E!!

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end.  And apparently the longstanding relationship between political consultant Mike Slanker and Senator John Ensign is not exempt from that rule.

The two have now said buh-bye to one another, presumably as part of the fallout from the uber-sordid Ensign affair with a campaign staffer (and wife of a close friend).

There’s a rumor afloat that Ensign MAY have hired Sig Rogich to help him limp through this next phase of his political career. Rogich already advises Harry Reid on various and sundry, so an association with Ensign would mean Rogich has the ears of both Nevada senators.

Well played, Mr. Rogich.

An update on the ACORN story:  Nevada senator John Ensign is calling for suspension of taxpayer dollars to that questionable organization.  See here:

“ENSIGN URGES FEDS TO STOP PAYMENTS TO ACORN”   posted by [Rich Lowry] @ The Corner

Washington, D.C. – In a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), Senator John Ensign today called for the suspension of taxpayer dollars that ultimately end up in the hands of such controversial groups as ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now.  ACORN, which is under investigation, is eligible for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac affordable housing funds, which add up to hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

“With the government takeover of Fannie and Freddie, the government will be taxing itself to create a backdoor slush fund, and we must prevent these taxpayer dollars from going toward ACORN,” said Ensign.  “With the recent news tying ACORN with voter fraud, suspending these funds is even more urgent.”

As part of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Fannie and Freddie are required to provide funding for newly created affordable housing funds.  This was signed into law prior to the government takeover of the two agencies.  Now that the government owns Fannie and Freddie and may provide them with up to $200 billion, taxing these companies does not help create stability, which is the goal of FHFA.

A search warrant was served today on the ACORN Headquarters in Nevada as part of an ongoing investigation into whether employees used false addresses or false names as part of their voter registration operation.

The letter was sent to James Lockhart, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency today.  As the regulatory agency overseeing Fannie and Freddie, FHFA has the authority to stop these contributions to the affordable housing funds.  Senators Michael Enzi, Jon Kyl, David Vitter, Pat Roberts, Tom Coburn, John Thune and Jim DeMint signed the letter with Ensign.

See Rich’s post for the text of Ensign’s letter.

In the interest of letting Senator Ensign speak for himself on his energy-efficiency tax credit amendment, you can click here for the full text of his Senate Floor Speech (given Thursday).

For those of you who don’t have time to read all 1,216 words, here’s the sum-up:

Ensign refers to the high cost of energy and says we need smart policy for both our economic and national security.  He claims his amendment offers tax credits that will encourage more development of alternative, renewable energy (solar, wind, and geothermal).

In answer to those who say his bill has nothing to do with housing, Ensign claims his bill will help create between 100,000 and 200,00 jobs and encourage billions of dollars worth of investment, which will strengthen the economy including the housing market.

Ensign also says the tax credits will reward people who produce their own electricity by going solar, who build or buy an energy-efficient home, or who buy energy efficient appliances…and says these are all related to housing.

In re: to the “not paid for” objection, he claims there are “$2.4 billion in tax-related items that are not paid for in [the housing] bill” and that he therefore challenges the Democratic leadership’s claim that his energy amendment won’t pass in the House. 

Ensign asks how the Democrats expect their “not paid for” housing bill to pass if the House is truly not accepting bills that aren’t paid for.  (Indeed!) 

Finally, Ensign says he is pushing for this now because (1) the private financing of solar, geothermal, and wind power projects is critical to their development, (2) his proposed tax credits will allow private businesses to predict and rely on their return on investment, and therefore (c) investor confidence will immediately rise and more clean/renewable energy projects will happen sooner.

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”