Congressional Quarterly confirms that the Housing Bill (H.R. 3221) will not be returning to the Senate floor for debate until after the July 4 recess. The writing has been on the wall ever since Senator Ensign (R-NV) made it clear that he was standing firm in his insistence that a vote occur on a renewable energy tax credit amendment.
A Republican senator’s effort to add energy tax break extensions to a massive housing package has prompted Democratic leaders to put off final action on the bill until after the Fourth of July recess.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said Thursday that the measure would not be finished before the break.
“Housing is going to be put over,” Reid said, adding that there will “be no amendments other than housing-related amendments to housing.”
Sen. John Ensign , R-Nev., continues to insist on adding an $8.2 billion package that would extend several expiring renewable-energy tax breaks without any offsetting revenue-raisers.
A similar tax amendment was overwhelmingly adopted when the Senate considered an earlier version of the housing package, and the parliamentarian has said the Ensign amendment would be germane to the housing measure.
Once this amendment dispute is over, the Senate is still expected to pass the bill with some ease. CQ notes, however, that final work on the bill is not likely until the middle part of July, at the earliest. The House is expected to add some $2.4 billion in additional offset funding to pay for a remaining portion of the bill’s tax provisions which are currently not paid for.
Update: Per a unanimous consent agreement entered into by the Senate, a cloture (procedural) motion will be voted upon on Monday, July 7. That vote will occur on part 2 of 3 relating to the Housing Bill. The manner in which the bill was passed by the House keeps it, for procedural purposes, split into three pieces in the Senate.
