Emph. Added Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) won passage of important tax relief measures for homeowners, homebuyers, and homebuilders as part of the housing bill approved 84-12 by the Senate today. The Baucus-Grassley tax provisions, which total $10.9 billion over 10 years, aren't paid for, but it's so worth it. The bill allows companies, mostly those unrelated to the housing sector losing money — and facing employee layoffs — to write off current losses and bolster struggling operations. Baucus: "There is no magic solution to this housing crisis. This is just plain responsible policy to deal with a lot of irresponsible actions that led to serious trouble for so many Americans and for our economy. To respond to this crisis, Senator Grassley and I crafted provisions that support American families and American workers who deserve to keep their homes and their jobs. This bill amounts to real money for American families through tax relief or continued paychecks from companies that use this tax relief to survive. Grassley: "Tax relief helps encourage home ownership, and addressing the housing problem can help the economy overall. It's appropriate to use the tax code to help people buy homes and to help the many businesses that are tied to the housing industry recover from losses. Those businesses create jobs. The economy should benefit from this shot in the arm." Proud parents Baucus and Grassley forgot to mention that more corporate tax breaks means more jobs, which means more money for mortgages payments... thereby preventing foreclosures! President Bush yesterday threatened to veto this bill and the House might just ignore it entirely.