The tax cut and unemployment insurance bill, which extended Bush-era tax cuts and included an unemployment benefits package, was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Friday.
With the flick of a wrist, Obama approved a bill that extended both unemployment payments to the jobless for another 13 months and tax cuts to wealthy and middle-class Americans.
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives green-lighted the measure last week, paving the way for the passage of the sweeping legislation that garnered support from both sides of the aisle.
Obama extended an olive branch to congressional GOP leadership earlier this month, agreeing to Republican-favored Bush tax cut renewals in exchange for a Democrat-supported extension of unemployment benefits.
Before signing the bill, officially named the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, President Obama credited bipartisanship for the bill’s adoption.
“This package ... is a result of leaders from both sides coming together to act on behalf of the American people at a time they need it most,” Obama said in a statement posted on the White House website. “I want to begin by applauding ... Republican leaders, who like their Democratic counterparts who are here today, were willing to take issue with some of their own party and to do what was, in their view, necessary in order to move the country forward.”
The tax cuts prolonged by the bill would have expired starting Jan. 1 and affected more than 150 million Americans, while the unemployment benefits being enjoyed by two million people began to run out on Dec. 1.
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act also extends child tax credits of $3,000 and a college tuition tax credit that benefits more than eight million students.
With the flick of a wrist, Obama approved a bill that extended both unemployment payments to the jobless for another 13 months and tax cuts to wealthy and middle-class Americans.
The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives green-lighted the measure last week, paving the way for the passage of the sweeping legislation that garnered support from both sides of the aisle.
Obama extended an olive branch to congressional GOP leadership earlier this month, agreeing to Republican-favored Bush tax cut renewals in exchange for a Democrat-supported extension of unemployment benefits.
Before signing the bill, officially named the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010, President Obama credited bipartisanship for the bill’s adoption.
“This package ... is a result of leaders from both sides coming together to act on behalf of the American people at a time they need it most,” Obama said in a statement posted on the White House website. “I want to begin by applauding ... Republican leaders, who like their Democratic counterparts who are here today, were willing to take issue with some of their own party and to do what was, in their view, necessary in order to move the country forward.”
The tax cuts prolonged by the bill would have expired starting Jan. 1 and affected more than 150 million Americans, while the unemployment benefits being enjoyed by two million people began to run out on Dec. 1.
The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act also extends child tax credits of $3,000 and a college tuition tax credit that benefits more than eight million students.
