Introduces Legislation to Expand Tax Credit for Homebuyers, Cites Endorsement by Business Roundtable

Drawing on more than three decades of experience in the real estate industry, U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today introduced legislation to invigorate housing demand and to boost the economy by expanding the first-time homebuyer tax credit passed by Congress earlier year.

“The first-time homebuyer tax credit has made a difference. First-time home buyers used it and the market stabilized, but we don’t have a recession in first-time home buyers. We have a recession in the move-up market,” Isakson said. “One of the biggest problems facing the American people today is an illiquid housing market, a decline in their equity, a decline in their net worth and a depression in the housing market that we are obligated to correct if we possibly can.”

Specifically, Isakson’s legislation would increase the maximum amount of the credit from $8,000 to $15,000 and expand the current tax credit so that it applies to any buyer of any home, not just first-time buyers. The legislation also would eliminate the income caps of $75,000 for an individual and $150,000 for a couple under the current tax credit so that there is no income limit for eligibility. Finally, the amendment would extend the tax credit for one year from date of enactment and would still allow homebuyers to claim the credit on their 2009 tax return for purchases made in 2010.

“The man who is transferred from Missouri to Georgia can’t sell his house in Missouri, can’t come to Georgia and can’t take the transfer. His employer can’t afford to buy the house and hold it for him because of the proliferation of inventory that is owned,” Isakson said. “Today, in the United States, one in two sales made every day is a short sale or a foreclosure. That is an unhealthy market, and it is continuing to precipitate a downward spiral in values, loss of equity by the American people and a protracted, difficult economic time for our country.”

Isakson immediately picked up a bipartisan group of co-sponsors for his legislation, including Senators Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., Jim Bunning, R-Ky., Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., Chris Dodd, D-Conn., John Ensign, R-Nev., Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, James Risch, R-Idaho, and David Vitter, R-La.

In addition, the National Association of Realtors and the Housing Working Group of Business Roundtable today endorsed Isakson’s efforts to expand the current homebuyer tax credit as part of recommendations to help return stability and growth to the U.S. housing market.

In announcing its endorsement of the expansion of the homebuyer tax credit as well as other recommendations to boost the housing market, Richard A. Smith, President and CEO of Realogy Corporation and Chair of Business Roundtable’s Housing Working Group, said, “We recognize the earlier efforts made by the Administration and Congress, but strongly recommend taking additional steps to jumpstart the lagging housing market in order to stimulate a broader economic recovery. If the housing market is not corrected or stabilized, the tide of the recession is not likely to reverse in the near term, and the slide in the economy overall will continue. We believe targeted, demand-side solutions – such as the ones Business Roundtable is recommending today – will provide a critical next step for a housing recovery that will help create jobs and boost the economy as a whole.”

Isakson has pushed hard for a non-repayable tax credit for homebuyers because he knows that it will work. In the mid-1970s, America faced a similar housing crisis when a period of easy credit and loose underwriting flooded the market with new construction. Interest rates rose, the economy slowed and America was left with a three-year supply of vacant homes. Congress responded by passing a $2,000 tax credit for anyone purchasing a new home for their principal residence. Isakson, who was in the real estate industry in Atlanta at the time, says the results were clear and swift as home values stabilized, housing inventory dropped and the market recovered.

Isakson spent more than three decades in the real estate business, beginning his business career in 1967 when he opened the first Cobb County, Ga., office of a small, family-owned real estate business, Northside Realty. Isakson later served as president of Northside for 20 years, presiding over the company’s growth into the largest independent residential real estate brokerage company in the Southeast and one of the largest in America.

Also Prohibits Treasury from Spending More TARP Funds to Bailout Automakers


U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today announced that he is co-sponsoring legislation to require the Treasury Department to distribute to individual taxpayers all its stock in General Motors (GM) and Chrysler within one year following the companies’ emergence from bankruptcy proceedings.


“I believe it was obvious back in December 2008 that a structured bankruptcy was the correct path for GM and Chrysler to restructure their debt and contracts. By giving these companies taxpayer funds from TARP, the administration only delayed the inevitable, but worse created a situation where the government became a part owner of private business,” Isakson said. “This common-sense legislation I am co-sponsoring would get the government out of the American auto business and put this stock back in the hands of the American people.”


