[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 49 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H3723]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          SUPPORT H.R. 1245, HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT ACT OF 2009

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Burton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I'm going to do something novel 
tonight. I am going to reach out to my Democrat colleagues. And I'm 
glad to see some of them, like Don, over there tonight to listen to my 
exhortations.
  Mr. Speaker, the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers was one 
of the reasons why home sales went up by about 5.1 percent last month. 
That was an indication that we are probably moving in the right 
direction as far as stimulating some economic growth in the housing 
industry. But the housing industry is in a depression right now. And we 
need more than just the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
  Now, back in 1975, Congress passed the Tax Reduction Act of 1975, 
which included a tax credit not just for first-time homebuyers, but for 
all homebuyers, up to $2,000 in a tax credit. As a result, they 
increased within the next year by 400,000 the number of houses that 
were sold, and in 2 years they were back up to the 2 million house 
level.
  So we need to stimulate economic growth in the housing industry 
across the board, not just for first-time homebuyers. Now Ken Calvert 
of California, our colleague, has introduced a bill, H.R. 1245. I'm a 
cosponsor of it. And it will give a 10 percent credit, 10 percent of 
the home price, up to $15,000 for all homebuyers for 1 year. Now if we 
did that like they did back in 1975--and this was sponsored mainly by 
Democrats back in 1975--if we did that across the board for homebuyers 
up to $15,000, we would stimulate a huge movement towards home 
purchasing. Twenty-five percent of the people in this country say they 
want to buy a home within the next 10 years. We can move that up pretty 
rapidly if we extend the tax credit to $15,000 and allow everybody to 
get it for 1 year. And if we did that, I think that would go a long way 
toward solving the economic problems we are facing right now. Right 
now, what we are doing is we are throwing money at the problem, and we 
are hoping that that will solve it. It is probably going to help a 
little bit in the short run. But in the long run, if we really want to 
stimulate economic growth and activity, we have to get the free market 
working again. And the best way to do that in my opinion, and I'm 
saying this to my Democrat colleagues as well as my Republican 
colleagues, is to give an incentive for people to buy homes, not just 
first-time homebuyers, but everyone who would like to buy a home or 
move into a better one.
  So if we allow, say, a 10 percent tax credit up to an amount of 
$15,000 for just 1 year, I think you would see a huge movement in the 
purchase of homes in this country, and it will really help the economy.
  Now the realtors of this country and the homebuilders of this country 
really need help. They want this bill. They think it is extremely 
important. They are out here this week and they are going to be talking 
about it. So I would like to say to you, Don, and all my Democrat 
colleagues and my Republican colleagues, let's get together on this 
one. We can fight on something else. But right now we have an 
opportunity to really stimulate home purchases in this country and get 
this economy moving more rapidly in the right direction.
  So I hope you will join with me in cosponsoring Ken's bill, H.R. 
1245, and I'll be glad to sign any of you up tonight.

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