On February 10, the Senate approved, 61-37, its version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan (H.R. 1), adopting a substitute amendment by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ben Nelson (D-NE). The House passed its version of the bill (H.R. 1) on January 28; the Senate Appropriations and Finance Committees passed their respective portions of similar legislation (S. 1) on January 27 (see The Source, 1/30/09).
On February 13, the House passed, 246-183, the conference report for H.R. 1, after defeating, 186-244, a motion to recommit the bill. The Senate passed the conference report, 60-38, later the same day. The president is expected to sign the legislation into law.
The conference report would provide $798.5 billion in government spending and tax relief $29.5 billion and $48.5 billion less than the House and Senate versions, respectively. The report contains:
The conference report modifies previous versions of the “Making Work Pay Credit” to provide a 6.2 percent of earned income, or $400, tax credit for individuals ($800 for couples). The bill would begin phasing out the credit at $75,000. The House and Senate versions of the bill would have provided a $500 credit for individuals ($1,000 for couples). The House began phasing out the credit at $75,000; the Senate phase-out began at $70,000.
The report also increases the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for families with three or more qualifying children. In order to reduce the marriage penalty, the report also increases the amount at which the credit begins to phase out by $1,880, regardless of the number of qualifying children.
The conference report would expand eligibility for the refundable child tax credit for tax years 2009 and 2010.The House bill would have eliminated the income threshold for the credit altogether; the Senate version would lower the income threshold for the refundable child tax credit from $8,500 to $8,100.