Bipartisan Senate bill would extend work tax credits to stimulate jobs.(Brief Article)

Economic Opportunity Report, March, 2005

Bipartisan legislation to extend and combine the Work Opportunity Tax Credit and the Welfare-to-Work tax credit was introduced last week in the Senate.

The Encouraging Work Act of 2005, introduced by Sens. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Max Baucus (D-Mont.), is aimed at encouraging more employer participation in the programs. Since their inception in 1996, these tax credits have helped more than 2.7 million people get jobs, according to the senators.

The statistics "speak volumes about the success of these programs," said Baucus. "Passing this legislation will move people off the welfare rolls and into the workforce."

Likewise, Santorum called the bill "an important step in helping Americans shift from public assistance programs to lives of...