An estimated 46,900 people in Hawaii will benefit after the U.S. House of Representatives today voted 403-12 to extend unemployment benefits for 14 weeks to 1.3 million jobless Americans who will exhaust all their unemployment benefits by the end of the year, Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie said in a news release today.

The extended unemployment benefits were part of the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which also extends the homebuyers’ tax credit and tax relief for military families and businesses.

“These are our neighbors; people who had stable jobs and commitments based on those jobs, such as college payments and mortgages,” Abercrombie said. “And, it’s not over. Maui Land & Pineapple just announced the layoff of 185 people. After 119 years, Gay & Robinson is getting out of sugar business next year: 225 employees. The ground is falling out from under people through no fault of their own.”
The bill also strengthens the domestic housing market by extending the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit through April 30, 2010, giving purchasers under a binding contract an additional 60 days to close after that date. Additionally, it will provide a $6,500 credit to new purchasers who have lived in their current residence for five years or more out of the previous eight years.