House Passes Jobs Legislation

The House on December 16, 2009, passed the Jobs for Main Street Bill of 2010 (H.R. 2847) by a vote of 217 to 212. The legislation utilizes $75 billion in left over TARP funds to extend unemployment benefits and COBRA benefits for the unemployed. The legislation also would remove the floor on the refundable child tax credit, exclude tax refunds from eligibility determinations for means-tested federal programs, and provide a refundable credit for Qualified Zone Academy Bonds and Qualified School Construction Bonds. Not included in this legislation are provisions that President Obama had proposed including in a year-end jobs bill, such as extentions of Code Sec. 179 expensing and bonus depreciation, energy incentives, and another round of $250 payments to Social Security and VA recipients in 2010. With time running out at the end of the year and the Senate tied up trying to pass healthcare reform and the final appropriations bill for the year, it appears unlikely that the Senate will take up this legislation for consideration in 2009.