by Calculated Risk on 9/16/2009 09:09:00 PM

From Bloomberg: Homebuyer Tax-Credit Extension Gains Lawmaker Support

An extension of the $8,000 U.S. homebuyer tax credit is gaining support in the Senate as bill sponsor John Isakson said he is rallying lawmakers to continue a program that helped boost home sales by more than 1 million.

“I’m working the floor now to make everyone aware that the $8,000 credit sunsets on Nov. 30,” Isakson, a Georgia Republican, said in an interview today. The former real estate executive says he is “talking to everybody and anybody.”

This is terrible policy, and hopefully the bill will be scuttled.

Meanwhile the usual suspects are lining up to support the bill:

Realtors, bankers and homebuilders have joined in the push, starting a campaign that encourages Congress to extend the program for one year ...

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters today that President Barack Obama’s economic team is looking at the tax credit and “evaluating the impact” on new home sales.

“Through that evaluation we’ll come to something to give the president a recommendation,” Gibbs said.
...
The bill has at least 15 co-sponsors including Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, and senators Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, and Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent.

What is wrong with Connecticut?