Finally, Unemployment Extension Goes Back to the House
After a month of delays by Senate Republicans, as reported here yesterday, last night the Senate finally passed a national extension of unemployment benefits. During the month of delay an estimated 180,000 jobless Americans lost their unemployment pay.
The final vote was 98 to 0. And it took a month to get to “yes”. Why? One reason was that Republicans finally agreed to allow a vote on the bill once the unemployment extension was joined with an extension and expansion of the homebuyer’s tax credit.
Senators voted 98-0 to approve the measure, which would also extend the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit through next April and expand it to include homeowners who have lived in their current residences for five years or more.
What does one have to do with the other? Good question, if you ask me. But that’s the U.S. Senate for you.
The good news is that the bill would extend unemployment benefits for a minimum of 14 weeks in every state, and by up to 20 weeks in states with unemployment rates above 8.5%.
The House is now reportedly scheduled to take the Senate measure up later today. If approved it will go to President Obama for his signature.
Finally.
Tags: unemployment extension
Unemployed workers who have lost their unemployment benefits this year or expect to lose them before Dec. 31 would qualify for a 20-week extension that was approved Thursday by the House. Congress has put a rider on the homebuyer tax credit that was recently extended, an unemployment extension. The 14 weeks that workers are eligible to draw unemployment benefits has been extended a further 6 weeks. That said, the unemployment extension probably won’t put anybody into needing tax debt relief.
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