posted
Bunning Whines About Missing Basketball Game, Tells Dems ‘Tough Sh*t’ On Unemployment Benefits Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed an extension of unemployment benefits on a voice vote. The Senate, however, has yet to act on the same measure, as various senators are throwing up procedural roadblocks. On Wednesday night, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) asked for unanimous consent to approve an extension, only to see the motion blocked by Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) over “a dispute over how [the bill] should be funded.”
Late last night, Democrats made repeated attempts to pass the extension by unanimous consent, and Bunning blocked them all. He then complained that the Democrats’ insistence on trying to ensure that unemployment benefits not expire had caused him to miss a college basketball game:
I want to assure the people that have, heh, watched this thing until quarter of twelve — and I have missed the Kentucky-South Carolina game that started at 9 o’clock, 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 — all of these things that we have talked about and all the provisions that have been discussed, the unemployment benefits, all these things. If we’d have taken the longer version of the job bill…we wouldn’t have spent three hours plus telling everybody in the United States of America that Senator Bunning doesn’t give a damn about the people that are on unemployment.
(Bunning’s beloved Kentucky Wildcats went on to defeat South Carolina.) At one point, while Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) were asking him to relent, Bunning was overhead blurting out “tough sh*t” as he sat in the back row.
Not only did Bunning’s antics go on all night and ultimately prevent an extension from passing, but other Republicans went to bat for Bunning, arguing that the Democrats should simply respect Bunning’s hold. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said, “I believe we’re stooping to a low level. This is not the way the Senate functions. Everybody in the country now knows that the senator from Kentucky has a hold on this bill. … That’s something that we honor in this body.”
“I just don’t think one senator ought to be able to heap this kind of suffering and misfortune on people who are already struggling in this economy,” Durbin said. “This is a wild pitch you are throwing tonight because it is pitch that is hitting somebody in the stands.” 1.1 million workers are scheduled to have their unemployment benefits expire next month, and 5 million will lose their benefits by June.
Update Sen. Durbin tried once more to pass the extension by unanimous consent this morning, and Bunning objected again.Comments
-------------------- Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise. Posts: 3827 | From: beautiful California | Registered: Sep 2008
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The Senate failed Friday to extend programs for laid-off workers, jeopardizing unemployment benefits scheduled to expire over the weekend.
The benefits are part of a larger package of government programs, from highway funding to loans for small businesses, set to expire Sunday because senators couldn't agree on how to pay to keep them going.
The House passed a bill Thursday extending the programs for one month while legislators consider how to address the issues long-term. Senate Democrats repeatedly tried to follow suit Thursday night and Friday morning, but they couldn't overcome the objections of a single lawmaker, Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, that the $10 billion bill would add to the budget deficit.
The bill would extend unemployment payments to laid-off workers and provide them with subsidies to help pay health premiums through the COBRA program. It would extend funding for highway projects and spare doctors from a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments. It would extend a small business loan program, the National Flood Insurance Program and the copyright license used by satellite television providers.
Senators said more than a million rural television viewers would not be able to watch local stations on their satellite systems without an extension.
OH, THE HORROR!!!!
The dispute leaves the programs in limbo as the Senate struggles to overcome partisan bickering over a budget deficit projected to hit a record $1.56 trillion this year. Democrats are eager to address unemployment, with the jobless rate just under 10 percent and congressional elections looming in November. Some Republicans, however, are not eager to accommodate.
At issue are the several tiers of unemployment insurance available to workers whose initial 26 weeks of benefits have expired. The federal government funds several types of extensions for people who have been jobless for longer than that.
The cutoff wouldn't affect most people already receiving extended benefits, said Maurice Emsellem of the National Employment Law Project. Instead, people seeking to obtain benefit extensions would not be able to obtain them. It's also an administrative nightmare for state labor departmentsPosts: 1802 | From: Utah | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
Say what you want this is what Bunning said and this is what most conservative think of Americans, A fine example of how Republicans govern.
