Washington— As Congress prepares for final consideration of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act, Senator Evan Bayh and 17 of his colleagues are pressing Senate leaders to include his property tax relief measure in the final housing bill slated for a vote later this week.

An estimated one million Hoosier homeowners, and 30 million Americans nationwide, could receive significant federal relief next year if Bayh’s property tax relief proposal becomes law. The measure is scheduled for a final vote in the House tomorrow. A vote on final passage could come in the Senate this week.

“Middle class taxpayers are working harder than ever to meet their financial commitments and sky-rocketing property taxes have not made that any easier,” Bayh and 17 other senators wrote in a letter today to the leaders of the Senate Banking and Finance Committees. “With homeownership threatened in communities around the country, the approximately 30 million homeowners who do not itemize should not be left behind.”

Bayh’s property tax relief measure was included in the Senate housing bill passed earlier this month. Bayh is pressing for final adoption of his Senate language, which contains a more generous benefit than a previous House-passed version. Under Bayh’s plan, individuals who do not itemize could deduct up to $500 of their property tax bills from their federal taxes in 2008, and families could deduct up to $1,000. The original House version, passed in May, permitted deductions of up to $350 for individuals and $700 for families.

“It’s time for Congress to rise above election-year politics and pass meaningful property tax relief to help hard-pressed homeowners,” Senator Bayh said. “We need to get my measure to the President’s desk immediately to help families struggling with high fuel, food and mortgage costs.”

The Bayh bill specifically targets new relief to middle class families who do not itemize their deductions on their federal income tax filings. Under current law, taxpayers who itemize their deductions may take advantage of deductions that other taxpayers cannot. The Bayh legislation would create a new standard deduction for non-itemizing homeowners. Under the Bayh provision, a typical non-itemizing Hoosier family that makes between $65,100 and $131,450 would see up to $250 in relief this year.

Other signatories on the letter include: Senators Mel Martinez (R-FL), Barack Obama (D-IL), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Russ Feingold (D-WI), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Herb Kohl (D-WI), Shelton Whitehouse (D-RI), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI) ,Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tim Johnson (D-SD) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

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