Ellington

After a days-long stand off, U.S. Senate Republicans agreed to unanimously support extending unemployment and homebuyers' credits yesterday.

The GOP initially proposed nine revisions to the $24 billion Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009, including one that tightened requirements for immigration verification. Another amendment sought to adjust funding going to the Troubled Asset Relief Program, approved in 2008, by requiring Congress to finance the unemployment insurance extension using unspent TARP money, rather than through unemployment tax paid by employers.

The Democratic majority blocked most GOP amendments to the compensation act, and none of them received any floor votes. Democrats adopted two GOP-supported provisions, however, including an extension of a first-time homebuyers' tax credit and a tax break for businesses that qualify for a net operating loss carryover.

Sen. Thad Cochran said he wholeheartedly supported the extension of unemployment benefits. "High rates of unemployment in Mississippi and around the nation remain a very real problem. It is my hope that extending these benefits will well serve those still looking for work and help move the nation toward economic recovery," Cochran stated on his Web site.

The bill would provide every American near the end of their unemployment insurance benefits this year with an extra 14 weeks of unemployment insurance. States with jobless rates at 8.5 percent or greater, including Mississippi, would get an additional six weeks for a total of an extra 20 weeks of unemployment benefits.

The bill also extends an $8,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers for seven additional months, and expands the program to offer a new credit of up to $6,500 for homebuyers who have lived in their current residences for five consecutive years.

Brenda Scott, president of the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees said she was surprised the Cochran and other Republicans joined with Democrats for a 98-to-0 vote in favor of the extensions, after days of intense stalling in the Senate.

"I'm surprised that Cochran went along with it, but people do things that are politically correct sometimes," Scott said. "We've had some problems with the Republican Party not looking out for the middle-class, but he did the right thing this time and we commend him. Unemployment is still very serous around Jackson, and those people who are drawing unemployment need that little boost until we can get some jobs going. It's very critical not only in Mississippi, but across the country."