The Senate Finance Committee approved legislation on Thursday that was introduced by Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) to offer a tax credit to businesses that hire people who have been unemployed for a long time.
Portman authored an amendment to the annual tax-credit extension bill, a legislative package that extends a number of expired tax provisions. The amendment would make the long-term unemployed eligible for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.
“I’m pleased my amendment was adopted, as it will help encourage businesses to hire long-term unemployed Americans,” Portman, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, said. “Nearly 4 million Americans are struggling to find work in this weak economy, and we should make it a top priority to connect those Americans with a job, as well as to create good tax-policy that encourages job creation and hiring.”
The WOTC provides a tax credit of up to $9,600 per employee to employers who hire and retain veterans, ex-felons, the disabled and summer youth employees. The program also provides a tax credit for businesses that hire recipients of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and Supplemental Security Income benefits.
Sens. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) cosponsored Portman’s bipartisan amendment.
Portman recently worked with a bipartisan group of lawmakers to author an unemployment insurance agreement that would extend unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed.
Ensuring that the agreement was fully paid for, short-term and made the program better able to connect unemployed workers with jobs were among Portman’s priorities.