BROOKLYN — U.S. Rep. Edolphus “Ed� Towns in an e-mail yesterday praised the recent actions by Congress to pass H.R. 3548, the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a vote of 403-12.

Said Towns, “This is another crucial step to provide immediate relief to struggling New Yorkers and their families by providing an extension of unemployment benefits, homebuyers tax credit, and tax relief for businesses and military families.

“Those who receive these benefits will be putting money right back into our local economy when they do things like buy groceries and make their mortgage payments on time.

“Families in my district will receive an additional 14 weeks of unemployment benefits, and workers who exhausted, or will soon exhaust their benefits, will be eligible for a total of 20 additional weeks of emergency unemployment compensation.

“This legislation is also taking immediate steps to help strengthen our housing market and stabilize our small businesses. The bill includes an extension of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit through April 30, 2010, and provides a $6,500 credit to new purchasers who have lived in their current residence for five years or more. It also helps military families struggling to make mortgage payments by making those payments tax-exempt.

“While we continue working to turn this economy around, I am proud to support this effort that is are crucial to growing our economy and to putting it back on sound footing.�

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