The Auto Stock for Every Taxpayer Act, introduced by U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., would require Treasury to distribute its common stock holdings in both companies evenly to every American who paid taxes on April 15.


The legislation also would prohibit the Treasury from using any more TARP funds to bailout GM or Chrysler and would require that the Secretary of the Treasury and his designee have a fiduciary responsibility to the American taxpayer to maximize the return on that investment as long as the government holds stock in the companies.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., today praised the decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to renew the operating licenses for the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, Units 1 and 2, in Waynesboro, Ga., for an additional 20 years. The new licenses will expire on Jan. 16, 2047, and Feb. 9, 2049, respectively.

“I’m pleased the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has renewed the operating licenses for these units,” Isakson said. “We need to develop all forms of renewable resources, especially nuclear energy, as part of the solution to address greenhouse gases. If we don’t revitalize, enhance and encourage technologies such as nuclear energy, we will never be able to reach the goals that we seek.”

“If we are to meet the growing energy needs of Georgia and of our nation in keeping with America’s national security interests, nuclear power is going to have to be a part of the equation,” said Chambliss.  “I’m pleased Vogtle’s operating licenses for these units have been renewed.  The power they generate is safe, reliable, and emissions free and environmentally responsible.”

The decision to renew the licenses comes after thorough safety and environmental reviews of the application submitted June 27, 2007, by the plant’s operator, Southern Nuclear Operating Company.

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today issued the following statement on the President’s nomination of federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Isakson is traveling in Africa this week on Senate business, but issued the statement through his Washington, DC, office. 

“I look forward to a thorough examination and debate of her credentials and legal views during the Senate confirmation process.” Isakson said. “I believe a qualified judge is one who understands the value and the strength and the power of the Constitution of the United States of America, who will rule based on the law, and who will not legislate based on the position.” 

Well I went to my first political rally in many many years today and despite a few rain showers in Dacula, the event was very nice. Attendees were able to meet a handful of statewide candidates including some for the big office under the Gold Dome. 

I got there a little after 12 and was in the food line when the speeches started so I had a front row view for Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, Ray McBerry and Rep. Melvin Everson, R-Snellville.  Oxendine, Scott and McBerry are running for Governor and Everson is running for Labor Commissioner. Other statewide candidates were there but I got busy eating and mingling and missed most of their speeches. I left around 2:15 p.m. and I don’t know if Sec. of State Karen Handel, Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah or U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal showed up, the rest of the candidates for Governor.

I was able to snap a few pictures so look below. I look forward to attending more of these local rallies so I can get to know the candidates, the staff, the consultants and ultimately the kingmakers…

Ray McBerry speaking at the Gwinnett County GOP BBQ on Memorial Day

John Oxendine at the Gwinnett County GOP BBQ on Memorial Day

Austin Scott at the Gwinnett County GOP BBQ on Memorial Day

Melvin Everson at the Gwinnett County GOP BBQ on Memorial Day

Independent, Bipartisan Financial Crisis Commission Would Have Subpoena Power

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today praised the signing by President Obama of a financial fraud bill that includes his proposal with U.S. Senator Kent Conrad, D-N.D., to create a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission charged with fully investigating the causes of the near collapse of our financial markets and our economy. 

“This is a great day for the American people, who demand and deserve some answers. I’m pleased the President understood the importance of signing this bill into law quickly so we can get those answers to what caused this financial collapse,” Isakson said. “We need a forensic audit of the damage to the financial markets and our economy so we can find out where mistakes were made and ensure we don’t make them again.”

“My constituents deserve answers.  The American people deserve answers.  They have every right to know where mistakes were made, and why our financial system spiraled downward so far, so fast.  If it is discovered that laws were broken or any wrongdoing led our nation down this path, people must be held accountable,” Senator Conrad said.

Isakson and Conrad originally introduced legislation in January 2009 to examine the causes of the current economic crisis. On April 22, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an amendment by Isakson and Conrad to the Senate’s version of the financial fraud bill that would create a Financial Crisis Commission. 

On May 6, the House of Representatives passed the financial fraud bill, including the Financial Crisis Commission, with amendments by a vote of 367 to 59. On May 14, the Senate, on a unanimous consent motion, agreed to relatively small changes to the bill and sent it back to the House. On May 18, the House agreed to the Senate’s changes and sent the bill to President Obama for his signature.

