Elkhart County’s two congressman voted in favor of extending the tax cuts and unemployment benefits late Thursday night.

U.S. Reps. Joe Donnelly, D-2nd, and Marlin Stutzman, R-3rd, were among the 277 members of the House voting in favor of the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010. U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, Mich., also voted in favor of the bill.

“I voted for the legislation before the House tonight because we need to provide tax relief to Hoosier families,” Donnelly said. “No legislation is perfect, but I believe this compromise will best provide continued tax relief for all working Americans and will continue to move our economy forward by providing important tax incentives for businesses. Additionally, this bill provides much-needed assistance to our friends and neighbors still looking for work. I trust the president will sign this bill into law quickly so every American family and business can look to the future with confidence.”

Stutzman said his vote was to protect taxpayers from an irresponsible increase in tax rates on American families and small businesses and to not reward the government for “reckless spending.”

“Let me be clear, like my Republican colleagues voting against this measures, I am for making the current tax rates permanent and to eliminate the Death tax,” he said, noting that small business owners need tax rules that allow them to focus on increasing investment and job creation.

Stutzman is a co-sponsor of the Pence-DeMint Tax Relief Certainty Act which would make tax relief permanent.