Senate Approves Extension of Unemployment Benefits
Today the Senate voted overwhelmingly to provide the unemployed with up to 20 additional weeks of unemployment benefits and expand the first-time homebuyer tax credit to include a much larger pool of people entering the weak housing market.
The bill will help over 1 million unemployed people who will run out of unemployment benefits by the end of this year. The unemployed will get 14 additional weeks of benefits, while states with unemployment rates of 8.5% and above will get an additional 6 weeks. It’s estimated that 7,000 people run out of unemployment benefits every day.
In the hardest hit states the unemployment could get up to 99 weeks of benefits with an average payment of about $300. This exceeds the previous record of 65 weeks in the 1970s.
The bill passed 98 to 0 at a cost of $24 billion also provides tax relief for struggling businesses. The bill extends to all businesses that have losses in 2008 and 2009 to request refunds for taxes paid on profits over the past five years.
Additionally, as part of the bill, the $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, set to expire this month, will be extended and expanded to include a $6,500 tax credit for people who have lived in their current residences at least 5 years. The $8,000 tax credit is extended through June 2010 as long as buyers enter into a binding contract before April 30, 2010. The income ceiling for qualification has been doubled to $125,000 for individuals and is available for homes purchased at or under $800,000.
Related Article: 13 Things to Know About Unemployment Insurance
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