Bunning again blocks jobless benefits
U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Southgate
MORE COVERAGE:
By ANDREW TAYLOR – Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Jim Bunning on Tuesday again blocked the Senate from extending unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless.
The Kentucky Republican objected Tuesday to a request by Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a fellow Republican, to pass a 30-day extension of jobless benefits and other expired measures. The measure would also extend highway programs and prevent a big cut in Medicare payments to doctors.
Bunning has been single-handedly blocking the stopgap legislation since Thursday, to the increasing discomfort of Republicans like Collins. Collins said 500 people from her state would lose their unemployment benefits this week, while doctors will soon have to absorb a 21 percent cuts in their Medicare reimbursements.
“This issue is so important to senators on both sides of the aisle,” Collins said.
Frustrated Democrats have been lobbing attacks at Bunning and his fellow Republicans for days. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., implored Bunning to relent and allow a vote.
But Democrats are also reaping political gains by attacking Bunning and his fellow Republicans. All three major cable news networks carried Tuesday’s proceedings live, and two other members of the Democratic leadership, Charles Schumer of New York and Patty Murray of Washington, came to the floor to attack Republicans for blocking the legislation.
“Today we have a clear cut example to show the American people just what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.,” Murray said. “That is because today one single Republican senator is standing in the way of the unemployment benefits of 400,000 Americans.”
Bunning said again Tuesday that he opposed the extension because it would add $10 billion to the budget deficit, and he attacked Democrats for abandoning promises to pay for legislation instead of contributing to a budget deficits projected to hit almost $1.6 trillion this year. Bunning proposes to pay for the extension with unspent money from last year’s massive economic recovery package, but Reid objected.
Democrats want to pass the measure with the unanimous permission of all senators, a common tactic to speed non-controversial measures through the notoriously balky Senate. Otherwise it could take almost a week to slog through the procedural steps required to take up the measure and defeat Bunning’s filibuster.
Bunning is retiring from the Senate at the end of the current session, which gives fellow party members little leverage to try to force him to change his mind. Bunning has been feuding with his home state colleague, GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who privately urged him to retire rather than risk losing the seat to Democrats.
Filed Under: Federal Government • Jim Bunning
About the Author: John Stamper is the accountability editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Monticello, Ky., he has been with the Herald-Leader in a variety of roles since graduating from Western Kentucky University in 2000. Reach him at jstamper@herald-leader.com
Here is how you pay for extending the benefits…cut all federal money going to KY for projects. There you go senator…that is how you pay for it.
Baseball aside, Jim Bunning stood a strong chance of going down in history as one of the least effective US Senators to have ever held the job. Now, unfortunately, he will go down in history as one of the most effective – for all the wrong reasons. I’m pretty surprised that interrupted cash flow for affected road projects has not singularly found its way to Kentucky, ie your holding it up so the impact is for your state alone and on your shoulders.
Why not just cut every American a check for $75,000? I\’m sure a lot of people could really use the money to pay off mortgages, hospital bills, etc. Anyone who opposes the $75,000 check proposal is an evil, cruel heartless politician! Who cares how this will be paid for! Who cares how anything will be paid for!
(this was supposed to be sarcastic)
Keep it up until they do their job! I am 100% behind you on this Jim!
Way to go Jim! Hold their feet to the fire!! Congress should quit patching this problem and FIX IT!!
As usual, the libs have roused up the lazy and stupid.
Federal government is funded by taxpayers.
It does not have its own money.
The National Debt is nearing 12 TRILLION DOLLARS!!!
Who do you propose to pay for it??
I think this really calls in to question the judgment of KY republicans. There is no reason why this baboon should have ever been elected to office. He was never qualified to be a US senator. The only reason he was elected is because of his party affiliation. It would have been nice if KY Republicans had put their country first and voted for the right candidate instead of for their party.
They have some crazy rules when one man can hold back the whole senate from voting.
Where was Bunning when the Republicans ran congress and allowed our deficit to balloon and the banks run rampant? Now he is crying crocodile tears and punishing the hard working people of America who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
If so many people are in such desparate need of unemployment benefits why can’t employers find any good employees? It appears the unemployment rate equals the unemployable rate. Stand firm big Jim.