The 10-member, bipartisan Financial Crisis Commission will have until December 2010 to investigate all the circumstances that led to this financial crisis. The panel will have subpoena power and will have the authority to refer to the U.S. Attorney General and state attorneys general any evidence that institutions or individuals may have violated existing laws. At the end of its investigation, the Commission will report its findings and conclusions to the Congress and the President.

This bipartisan Commission will be appointed by Democrats and Republicans in Congress. The Speaker and Senate Democratic Leader would choose the commission’s chair. The Senate and House Republican Leaders would select the vice-chair. Members of Congress as well as federal and state employees would be prohibited from serving on the Commission.

Independent, Bipartisan Financial Crisis Commission Would Have Subpoena Power

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today praised Congressional passage of a financial fraud bill that includes his proposal to create a Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission charged with fully investigating the causes of the near collapse of our financial markets and our economy. The bill now goes to the President for his signature into law.

“The only way to get an objective evaluation of where mistakes were made is to create an independent commission of experts to ask what went right, what went wrong and what could we have done to prevent this. We need a forensic audit of the laws of the United States as it relates to the financial markets and our economy,” Isakson said. “I want to thank Senator Conrad who has been diligent in his effort to help pass this legislation. I’m pleased this Congress understand the importance of making sure we don’t miss the mark, that we stay focused, and we get the answers to what caused this financial collapse. It’s what the American people deserve.”

Isakson and U.S. Senator Kent Conrad, D-N.D., originally introduced legislation in January 2009 to examine the causes of the current economic crisis. On April 22, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an amendment by Isakson and Conrad to the Senate’s version of the financial fraud bill that would create a Financial Crisis Commission. 

On May 6, the House of Representatives passed the financial fraud bill, including the Financial Crisis Commission, with amendments by a vote of 367 to 59. On May 14, the Senate, on a unanimous consent motion, agreed to relatively small changes to the bill and sent it back to the House. On May 18, the House agreed to the Senate’s changes and sent the bill to President Obama for his signature.

The 10-member, bipartisan Financial Crisis Commission will have until December 2010 to investigate all the circumstances that led to this financial crisis. The panel will have subpoena power and will have the authority to refer to the U.S. Attorney General and state attorneys general any evidence that institutions or individuals may have violated existing laws. At the end of its investigation, the Commission will report its findings and conclusions to the Congress and the President.

This bipartisan Commission will be appointed by Democrats and Republicans in Congress. The Speaker and Senate Democratic Leader would choose the commission’s chair. The Senate and House Republican Leaders would select the vice-chair. Members of Congress as well as federal and state employees would be prohibited from serving on the Commission.

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(As appeared in The Atlanta Journal Constitution)

Over the last 30 years, Atlanta and Georgia have led the way for economic success and growth across the New South. This growth, however, has come at a cost as we have seen relentless traffic congestion not just in metro Atlanta but in other metropolitan areas around the Southeast. To ensure we do not become a victim of our own success, we must consider investing in a high-speed rail system throughout the Southeast as an innovative way to connect our cities without increasing the burden on our interstates and airports.

I am glad President Barack Obama has chosen to focus on high-speed rail because I have been a big believer for years that high-speed rail will complement the Southeast’s transportation infrastructure, reduce congestion on the interstates between the region’s economic centers and increase our competitiveness around the world.

What we must avoid at all costs, however, is a rail operation built on subsidies. That is a model that has not worked and never will. We need to fundamentally alter our method of capitalizing rail transportation and put it on a footing similar to that of airports, freeways and seaports.

Governments —- a combination of state and federal —- should acquire the right of way and build tracks with user fees to pay for upkeep, levied by private rail corporations that would succeed or fail on their own performance. Passenger rail lines should be privately operated on publicly funded infrastructure. Private operation will lead to a competitive and efficient passenger rail industry.

Have you ever thought about the difference between railroads and airlines? With passenger rail in the United States, you subsidize everything. With air travel, you and I as taxpayers pay for the runways at Hartsfield and the infrastructure at Hartsfield, but that’s where the public investment ends.

Delta, AirTran and other airlines risk capital and compete to deliver the services to move people from one city to another.

