[img_assist|nid=2133|title=U.S. Sen. John Ensign|desc=Getty Images Photo|link=none|align=left|width=220|height=334]U.S. Sen. John Ensign's decision to vote against a mortgage rescue bill during last Saturday's weekend session of Congress not only conflicted with a majority of the Senate, but nearly every major political figure in his home state.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) and Reps. Shelly Berkley (D-Las Vegas), Dean Heller (R-Carson City) and Jon Porter (R-Henderson) all voted in favor of the bill. Even Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons hopes that the bill will help his home state, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

In a statement issued by Reid upon the passage of the bill, he said that several components of it - including a first-time homebuyer credit and a low-income housing tax credits - would be especially beneficial to residents of his home state.

But, according to the Sun, Ensign believes that H.R. 3221 will cause more problems than it will fix.

"This bill, I believe, is dumping the burden onto the taxpayer and bailing out a lot of irresponsible lenders," Ensign told the Sun. "While it has some short-term fixes, in the longer term, I believe it's going to cause the county more serious problems and is going to pass a huge liability on those future generations."

The bill has been sent to President Bush, where it awaits his signature. A Statement of Administration Policy issued on July 23 says that the Bush administration strongly supports the passage of this bill.

"With Congress about to begin its scheduled summer recess, it is important that the desirable aspects of this bill be enacted expeditiously into law, despite the Administration's concerns about other provisions in the legislation," the statement reads.