Just print another billion dollars, as Obama has done already for other bills. Or borrow it from Arab countries or china.
“Today we have a clear cut example to show the American people just what’s wrong with Washington, D.C.,” Murray said. “That is because today one single Republican senator is standing in the way of the unemployment benefits of 400,000 Americans.”
Yeah Right. Your Tin-God Obama was to create 8 million jobs which have been lost since the demos took the majority in the Congress back in 2007. 8 million jobs which will never return.
Well demos are used to getting paid to do nothing. Time to print more money for the outhouse.
The people that have all the answers about the unemployed have obviously not been unemployed. They talk about how easy it is to find work, and that the unemployed are not wanting to find work, but rather, sit around and collect benefits. To you, I say, you should walk a mile in someone’s shoes before shouting statements that are entirely untrue.
As far as the good employers looking for good employees, where are the job postings to confirm your statements???
Give it a rest, and hope you don’t become one of the victims in this awful economy.
If Sen. Bunning is so concerned about the federal budget, why does he not forego his own pay? Why not lay-off his own staff, or stop traveling to and from DC via taxpayer funded airline tickets? I recall when Bill Natcher was in the House, he refused to accept any staff funding and never missed a vote. Bunning is a joke…missing votes, even complaining just last week that a vote forced him to miss the UK game…awwww…poor Jim. Of course, he’s probably forgotten about that….literally!
Wonder if you have the same sentiments when it comes to health care? Or should that NOT be fixed??
those believe the headline are not thinking through the issue. Either that, or they think the federal govt has an endless supply of “free money”
don’t worry, it will be extended soon. Now that the rest of the senate has stumbled into washington from their 4 1/2 day weekend, they will get it done.
KY1911 – you are correct. Our legislators always vote raises for themselves first and never cut pay.
Ricky – if govt would take this stance on health care and everything else, our budget problems would be fixed!
The federal government should be held to the same standard as state governments, they should have to have a balanced budget or start cutting across the board. This country cannot handle the growing deficit and until our politicians realize that they work for the citizens and not lobbyist there is not going to be change. Way to go Jim, it’s a shame that it took the possibility of not being elected again to stand up for what is right.
What many of you don’t realize is that he is actually wasting MORE money with this stunt. These benefits will be reinstated, only now it will cost us billions more to restart these programs.
On the brightside, everyone who is not a mouth breathing backwoods KY Republican understands this and is going to hold this against the GOP. What a wonderful starting point for the Dems to turn the page and reframe the narrative about what is REALLY going on in DC. The reason nothing is getting done up there is because of obstructionism by Senate Republicans.
So I guess we should be glad the he’s doing what he’s doing. But not for the reasons you Republicans are thinking.
Patty Murray says this is what is wrong with Washington, that one single senator is blocking legisltation. So what she is saying is the constitutino is what is wrong with Washington. Jim Bunning did not gain this power on his own, he is using it afforded to him by the constitution. What is wrong with Washington is the people of America. We put these folks in office, we allow them to spend our country into the largest debtor nation in the world and what do we do about it, keep shopping at Wal Mart and watching reality TV. Stop complaining, and do something if you want to see real change.
Bunning is showing great courage and patriotism by standing firm on this issue. And,….he’s right!
.
Finally a politician understands that you can not give money to anyone if there is no money to give. Thank You Sen. Bunning!!
…..and so it goes
Way to go Jim, you were strong and made your point – how many families will have to go without because of your righteous stand? I am sure the majority of these people would gladly jump at any job available but there are none. I suggest when the government sends the denial it include Jim’s cellphone number and address so they can personally thank him. Be proud, be strong, be a man-answer to the people you are screwing. Hey, he is doing all he can to cut costs, he is retiring, how about giving your retirement benefits back to show you are only wanting the best for everyone? I won’t hold my breath for this disgrace of a man to do the right thing.
people are still getting their benefits… for the time allotted and extended numerous times. this just stops ANOTHER extension for a portion of people who have had their benefits extended again and again.
