Senate Moves to Extend Unemployment Benefits, Homebuyer Credit

The U.S. Senate voted yesterday, and by a large margin, to extend unemployment benefits to 20 weeks and extend and expand a homebuyer tax credit. The bill, with a total price tag of $24 billion, passed 98-0 and also includes tax breaks for businesses that are struggling to make payroll and cover other expenses. The move on unemployment extended the current timeframe by 14 weeks, and added an additional 6 weeks for those living in states with an unemployment rate over 8.5%. In all, those living in the problem states throughout the U.S. could end up receiving up to 99 weeks in benefits, topping a record of 65 weeks that was achieved in the 1970s.

The $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit was also extended, and a new inclusion also gives a $6,500 credit for those buying a new home who have lived in their current home for five years or more. Of the move, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Montana, said, "for most Americans, it will still be some time before things start getting better." The legislation, that that it has passed the Senate, will move on to the House of Representatives, which is expected to quickly pass the legislation and send it to President Obama for his finalizing signature.

The passage was a bipartisan effort, but some still saw acrimony in the process. Aid Senator Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire, "Opponents have put up obstacles at every turn to delay the passage of this bill, and as a result of these delaying tactics approximately 200,000 workers have lost their benefits in this last month."