Home subscribe manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

News
Jul. 09, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Ensign offers compromise on housing bill

Senator wants spending cut added

By TONY BATT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

John Ensign
Nevada lawmaker noted that the Senate voted 88-8 for his amendment in April

WASHINGTON -- Under pressure from his own party, Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., on Tuesday offered a deal to end his hold on a housing bill aimed at easing the mortgage foreclosure crisis that has hit Nevada harder than any other state.

Ensign said he would no longer block the housing bill if Congress added an amendment to cut federal spending by $8 billion to pay for tax cuts for companies developing alternative energy.

Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

Most Popular Stories
  • NORM: Penthouse wants piece of the Strip
  • RAMPAGE ENDS IN SUICIDE: Man runs amok in Las Vegas
  • ROBBERY-HOMICIDE CASE: Juror sent flirtatious messages
  • Father mourns his daughter
  • NORM: 'Joe the Plumber' too booked for LV
  • Judge asks court to release son arrested after crash that killed girl
  • NORM: Strip club owners, 'Vinny' part ways
  • Anger over cuts reaches fever pitch
  • Working beneath Lake Las Vegas
  • DISCIPLINE COMMISSION: Halverson removed from bench



    • Originally, Ensign's amendment did not include any offsets to pay for the tax cuts.

    "It represents, literally, a .0005 percent spending cut in all discretionary spending programs in the United States," Ensign said of his compromise that he unveiled at a news conference.

    "I would further add that if you just take it out of pork-barrelled, earmarked projects, you can pay for this whole thing over the next 10 years," he said.

    Only spending for veterans would be exempted from cuts, according to Ensign's offer.

    But the early response to Ensign's compromise was not promising.

    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., issued a statement saying the Senate cannot afford to delay the housing bill any longer because 8,500 families are losing their homes every day.

    "Unfortunately, the last two times we have offered Republicans the chance to extend renewable energy tax credits, they have said no," Reid said.

    Reid sidestepped a question about whether Ensign is acting irresponsibly by holding up the housing bill.

    "Senator Ensign and I do not criticize each other privately or publicly, so I'm not going to respond to that," Reid said.

    But a Republican senator, Johnny Isaakson of Georgia, said it is time for Ensign to stop delaying the housing bill.

    "The Senate is a place where you can make your point, but there's a time at which your point is made and you have to judge the overall totality of the issue, and I think that time has come," Isaakson told Congressional Quarterly Today.

    The national average is one foreclosure for every 555 homes. In Clark County, where 90 percent of Nevada's foreclosures occur, the average is one foreclosure for every 20 homes.

    Ensign denied he is punishing his constituents to make a political point.

    "We know the housing bill is going to be done," Ensign said. "I'm trying to also do something which is very good for Nevada and the country in our clean energy tax bill. That's the bottom line."

    Ensign noted the Senate voted 88-8 for his amendment in April. He also rejected charges that his amendment has nothing to do with the housing bill. He said his amendment includes tax credits for making homes more energy efficient.

    Asked if he was feeling pressure for holding up the housing bill, Ensign said, "I'm trying to do something I believe in."



    Leave Your Comment 5 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    JustSaying wrote on July 09, 2008 08:23 AM: Bailouts like this turn Aesop's fable of the ant and the grasshopper on its head: be irresponsible, buy more house than you can afford, buy a second or third house as a speculative flip, Congress will save you by making the responsible subsidize the irresponsible.


    josh wrote on July 09, 2008 08:15 AM: Ensign is an EPIC hypocrite!

    He is quoted saying, "I would further add that if you just take it out of pork-barrelled, earmarked projects, you can pay for this whole thing over the next 10 years,".

    This guy is one of the KINGS of earmarks, having sponsored or co-sponsored over $435,000,000 in earmarks this years ALONE! See taxpayer.net, or citizens against govt waste for his specific earmarks!

    Does he believe that WE are that stupid to fall for his lies?!


    "Peter Cantrell wrote on March 20, 2008 10:28 AM:
    "Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., voted for the [earmark] moratorium." Yet, in FY 2008 he sponsored or co-sponsored some $435,000,000 in earmarks!, then voted against the appropriation bill that paid for the pork.

    Ensign; Hypocrite yesterday, hypocrite today, hypocrite tomorrow!

    Actions speak louder than words.


    ths wrote on July 09, 2008 07:12 AM: So my tax dollars that I don't default on go to pay to rescue my neighbors who can't afford their house. How does that work?

    I pay on time, actually pay extra because I baught a house I could afford but I get no awards for doing it right? Are the banks going to cut my interest further because I am one that can afford to pay?

    Don't rescue the speculators or the primary residents that over reached. If they baught a loan that they could not afford long term then they don't deserve the home.

    Many of the people that can't afford their mortgage also can't afford the upkeep of their home. It will create more harm to a neighborhood long term to keep a person that can barely make the renegotiated payment then to get a homeowner who could afford the mortgage and the upkeep.


    John wrote on July 09, 2008 06:29 AM: 8 billion is a start....now if Ensign would just get off the pork wagon himself as well.

    I want to state for the record that I don't support bailing out speculators. Any bailouts should be attached to the property that you hold a homestead or primary residence tax exemption on ONLY. No investment properties, no "i flipped too late" houses, etc etc.


    NoNo wrote on July 09, 2008 05:30 AM: 8 billion dollars, chump change.