U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh said Congress put aside the national banking crisis long enough this week to extend a number of federal income tax breaks that have helped hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers.

"All this national debate about what to do concerning the financial crisis is fine, but we have to focus on Main Street, not just Wall Street," the Indiana Democrat said Wednesday during a telephone news conference.

He said Congress renewed legislation he introduced last year to create a federal income tax deduction for people who pay high property taxes but whose income is too low to qualify for the itemized deductions.

He said about 942,000 Indiana property owners take a standard deduction on the federal income tax. The previous tax law only provided homeowners with targeted tax reductions if they itemized. Now they will continue to get a deduction regardless.

"If you make between $65,000 and $135,000 a year, and you pay about $1,200 in property taxes, this deduction will cut your property tax bill by $250," Bayh said.

Congress also extended college tuition deductions of up to $4,000 for families of college students as well as a deduction for 63,000 Hoosier teachers "who out of the goodness of their hearts take money from their own pockets to buy classroom supplies," he said.

Congress also continued the alternative minimum tax relief measure for personal income and research and development tax credits for businesses, Bayh said.

He also said Wednesday he supports a bailout of national financial institutions being dragged down by subprime mortgage loans -- but only under certain conditions.

"I don't want to see taxpayers end up holding the bag," Bayh said.

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