Obama signs tax, jobless stimulus

WASHINGTON - President Obama signed a $24 billion economic-stimulus bill into law yesterday, giving tax incentives to prospective home buyers and additional jobless benefits to those idled by the business slump.

The bill-signing came a day after the House, displaying rare bipartisan agreement over the troubling employment picture nationally, voted 403-12 to pass the measure. The Senate approved it unanimously Wednesday.

The White House said the law, which includes tax cuts for struggling businesses, builds on provisions in the $787 billion stimulus package enacted in February to avert an economic meltdown.

"The need for such a measure was made clear by the jobs report that we received this morning," Obama said, citing yesterday's Labor Department report showing that the jobless rate hit 10.2 percent last month, the highest since 1983.

He called it a "sobering number that underscores the economic challenges that lie ahead" and vowed that "I will not rest until all Americans who want work can find work."

For their part, lawmakers stressed that the fourth unemployment-benefit extension in the last 18 months was necessary because initial signs of economic recovery had not been reflected in the job market.

"The truth is that long-term unemployment remains at its highest rate since we began measuring it in 1948," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D., Md.).

About a third of the 15.7 million people out of work have gone at least six months without a job.

The law provides an additional 14 weeks of benefits to all out-of-work people who have exhausted their benefits or will do so by the end of the year, estimated at nearly two million. Those in states such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey where the jobless rate is 8.5 percent or higher get the 14 weeks of benefits plus an additional six weeks.

"Although it will take time and it will take patience, I am confident that our economy will recover," Obama said. "I'm confident that we're moving in the right direction. And I promise that I won't rest until America prospers once again."

The extra 20 weeks of unemployment benefits could push the maximum a person in a high-unemployment state could receive to 99 weeks, the most in history. Unemployment checks generally are for about $300 a week.

The tax credits, added by the Senate, center on extending the popular $8,000 credit for first-time home buyers that was included in the stimulus package. The credit, which was to expire at the end of this month, will be available through June as long as the buyer signs a binding contract by the end of April.

Additionally, the program is now expanded to include a $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who buy a new place after living in their current residence for at least five years.

The cost of the unemployment-benefit extension, about $2.4 billion, is offset by extending a federal unemployment tax that employers must pay.

For businesses that lost money in 2008 or 2009, the measure provides refunds on the taxes they paid on profits in the previous five years.

Key provisions of the bill signed by President Obama yesterday:

Total amount: $24 billion.

Unemployment insurance: Adds 14 to 20 weeks

of jobless benefits, to a maximum of 99 weeks.

Housing tax credit: Extends an $8,000

credit through June 2010 for first-time home purchasers, and adds a $6,500 credit for existing homeowners who buy

a new house.

Business tax cuts: Provides refunds on 2003-07 taxes paid by firms that lost money

in 2008 or 2009.

SOURCE: Associated Press

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