WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives affirmed its commitment to American families and businesses by passing legislation that would create jobs, spur economic growth and provide critical assistance to American families. H.R. 2847, the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, which would redirect $75 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) savings from Wall Street to Main Street, passed by a vote of 217-212.
“Today we reaffirmed our commitment to Main Street, to the people trying to keep kids in school and put food on their tables," said Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY). “There is a lot of blame to go around for the current economic conditions, but the people who lost their jobs didn’t lose them because they were Democrats or Republicans. Just saying no isn’t going to work, this is an American problem and we must act to help restore the dignity that makes Americans so unique, and this bill is an important step to continue down the road to recovery."
Over the last three months, the rate of job loss has come down to the lowest level in two years. While there are encouraging signs that the Recovery Act is working, unemployment levels remain at ten percent and families are struggling to make ends meet. The bill would put in motion several of President Obama’s priorities for economic recovery and job creation while simultaneously ensuring that unemployed workers, who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, maintain access to affordable health care coverage and unemployment benefits as they look for employment.
COBRA Subsidy Extension
The bill would extend the duration of and eligibility for the 65 percent COBRA premium subsidy included in H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which is estimated to have helped seven million workers facing recession-related job loss maintain health coverage for their families. H.R. 2847 extends the duration of subsidy from nine months to 15 months, extends the deadline for eligibility from Dec. 31, 2009 to June 30, 2010, and makes additional technical changes.
Unemployment Insurance Benefit Extension
The bill provides a six month extension of the three primary Unemployment Insurance (UI) provisions established or continued by the Recovery Act that otherwise would be phased-out at the end of the year, including:
* Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program, which provides up to 53 weeks of federally-funded extended benefits;
* One hundred percent federal funding for the Extended Benefits (EB) program, which provides up to an additional 13 to 20 weeks of benefits in certain States; and
* Federal Additional Compensation (FAC), which increases all UI benefits by $25 a week.
The extension prevents over one million workers from exhausting their unemployment benefits by the end of January, with the first wave running out of benefits the day after Christmas.
of the UI provisions.
Child Tax Credit
The bill would increase eligibility for the refundable child tax credit, cutting taxes for the families of 16 million children. The bill would remove the $3,000 earned income requirement for 2010, making all low-income working families eligible for the credit.
School Construction and Qualified Zone Academy Bonds
The bill encourages billions in immediate investments in school construction, rehabilitation and repair by making important changes to the popular school construction bond program. The bill provides a direct payment option that is currently available to issuers of Build America Bonds to the issuers of Qualified School Construction Bonds and Qualified Zone Academy bonds. This benefit has proven particularly successful in helping State and local governments to access credit markets. This kind of immediate assistance will enable States and localities to put people to work building and renovating schools.