This may be a little off topic but when they spoke of extending highway programs, that’s where I became concerned. I’m not from Kentucky but from Eastern Tennessee and Sen. Bunning’s block on this bill is keeping the Great Smoky Mountains from getting a serious and much needed facelift on the roads; especially since it is the most visited national park in the country. As soon as construction on the Cades Cove Loop road started it was shut down because of this. Which also means a local construction company is once again out of the job. I’m sure there are other areas across the country that are being affected by this ‘roadblock’ in Congress. Sen. Bunning is putting a stop to great things that many local communities were looking forward to. Guess not anymore.
How did the people of KY elect such a moron? Don’t you see the irony of a man who makes his living 100% as a government employee…getting paid by taxpayers dollars and receiving government run healthcare…denying hardworking Americans unemployment money. By doing this dramatic little charade, he is cosing the government more money to get nothing done. Well, Senator…you better hurry up with those unemployment benefits because come the next election you will need yourself, you crotchety old idiot.
Hey, Chris, Steve, Cris, and any others out there who want to criticize the unemployed. Where have you been living for the last two years, in a padded cell, with no connection to the outside world? This country is in a state of EMERGENCY. Doesn’t that compute? These people aren’t deadbeats who are getting fired, or saying to themselves, “Oh, I think I’ll quit my job today so I can draw unemployment and goof off for several months, or a year or two….” There seems to be several misconceptions about unemployment benefits; for one, it is NOT WELFARE, those on unemployment are required to actively look for at least two jobs a week, and have to provide proof, and cannot turn down any viable job offer. What Bunning is doing is cutting off the lifeline for hundreds of thousands of involuntarily unemployed Americans from all walks of life, democrats and republicans alike, myself included. I’m a 58 year-old, well-educated, grandmother with 35 years in the workforce. I have custody of my granddaughter. I was laid off nine months ago, and I’ve applied for over 60 jobs. In this job market, at my age, my chances are practically nil. How many others out there are just like me? The words ‘emergency unemployment benefits’ and ‘deficit’ do not even belong in the same sentence. If you had any sense of this administration’s priorities, putting people first, you would understand why both parties are so stunned by Bunning’s actions, and why your support of said actions puts you in a very unsavory, and unpopular, minority.
Is there a delay in comment posting, or was my previous entry deemed unworthy?
Testing….
Wrong. It stops the unemployed person from getting a check at any stage of extension. The initial period is 26 weeks. The next tier is the 1st extension. No one can file for the first extension. I do wish that people who commented here would read up on how unemployment actually works. I’ve read some of the most ridiculous posts, designed to make those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, look like free-loaders, and I’m sick of it.
You’re employed, yes, we get it. Lucky you, but that’s why you’re still employed; good luck, not because you’re better than those who have lost their jobs. Remember that when you start to post comments supporting a man who’s comment to the country’s highway workers going into non-work status because of this stalemate was ‘tough sh_t’.
Where was Bunning and all these budget hawks when Bush was all so hopped up to flush all that money down the toilet by giving rich folks big tax breaks and invading Iraq? I don’t recall a “principled stand” against disposing of all THAT money when it came around, and any of y’all who have suddenly decided to fling the teabags around, yet had nothing to say about that are hypocrites of the worst stripe. In all fairness though, those spineless wimps on the other side of the aisle aren’t exactly giving the country much leadership to work with, either.
As a concerned citizen, shouldn’t you be concerned about the hundreds of thousands of families that will literally be without funds until this is settled? How does deficit measure up against desperate?
Let me clarify: If someone is already in an extension, they can finish out that extension, they will not be able to apply for another tier of extension until this stand-off is settled. Sorry, in reading my comment, that wasn’t clearly stated, and God forbid any more false statements be made here about unemployment benefits.
Jim Bunning is a draft dodging, lying hypocrite.
