Economic Insights

      WASHINGTON (AP) - Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular
tax credit for first-time homebuyers and to offer a reduced credit
to some repeat buyers.
      The tax credit provides up to $8,000 to first-time homebuyers
but is set to expire at the end of November.
      Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time
homebuyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to
repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five
years, said Regan Lachapelle, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
      The tax credits would be available to homebuyers who sign sales
agreements by the end of April. They would have until the end of
June to close on their new homes, said a congressional aide, who
spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to
publicly discuss the deal.
      Senators were still negotiating the expansion of a separate tax
credit that lets money-losing businesses get refunds for taxes paid
in previous years, providing them with an immediate source of cash.
      Senators in both political parties were hoping to add both tax
provisions to a bill that would give people running out of
unemployment insurance benefits up to 20 more weeks of federal aid.
The Senate could vote on the overall bill as early as Thursday, but
lawmakers were still haggling over several unrelated amendments
Wednesday evening.
      Popular bills like the one to extend unemployment benefits often
attract amendments that would have a difficult time passing on
their own.
      Republicans were demanding that they be given a chance to offer
amendments to restrict federal aid to the beleaguered community
activist group ACORN and on requiring that people receiving
unemployment insurance be processed through E-Verify, an
Internet-based system that employers use to check on the
immigration status of new hires.
      Majority Democrats have refused to add the amendments.

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