Senate Acts to Extend Aid for Jobless, Homebuyers

Recognizing that a weak economy still needs a government boost, the Senate voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to provide the jobless with up to 20 weeks in additional unemployment benefits and expand a first-time homebuyer tax credit to include a far larger pool of people entering the dormant housing market.

The $24 billion bill, passed 98-0, also provides tax relief for struggling businesses. It comes to the rescue of more than 1 million out-of-work people who will run out of benefits by the end of the year. Everyone will receive 14 weeks of additional benefits, while those in states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent and above get six weeks on top of that.

With enactment, the jobless in the hardest-hit states could receive up to 99 weeks of benefits, which average about $300 a week. That would well exceed the previous record of 65 weeks during the 1970s.

The $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers, enacted as part of the stimulus package last February and set to expire this month, would be extended and expanded to include a $6,500 credit for people who have lived in their current residences at least five years.

Congress has no choice but to act when there are 15 million jobless chasing 3 million jobs and 7,000 people run out of benefits every day, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont. Economists talk about the end of the recession, he said, but "for most Americans, it will still be some time before things start getting better."

The legislation now goes to the House, which is expected to quickly send it to President Barack Obama for his signature.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Wednesday that the bill was "vital to Americans who have lost their jobs as a result of the deepest recession in over three-quarters of a century" and he planned to bring it to the floor for a vote as early as Thursday.

The House acted in late September to extend unemployment benefits, but only to the jobless in the 27 states where the unemployment rate is above 8.5 percent.