97% of all employment in the US is by small business. The 8 Million Jobs that have gone away forever due to the Democratic Majority in Congress since 2007 has brought Death To America. If the unemployed want jobs they need to March on Obama’s front lawn and demand tax breaks for all small business and all major corporations that employ or plan to employ American Citizens. We have got the change and hope is on the way.
so let me get this straight: It’s your contention that our economic woes began the day the Dems took over congress in 2007? Wow, what an illiterate read of history. Rush Limbaugh much?
Now, let me get this straight…Obama was supposed to turn around the worst recession ever, bring back all the jobs that Bush out-sourced to other countries, bring our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan, create 8 billion jobs, ….all in one year….and it took Bush and his band of criminals 8 years to cause all of the above, and to bring this country to the brink of ruin….there has to be some kind of magic formula in there somewhere….because I truly can’t see any man, or team, being able to do all of these things that so many Americans seem to think our President should have done in his first year of Presidency. Add the Republican Sabotage Party to the equation and you have much more than an uphill battle for a man who promised only to put the people of this country first. You have traitors who are just barely being protected by the Constitution. Ironic isn’t it.
can anyone tell me why the democrats in congress are not using stimulus funds to put the unemployed to work? WTF are they doing?!
Deborah – what a hoot. the president putting the people of the country first? wow. people first in terms of oratory. our constitution puts the people first. He abhors the constituion
I’m taking this opportunity to correct my earlier post: I said that Obama was expected to regain 8 billion jobs in one year; I meant 8 million, though it may as well be a billion. I’m replying to the ssmith person who blames the job losses on the democratic majority in congress in 2007. What a CROCK! Do you know, that in 2004 & 2005, Bush was wanting to implement a plan to outsource the IRS data processing? Can you imagine? Would you want your tax information and processing going to the lowest bidder? The repubs probably wanted it in the public sector for some nefarious purposes. The reason it was rejected is because of potential security discrepancies. Duh. The jobs situation was deplorable then, because the outsourcing had already begun. You republicans think you can convince the majority that the Democrats are responsible for this country’s ills? Good luck with that! After the last year, the republican party is losing credibility like a leaking dam getting ready to crumble.
Unsupported rhetoric, standard republican bullsh-t; you’ll have to do better than that, Clooney, there’s too much evidence to the contrary. Next time you come to a battle of wits, be sure you’re armed.
No Debbie fruit cake the outsourcing of jobs began in 1971 when Congress Began all of its social programs which still have yet to produce results. Also in 1971 Congress began over regulation of every major industry in the US. In 1971 the treasury began its production of fiat. I have yet to see one small business outsource to other nations, only the major industries moved out of the US due to regulation and that is a fact. Why is it Democrats and Liberals are in denial of Capitalistic Principles, oh yeah they have been Communist since 1971. Enjoy the jobless Socialist Ride to hell. By the way Mickey Dees is hiring and all the illegals have jobs. What is your excuse?
That’s not exactly a quick fix. You have families who won’t be getting a check two weeks from now. Getting businesses to hire in this economy is like getting the banks to lend, nobody is wanting to open themselves up for a fall later on. Since I’ve been job hunting, I’ve noticed that approx. 80% of the jobs are either contract or temporary. I’m not hopeful, at my age, but I’ve decided I’ll have to take early retirement, which, in itself, isn’t much of a solution, since I’ll still be living under the poverty level. I’m better off than most, though. The reason I’m so vocal about this is that I’ve been in the middle of it for 9 months, and I’ve seen the people, talked to them, heard their stories, people who thought they were set for life in unbelievable situations. Anyway, this is an immediate problem, where one phone call will resound around the country and applications will begin to be processed within minutes. If the phone call doesn’t come, well, we’re dead in the water. Businesses are afraid to grow, afraid to step on the ice, as it were. Lots of things have to happen at once, and conditions are just not right.
You’re a very skilled blogger….
I have joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your wonderful post. Also, I have shared your web site in my social networks!…
Century Training…
[...]most important advance in cycling training in the last[...]…
Century Rides…
[...]unnecessary kitCarrying too much century training equipment when[...]…
Training Century…
[...] money (notes weigh less than coins!) and a [...]…