WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to extend a first-time homebuyers' tax credit for overseas military members through November 30, 2010.
The measure, which passed by a vote of 416 to 0, comes as Democrats are weighing whether to extend the $8,000 tax credit for all first-time homebuyers, which was enacted to combat the worst downturn since the Great Depression.
A broader expansion, however, would not necessarily win such widespread support.
President Barack Obama and Democratic leaders in Congress also are considering an extension of social safety-net programs, such as unemployment insurance, and spending for new construction programs to spur the economy and reverse a climb in the U.S. unemployment rate, which is now at a 26-year high.
But they face opposition from Republicans who say existing measures have added massively to the U.S. budget deficit and done little to jump-start growth.
(Reporting by Andy Sullivan, editing by Leslie Adler)
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