March 3rd, 2010

Jim Bunning Angers Americans as he Holds Up Critical Unemployment Bill.  There are millions of Americans in need of unemployment benefits and one Republican Senator may be standing in the way: Jim Bunning.  Bunning is against legislation that would give unemployment benefits to a million plus individuals.

Granted the bill would only allow a 30 day extension of federal unemployment benefits and insurance subsidies, but for many Americans they need all the help that they can get.

Bunning is holding up the process until the Senate can figure out how they will fund the $10.3 billion bill by cost cutting in other areas.

What did the Senator have to say about blocking the bill? On Thursday night, he stayed late blocking the legislation from going through.  The Associated Press reports that he said: “I have missed the Kentucky-South Carolina game that started at 9:00 and it’s the only redeeming chance we had to beat South Carolina since they’re the only team that has beat Kentucky this year.”

Those, of course, are odd words at a time like this. It doesn’t look like the single Senator is going to back down any time soon either.

Do you think that his actions are good, or do you think that it is a bad idea to hold up this legislation for millions of Americans? Is it responsible that he wants to account for and make sure that the bill is fully funded by spending cuts, or is this a case where the government should act now and think about the repercussions later?

Given that many IBM employees have recently been laid off – the situation isn’t getting any better.  The job market is tight, and will be among the biggest concerns for voters this year at the 2010 midterm elections.
Source:

Associated Press

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