeowners, home buyers and homebuilders are caught up in the mess and they cannot afford to wait any longer for our help. the tax provisions in this amendment would go a long way to

3:10:03 to 3:10:14( Edit History Discussion )

address the housing downturn and economic weaknesses in our country. so i say, madam president, let us help these folks, let's help them keep their homes and thus thereby help sustain the economic strength