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In an unexpected move this week, Nevada Republican Senator John Ensign single-handedly delayed a vote on the Housing Stimulus Bill.  His motive?  Many are saying Ensign’s demand that a renewable-energy tax credit amendment be piggybacked onto the housing bill is sheer stubbornness over a pet project. But at least one housing industry insider has a different take, and his answer may surprise you.

As reported by Reuters, Democratic Illinois Senator Richard Durbin said the Housing bill was being hindered because of Senator Ensign’s “insistence on an unrelated amendment.”  The bill’s chief architect, Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd of the recent Doddy-wide VIP Mortgage Scandal, said, “one United States senator has decided we shouldn’t do anything but HIS bill.”  Senate Majority Leader Reid was displeased with the delay and applied pressure by threatening to extend the Senate session into the weekend. 

Lobbyists for the Housing Bill chimed in as well.  Yesterday afternoon, I spoke to Ken Gear, Vice President of Government Affairs for Pulte Homes, Inc., one of the nation’s largest home builders.  Mr. Gear said, “This bill is too important for the country to be playing politics with.  The market continues to deteriorate and the Senate needs to work in a bipartisan fashion to get it done immediately.”

When asked whether he was accusing Senator Ensign of delaying the housing bill for political reasons and what those reasons might be, Mr. Gear declined to elaborate.  I spoke to another high-level industry insider who was willing to say more if I would agree to withhold his name:

“This isn’t about housing.  Ensign’s play to attach an energy efficiency tax credit amendment to the bill is purely political because the tax credit is going to cost $8 billion to implement but is not “paid for.”  The House has said it won’t pass any bill that doesn’t specify where the money will come from, and Ensign’s amendment doesn’t include this, so the Democratic leadership knows the bill won’t pass.  

Ensign knows this, too, but he’s trying to score political points by forcing the Democrats to vote against an energy efficiency bill in an election year in which energy policy is going to be a huge issue.”

Stand by for Part Two of Our Series: “Method or Madness: John Ensign Stalls Housing Bill Over Energy Amendment”