House Sends Unemployment Benefits Bill to President
After a month’s delay in the Senate, the House on Thursday easily approved an unemployment benefits package that now heads to the president for his signature.
The bill, which sailed through the House on a vote of 403-12, grants 14 weeks of unemployment benefits and a total of 20 weeks to hardest-hit states. The House originally passed the measure more than a month ago but it stalled in the Senate amid partisan wrangling on a handful of amendments.
“We passed this bill over a month ago — at long last it is back — but we’re glad it is back, no matter how long it took,— Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the floor. President Barack Obama will sign the bill Friday morning, according to a White House official.
“This legislation builds on Recovery Act provisions aimed at spurring new job creation by providing an additional tax cut for struggling businesses, offering up to 20 additional weeks of unemployment relief, and stabilizing the housing market with a one-time extension of the $8,000 Homebuyer Tax Credit,— the official said.