U.S. Congressman John Boozman 3rd District of Arkansas

House Seal Outline

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Washington, Nov 5 -

U.S. Representative John Boozman (R-AR) voted for an extension of unemployment benefits and homebuyer tax credits for Arkansans and all Americans today.

H.R. 3548, Unemployment Compensation Extension Act, extends unemployment benefits for 14 weeks for all states, and an extra six weeks for states with unemployment rates higher than 8.5 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Arkansas’ unemployment is just above seven percent.

“This is a victory for Arkansas’ unemployed. Although some states are weathering the economic storm better than others, all Americans who are trying to find jobs need their assistance extended. This bill is a big improvement from what came to the House floor in September which only allowed citizens in states with unemployment rates higher than 8.5% to receiving extended benefits. That wouldn’t have been fair to the struggling families here in Arkansas. I appreciate the amended version of this legislation and I am pleased that Arkansans will benefit from this compromise.” Boozman said.

H.R. 3548 also includes a five month extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit that was set to expire at the end of November. Since the tax credit was expanded in February, home sales have risen. From April through July, we have had three straight months of rising prices of single family homes. The number of home sales rose 11 percent from May to June, the largest gain in eight years.

In October, Boozman signed two letters; one to House leadership touting the success of the Homebuyer Tax Credit and urged Speaker Pelosi to extend the program, the other to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid requesting improvements to the unemployment extension plan, most of which were included in the bill passed by Congress today.