Lone senator blocks unemployment benefit extensions

From Ted Barrett,
CNN Congressional Producer
February 26, 2010 7:24 p.m. EST

Rep. Jim Bunning says that if the benefits are so important, senators could find a way to fund them.

Washington (CNN) -- The Senate adjourned Friday without approving extensions of health insurance and cash benefits for the unemployed, as well as a handful of other federal programs that run out Sunday, after a lone senator insisted that Congress pay for the $10 billion package.

Retiring Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky led a spirited Senate debate with Democrats over the issue, at one time cursing while another senator spoke on the floor Thursday night.

"Tough shit," Bunning muttered off-microphone, according to two Senate aides who were on the floor and heard the remark.

Bunning's comment came as Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon criticized Bunning's position.

An aide to Merkley said the senator didn't hear the remark. A spokesman for Bunning said he was aware of the reports about the senator's language but didn't have a comment.

Bunning said he doesn't oppose extending the programs but doesn't want to add to the deficit.

Democrats argued that the safety net funds are classified as "emergency" and therefore don't need to be paid for by cutting spending elsewhere or raising taxes.

With the Senate now not in a position to vote on the extensions until Tuesday at the earliest, senators and their staff members scrambled to determine the practical implication of letting the programs lapse, even if for just a few days.

In addition to funding unemployment insurance and the COBRA health insurance program for people who have lost their jobs, the bill would prevent a scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

Those cuts will technically go into place when doctors' offices open Monday morning. But because there is a two-week delay processing Medicare payments, a short-term lapse of the program is unlikely to affect payments, according to experts in the medical community and a Senate Finance Committee aide.

Likewise, unemployment benefits could be delayed, but if Congress acts next week, as expected, the impact is likely to be minor, according to a Labor Department analyst. That's because Congress will likely approve the funds retroactively to make up for the missing days.

An aide to Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus confirmed that the Senate will try to pass the funds retroactively.

Other programs involving federal flood insurance, satellite TV licensing and small business loans will also go dark until Congress passes extensions.

On Friday, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, sent Bunning a letter asking him to "stand down immediately."

"Unemployment insurance is a lifeline to the long-term unemployed whose families have been hit very hard by this recession," Boxer wrote.

For his part, Bunning maintained Friday that if all senators could agree the benefits are so important, then they could find a way to pay for them.

"If we can't find $10 billion somewhere for a bill that everybody in this body supports, we will never pay for anything," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/26/ ... gletoolbar