WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US Senate Finance Committee Wednesday passed a 157 billion dollar economic stimulus package that expands tax benefits already agreed by the House of Representatives and the White House.
The package, which passed on a bipartisan 14-7 vote, reduces the per-person amount of tax rebates promised in the House bill but extends the rebates to an additional 20 million elderly Americans living on social security benefits, and to others with low incomes. It also lengthens unemployment benefits.
The full Senate is expected to take up the economic stimulus package on Thursday.
"This package will put rebates into the hands of 20 million additional American seniors, plus lower-income payroll taxpayers and disabled veterans -- all of whom will spend this money quickly and give our economy the shot in the arm that it needs," said committee chairman Senator Max Baucus.
The Senate committee move came one day after the House of Representatives passed a package negotiated with the White House to boost economic growth, which slowed over the last quarter of 2007 to a 0.6 percent annual rate on the back of a deep housing slump.
Democrat Baucus and the Republican Deputy Chairman Grassley both said the package improves on the House version in expanding the benefits to millions more people.
The package doubles the income ceiling for people receiving rebates, to 150,000 dollars for an individual and 300,000 dollars for a married couple.
But it reduces the rebates to 500 dollars for an individual and 1,000 for a couple, compared to 300-600 dollars for an individual and 1,200 dollars for a couple under the House version.
While the House version made rebates available only to those with an income of at least 3,000 dollars, the Senate version said that figure can include social security and veterans disability benefits, effectively increasing the reach of the benefits to more than 20 million more people, especially retirees..
The bill also extends by 13-26 weeks the period people who lost jobs can receive unemployment benefits. Those in high-unemployment states will get the longer extensions.
"Extending unemployment insurance benefits will help hurting families and get some cash into the economy even quicker," Baucus said in a statement.
The committee rejected a number of proposed amendments to keep the bill streamlined and improve its chances of being accepted by the House and the White House.
On Tuesday Bush warned the Senate not to "load it up" with excessive payouts or benefits or extraneous conditions.
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