High-speed rail can succeed when projected ridership can support proposed operating costs. In 2000, Amtrak launched its high-speed Acela Express trains with service between Washington, New York City and Boston. At the time, 37 percent of travelers in the Washington-to-New York corridor took Amtrak while the remaining 63 percent traveled by other means. Today, those numbers are reversed. In addition, passenger rail ridership from New York to Boston has grown from 20 percent of travelers to 49 percent.

High-speed rail only works when trains go where passengers want to go and the number of passengers is large enough to support the operation. I believe the corridor from Washington to Richmond to Raleigh to Charlotte to Greenville, S.C., to Atlanta to Birmingham possesses the projected ridership to support rail service on a profitable basis, much like the Boston to Washington corridor.

There are estimates we could take 15 percent of the traffic off I-85 between Atlanta to Charlotte, and I view that as a very good utilization of federal investment.

With the presence of high-speed rail, Atlanta has the potential to be an anchor for multimodal transport. It could serve as the backbone off which other forms of transit such a light rail would connect regional communities. We have to think outside the box. We have to think intermodal. There is no reason why, in high-traffic areas, Georgia cannot take advantage of both light and heavy rail to make sure that people move smoothly and efficiently.

Republican Johnny Isakson represents Georgia in the U.S. Senate.

Independent, Bipartisan Financial Markets Commission Would Have Subpoena Power

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., today praised the House’s passage of a financial fraud bill that includes their proposal to create a Financial Markets Commission charged with fully investigating the causes of the current financial and economic crisis in the United States. The House passed the legislation by a vote of 367 to 59. 

Isakson and Conrad originally introduced legislation to examine the causes of the current economic crisis in January 2009. On April 22, the Senate overwhelmingly passed an amendment by Isakson and Conrad to the Senate’s version of the financial fraud bill that would create a Financial Markets Commission. The bill now goes back to the Senate, which must decide whether to accept the changes made to the bill by the House.

“The only way to get an objective evaluation of where mistakes were made is to create an independent commission of experts to ask what went right, what went wrong and what could we have done to prevent this. We need a forensic audit of the laws of the United States as it relates to the financial markets and our economy,” Isakson said. “I want to thank Senator Conrad who has been diligent in his effort to help pass this legislation. I’m pleased our colleagues in the House understand the importance of making sure we don’t miss the mark, that we stay focused, and we get the answers to what caused this financial collapse. It’s what the American people deserve.”

“After seeing their retirement accounts cut in half and the nation’s economy teeter on the brink of total collapse, the American people deserve to know what caused our financial system to spiral downward so far so fast. We must hold those responsible for this calamity to account,” Senator Conrad said. “I appreciate the commitment Senator Isakson has shown to unearthing the details of this collapse. The commission the House voted to create today will investigate wrongdoing and help ensure this never happens again.”

The 10-member, bipartisan Financial Markets Commission would be modeled after the 9-11 Commission, which thoroughly and independently investigated the failures leading up to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and made sound recommendations on where we needed to improve to prevent another attack in the future. 

Likewise, the Financial Markets Commission would have until December 2010 to investigate all the circumstances that led to this financial crisis. The panel would have the authority to refer to the U.S. Attorney General and state attorneys general any evidence that institutions or individuals may have violated existing laws. At the end of its investigation, the Commission would report its findings and conclusions to the Congress and the President.

This bipartisan Commission would be appointed by Democrats and Republicans in Congress. 

The Speaker and Senate Democratic Leader would choose the commission’s chair. The Senate and House Republican Leaders would select the vice-chair. Members of Congress as well as federal and state employees would be prohibited from serving on the Commission.

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I’ll publish press releases, interview candidates, draft my opinions about issues, but what I really want is to talk to the kingmakers. You know who I’m talking about. The campaign consultants. The seasoned veterans that put on the big show. The ones who live off of campaign adrenaline. The money men. The gadflies. Those are the characters I want to hear from. 

The kingmakers are the ones who pull reporters aside and give them the real story, before and after the interview with the candiates. The kingmakers I knew were the ones in the back of the crowded room, with subtle smirks on their faces. I’ve been out of the game for a few years. I need to understand how it’s played in a digital, wireless world. 

So pass a few names, emails, Twitter addresses or Facebook profiles to me. I’d like to see who the players are.