As I wrote last week, unemployed workers around the country were about to get the carpet swept out from under them if the Senate didn’t immediately act to extend unemployment benefits.  Well, the Senate failed to act and it’s all thanks to Senator Jim Bunning of Kentucky.

Last Thursday night, Senator Bunning took to the Senate floor and blocked a unanimous consent agreement that included a 30-day extension of UI.

His actions were driven by his alleged concern about fiscal irresponsibility, however this is pretty ironic considering how many times he voted to increase the budget deficit.  The esteemed senator from Kentucky clearly has no trepidations about federal spending when he voted for the Bush tax cuts, against the debt commission and against repealing tax subsidies for corporations which move US jobs offshore.  Additionally, as was articulately conveyed by our friends at the Campaign for America’s Future, it’s downright hypocritical that Bunning held up extension in the name of fiscal conservatism because this lapse will cost states much time and millions of dollars to disable their programs and get them going again.

Despite his tirade against federal safety-net spending, Senator Bunning seemingly directed his anger toward Senator Harry Reid and the last jobs bill.  In his final remarks, he stated:

Remember now, this all could’ve been changed had not the leader of the Senate decided that a bipartisan compromise jobs bill was not as important as his partisan jobs bill that just passed just before all of this debate.

Senator Bunning is playing politics with people’s lives and consequently, 1.2 million unemployed workers across the country will lose benefits this month including over 14,000 people in Bunning’s home state of Kentucky.  Furthermore, due to the other holdups from the bill’s blockage, 2,000 federal transportation workers were furloughed without pay, federal reimbursement for highway programs will be halted.  His tactics are so despicable that he is being repudiated by his own party.

Senator Reid and many of his colleagues are pushing for a one year-extension of UI along with extensions of COBRA, FMAP, the Medicare doc fix, FDA provisions and others.  It seems to have bipartisan support and hopefully the bill will pass the Senate this week and the House next week.

Jim Bunning’s actions are inexcusable.  Please sign this petition then call your senators and tell them that these political games can’t continue and we need an extension through the end of the year.  Also, for you active Twitter users (as opposed to the inactive Twitter users, like me), please sign this act.ly, Twitter petition from Campaign for America’s Future and tweet this to sign:

petition @Senate_GOPs & Jim Bunning: stop holding unemployed Americans hostage to your obstruction agenda http://act.ly/1qo RT to sign #p2.

Unemployment is affecting all of us, in every community around the country.  Let’s hope the Senate passes extension soon and the Bunning’s actions do not continue to devastate unemployed workers.

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