Sen Harry Reid (D-NV) joined the call for an extended first-time homebuyer tax credit, introducing an amendment to the proposed American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 being considered by the Senate. The bill — House Resolution 4213 — passed the House vote in December and moved through the Senate Committee on Finance in March. Reid’s amendment would extend the homebuyer tax credit by three more months. “There is growing concern that because of the time it takes for banks to complete transactions such as short sales, many of these home purchases would not be complete before the deadline through no fault of the homebuyer,” according to a statement from Reid’s office. He is joined in the effort by Sen Robert Mendendez (D-NJ) and Sen Chris Dodd (D-CT), who co-sponsored the proposed amendment. Under the tax credit’s current deadline, qualifying purchases that were under contract by April 30 must close by June 30. Under the proposed amendment introduced by Reid, that closing deadline would be pushed to Sept. 30, 2010 in an effort to ensure the qualifying sales can close. “In addition to making it easier for thousands of [buyers] to purchase their first home, it helped reduce the sitting inventory of homes,” Reid said in a statement. “By extending the transaction deadline, we can ensure that everyone taking advantage of this credit can complete the purchase of their new home.” Write to Diana Golobay.