[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14678]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




          THE SERVICE MEMBERS FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER RELIEF ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JONES. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year Congress passed H.R. 1, 
better known as the economic stimulus package. Included in this package 
was a provision which modified the first-time homebuyers tax credit 
language that Congress passed last year. Under the new provision, a 
first-time homebuyer who purchased a home before December 1, 2009, 
would get a tax credit of $8,000, which can be fully retained by the 
homebuyer so long as the homebuyer does not sell the home for 36 months 
after purchase. If the home is sold prior to 36 months, the credit will 
have to be repaid.
  Mr. Speaker, under this law, it is unlikely that U.S. servicepersons 
who buy their first homes will be able to use the first-time homebuyer 
tax credit like other American taxpayers. Because many of our military 
personnel serve at a duty station for only a few years at a time, those 
who buy a first home are often transferred and have to sell their first 
residence before the 36-month holding requirement is met.
  I recently introduced legislation that would fix this problem by 
allowing our military men and women the flexibility they need to 
benefit from this tax credit. H.R. 2398, the Service Members First-Time 
Homebuyer Relief Act, would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to 
allow a member of the United States Armed Forces to retain the first-
time homebuyer tax credit if they must sell their home within 36 months 
of purchase because the servicemember is, one, transferred to a new 
duty station; two, deployed overseas; or, three, required to reside in 
government quarters during that period.

                              {time}  1915

  I am very pleased that this legislation has received the support of 
the National Military Families Association. Their letter of support for 
this bill states, and I quote: ``Thank you for recognizing the mobile 
lifestyle of servicemembers and their families. H.R. 2398 waives the 
recapture of the first-time homebuyer's tax credit for servicemembers 
who are transferred to a different duty station or deployed overseas. 
Moves and deployments can be stressful for military families and H.R. 
2398 helps alleviate a financial concern of military families.''
  Mr. Speaker, at this time, I will submit the text of this letter for 
the Record.
                                                 National Military


                                           Family Association,

                                                     May 28, 2009.
     Hon. Walter B. Jones, Jr.,
     House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Representative Jones: The National Military Family 
     Association has long been an advocate for improving the 
     quality of life of our military family members, who have 
     sacrificed greatly in support of our Nation. We appreciate 
     your sponsorship of the ``Service Members First-Time 
     Homebuyer Relief Act of 2009.''
       Thank you for recognizing the mobile lifestyle of service 
     members and their families. H.R. 2398 waives the recapture of 
     the first time homebuyer's tax credit for service members who 
     are transferred to a different duty station or deployed 
     overseas. Moves and deployments can be stressful for military 
     families and H.R. 2398 helps alleviate a financial concern of 
     military families.
       We appreciate your on-going support of service members and 
     their family members. If you have any questions or need 
     further information, please contact Katie Savant in our 
     Government Relations Department at (703) 931-6632 or 
     KSavant@MilitaryFamily. org.
       The National Military Family Association is the only 
     national organization whose sole focus is the military family 
     and whose goal is to influence the development and 
     implementation of policies that will improve the lives of the 
     families of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast 
     Guard, and the Commissioned Corps of the Public Health 
     Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration. For 40 years, its staff and volunteers, 
     comprised mostly of military family members, have built a 
     reputation for being the leading experts on military family 
     issues.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Mary T. Scott,
                                     Chairman, Board of Governors.

  I hope my colleagues will become cosponsors of H.R. 2398 and join in 
helping our servicemembers gain the flexibility they need to benefit 
from the first-time homebuyer's tax credit.
  I have also handed a letter explaining this issue to both Chairman 
Charlie Rangel and Ranking Member David Camp, and I hope they will join 
me in supporting our military families.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, before I close, as I always do on the floor 
of the House, because we have young men and women in Afghanistan and 
Iraq, we have young men and women who are dying for this country, and 
young men and women who are losing limbs in those fights in Afghanistan 
and Iraq, so I ask God to please bless our men and women in uniform. I 
ask God to please bless the families of our men and women in uniform. 
And I ask God in his loving arms to hold the families who've given a 
child dying for freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq.
  And three times, Mr. Speaker, I ask God to please bless America. I 
ask God to please bless America, and again, I ask God to please bless 
this great Nation known as America.

                          ____________________