Bringing the Dream of Homeownership Within Reach  As part of its plan to stimulate the U.S. housing market and address the economic challenges facing our nation, Congress has passed new legislation that: Extends the First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of up to $8,000 to first-time home buyers until April 30, 2010. Expands the credit to grant up to $6,500 credit to current home owners purchasing a new or existing home between November 7, 2009 and April 30, 2010.  Here is more information about how the Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit can help prospective home buyers become part of the American dream. Who Qualifies for the Extended Credit? First-time home buyers who purchase hom ...
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© The Arizona Republic 2009  Spend enough time with Eileen Klein and the people who know her and the state Capitol best, and two things become clear: First, the new chief of staff to Republican Gov. Jan Brewer is a rising star. Second, that may not be enough to turn around a state government drowning in debt and an administration some say is dazed by the enormity of its challenge. Read more. ...
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Congress passed legislation this week extending unemployment benefits in every state and renewing the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers through June 2010. The Senate passed the bill 98-0 on Wednesday, and the House approved it 403-12 this afternoon. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation in the next few days. The bill extends unemployment benefits by 20 weeks in more than two dozen states where unemployment rates are above 8.5 percent, and 14 weeks elsewhere. The $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers was due to expire at the end of November. It’s now extended through June 30, 2010 as long as the home buyer signs a contract by April 30 and closes on the ho ...
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House leaders are still lining up support and attempting to quell concerns from pro-life Democrats, but plan to have a floor vote on health care reform legislation this Saturday. House Democrats introduced the blended bill last week – the merged product of three bills approved this summer by the Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees – and on Tuesday released 42 pages of amendments to the package. No House Republicans are expected to vote for the bill, so House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will need at least 218 votes from the Democratic caucus to pass the measure. “Americans are ready for comprehensive health insurance reform, and the House ...
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© ABC News 2009  Members of the House of Representatives are poised to vote Saturday on health care legislation, but a top Democratic leader acknowledged today that the vote may get pushed back to Sunday or later if there is not enough support to pass the bill on the floor. Read more. ...
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©Arizona Capitol Times 2009  The budget fix being shopped to Republican lawmakers would erase a little more than a quarter of the estimated $2 billion deficit and include about $300 million in permanent spending cuts.  House Majority Whip Andy Tobin said the deal Republican leaders have reached with Republican Gov. Jan Brewer would include $140 million in cuts to K-12 education and $140 million in cuts to the Department of Economic Security, which operates the state’s welfare programs.  In September, Brewer vetoed more than $450 million in cuts to those two agencies after lawmakers failed to approve a special election to temporarily raise the sales tax.  Additi ...
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Richard A. Smith, CEO of Realogy Corporation and Chair of Business Roundtable’s Housing Working Group, commended the Senate for voting to extend and expand the federal homebuyer tax credit, a critical program has already enabled hundreds of thousands of Americans to become first-time homebuyers. "We commend the Senate for voting to extend and expand the federal homebuyer taxcredit. This critical program has already enabled hundreds of thousands ofAmericans to become first-time homebuyers. Encouraging additional home purchaseswill create a cascade effect, not only boosting the housing sector, but alsocreating jobs and hastening broad recovery of the U.S. economy - more than 20 ...
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© CNN 2009The push to overhaul health care is set to receive a major boost Thursday as the nation's largest organization of older Americans endorses legislation drafted by top House Democrats. A Democratic source with direct knowledge of the matter said the AARP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that advocates for people 50 and older, will come out in favor of the measure. Read More.    ...
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©Arizona Republic 2009   In the never-ending struggle in the West over whether public lands should be harvested for their valuable metals, fuels and timber or set aside for future generations of people and wildlife, environmental interests have gained the upper hand since President Barack Obama moved into the White House. Obama has begun a dramatic reversal in Western land-use policy that already has had a major impact in Arizona.    In a sharp departure from the Bush administration, the Obama team has halted new uranium-mining claims near the Grand Canyon, proposed new preserves for wild mustangs and funded the expansion of the More >>

© San Francisco Chronicle 2009  The California Legislature passed a sweeping, multi-billion dollar overhaul of the state's water system this morning, after an all-night session on a plan that has been years in the making. The package of legislation will impact how Californians will receive and use water and won immediate praise from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Read more.  ...
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