WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee completed markup of the Baucus/Hatch tax extenders bill by approving the bill on a vote of 19-5. The bill contains a two-year retroactive extension of the work opportunity tax credit (WOTC) in its present form, through December 31, 2013.

The WOTC Coalition applauded the passage, noting that none of the hostile amendments some senators had put down?"eliminating the ex-felons target group, terminating empowerment zone tax credits?"came to a vote. Those amendment had been withdrawn prior to the bill??s approval.

Only one of the amendments the coalition opposed?"the Coburn amendment prohibiting tax benefits of the bill to recipients of the New Markets tax credit?"was put to a vote and it failed.

"All other amendments we opposed ?? were never brought up," said Paul Suplizio, president of the WOTC Coalition, in a statement. "We have Sen. Max Baucus to thank for what must have been tireless work persuading proponents of these amendments to withdraw them."

Senate Finance Chairman Baucus (D-MT) modified the bill to restore the wind tax credit and AMT relief for 2013, to bring the total cost of the bill to $205 billion over a decade.