Political Quotes

“I regret, however, that we missed two opportunities to make it even better. The first missed opportunity was our failure to adopt Senator Durbin's provision regarding bankruptcy. I am still mystified why a bankruptcy judge can reduce the principal or modify the mortgage loan terms on a vacation home but not on a primary residence. The second missed opportunity, in my estimation, was our inability to adopt an amendment Senator Ensign and I offered to establish a $7,000 nonrefundable tax credit for first-time homebuyers. I regret that the Parliamentarian ruled our amendment out of order and we never had a chance to vote on it. The amendment Senator Ensign and I offered was timely, targeted, and temporary: eligibility for the credit would be phased out for single filers whose adjusted gross income, AGI, is between $70,000 and $90,000; for married couples filing a joint return, eligibility for the credit would be phased out if their AGI is between $110,000 and $130,000. These phase-out levels are identical to the phase-out levels contained in the District of Columbia's first-time homebuyers' tax credit.”