The U.S. House of Representatives passed an $819 billion version of the The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Wednesday with the support of all but 11 House Democrats, but zero votes from Republicans.
Real estate agents and home builders got their request to repeal the repayment feature of the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit. The credit will not have to be paid back so long as the homeowner stays in the house for at least three years.

National Association of Realtors president Charles McMillan “This is critical to stimulating home sales and shrinking the housing inventory, which will in turn help stabilize home values.”
The bill includes a variety of tax cuts for items like tuition, renewable energy and business expenses. There are also a series of public works and social services items, including $50 billion for renovations to highways and schools, $9 billion for community development programs, and $3 billion for welfare, $20 billion for food stamps, and $11 billion for housing assistance.
President Barack Obama hailed the passage as a step in the right direction towards fixing the economy.
“There are many numbers in this plan,” he said. “But out of all these numbers, there is one that matters most to me: This recovery plan will save or create more than 3 million new jobs over the next few years.”
The Senate will vote on the bill and congressional leaders hope it will be ready to send to Obama by mid-February.