[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 6, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E120]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOVERY REBATES AND ECONOMIC STIMULUS FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ACT OF 
                                  2008

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. AL GREEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 29, 2008

  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam Speaker, today, Congress passed a $146 
billion, bipartisan economic stimulus bill that will quickly send 
hundreds of dollars to poor and middle-class working families while 
offering businesses one-time incentives to invest in new equipment. 
Although there is much more to do if we are to meet the needs of 
American families, including extending unemployment benefits and food 
stamps, I believe that this stimulus is an important first step in our 
effort to help hardworking Americans.
  This broad-based stimulus package will provide tax relief of up to 
$600 per individual and $1,200 per married couple, plus an additional 
$300 per child. Recovery rebate checks could be sent as early as mid-
May, getting money to Americans who will spend it immediately to 
reinvigorate the economy. In Texas alone, approximately 8.6 million 
families will receive rebates averaging over $900. Nationwide, over 111 
million families would receive these rebate checks, including 35 
million with earnings too low to pay income taxes. More than 19 million 
of these are families with children and 13 million are struggling 
seniors. Nearly $50 billion of the rebate will go to middle-income 
Americans and those aspiring to it. Economists estimate that each 
dollar of broad tax cuts leads to $1.26 in economic growth.
  The economic stimulus bill also helps address the crisis we are 
facing in our home mortgage market by permitting more borrowers facing 
defaults to refinance through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). 
For 2008, the bill increases the FHA loan limits up to $729,750 from 
$362,790 to expand affordable mortgage loan opportunities for families 
at risk of foreclosure. In addition, the bill also enhances credit 
availability in the mortgage market by including a 1-year increase in 
the conforming loan limits for single family homes from Fannie Mae and 
Freddie Mac from $417,000 up to $729,750 for 2008. These increases in 
loan limits will benefit areas where housing costs are higher than the 
national average.
  Mortgage rates on loans that currently exceed these loan limits are 
much more expensive than for smaller loans. These higher rates have 
hurt demand for housing in high-cost areas. The provisions in the 
stimulus will lower borrowing costs for many Americans, including 
middle-class families in high-cost cities to those who may be facing 
foreclosure. More importantly, this will allow more homeowners to 
refinance their existing mortgages, thereby increasing the 
effectiveness of the interest freeze for some subprime borrowers 
brokered by the Treasury in December. This is because more borrowers 
will be able to take advantage of the freeze to refinance into new FHA 
loans.
  Finally, this bill will promote small business investment in 
equipment, which will spur job creation here at home. The bipartisan 
plan doubles the amount small businesses can immediately write off 
their taxes for capital investments made in 2008 from $125,000 to 
$250,000, for purchases of new equipment of up to $800,000 (from 
$500,000). It also provides immediate tax relief for all businesses to 
invest in new plants and equipment by speeding up depreciation 
provisions, so that firms can write off an additional 50 percent for 
investments purchased in 2008.
  While more needs to be done, I am confident that this bipartisan 
economic stimulus package will help many American families in the weeks 
and months ahead.

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