-------------------- Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise. Posts: 3827 | From: beautiful California | Registered: Sep 2008
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"Everybody in this chamber wants to extend unemployment benefits, COBRA health care benefits," Bunning said Friday. But, he added, "If we can't find $10 billion somewhere for a bill that everybody in this body supports, we will never pay for anything."
So, he stands up for fiscal responsibility and suddenly he hates Americans?
posted
The only time a conservative stands up for fisical responsibilty is when they are talking about a program to help the tax payers in this country health care,socila security a program that they have raped because it was and still is paying for itself with surpluses.
The oly thing lame is this pig of an American politician elected by one of the poorest states in the union that holds a football game more important than governing.
The only thing lame is this conservative traitor and swine.
-------------------- Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise. Posts: 3827 | From: beautiful California | Registered: Sep 2008
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Ray, you'd be absolutely hilarious if you weren't actually convinced that every Conservative is an evil, racist hatemonger or that having a (D) after your name makes you a Saint.
Posts: 1802 | From: Utah | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
whether you are for Bunning or against him? this is a good thing.
Bunning must stay there to block the legislation. sure satellite TV seems like a low level issue, but unemployment does not.
both items will cost jobs if they are not passed.
satellite TV being off the air will affect jobs in many directions. advertising will suffer, and so will the actual employees of the TV broadcasting stations.
what is happening here is a good example of why our govt is broken. Bunning is trying to do a filibuster and complaining that he has to work for it, the Democrats are complaining becuase he's doing one.
lessee what doctors think if they don't get their 21 percent pay "adjustment" in medicare...
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
i never said they were all racist but that does seem to be a quality that a lot of them have. Thanks for bringing that out.
How about you, care to come out and get it off your chest so we know where you stand. It took property manager 6 months to come out the closet so to speak,on the issue of racial equality.
-------------------- Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise. Posts: 3827 | From: beautiful California | Registered: Sep 2008
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posted
i'm using this metric alot lately: my state, MISS is ranked #2 (as of the latest data- 2005) at $2.02 in Federal spending recieved per dollar.. MS maynow be ranked #1 since Thad Cochran has been "doing so well" for us
it is, in fact mostly conservative states that get more than a dollar back for a dollar sent..
IF they are really serious about cutting spending? i want to see these Senators stand up and acknowledge on the floor of the Senate that this i going on and what they are personally going to do about it
Federal Tax Burdens and Expenditures: Kentucky is a Beneficiary State Kentucky taxpayers receive more federal funding per dollar of federal taxes paid than the average state. Per dollar of federal tax collected in 2005, Kentucky citizens received approximately $1.51 in the way of federal spending. This ranks the state 9th highest nationally and represents a rise from 1995 when Kentucky received $1.28 per dollar of taxes in federal spending (ranked 13th nationally). Neighboring states and the federal spending received per dollar of federal taxes collected were: Illinois ($0.75), Indiana ($1.05), Ohio ($1.05), West Virginia ($1.76), Virginia ($1.51), Tennessee ($1.27), and Missouri ($1.32).
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:How about you, care to come out and get it off your chest so we know where you stand. It took property manager 6 months to come out the closet so to speak,on the issue of racial equality.
You kill me, Ray! LOL
Take me at my word(s). Read my posts and then make a judgment call whether I am a racist. No proclamation to the contrary will convince you otherwise. (shrug)
Posts: 1802 | From: Utah | Registered: Mar 2008
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posted
March 1, 2010 5:01 PM No Comments Jim Bunning Costs 8,000 NYers Checks Today
By Michael McAuliff
Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning reportedly flipped the bird at reporters today, but 8,000 New Yorkers are among those who feel he did a lot worse to them.
Sen. Bunning's Objection Puts 2,000 Fed Workers On Furlough
11:19 am
March 1, 2010
By Mark Memmott
"Two thousand federal transportation workers were furloughed without pay on Monday, and the Obama administration said they have a Kentucky senator to blame for it," the Associated Press writes.
posted
this is the part that will get him tossed out of office, keep in mind that most of of the protesting against health care was because it would supposedly CUT medicare:
* March 1, 2010, 5:43 PM ET
Congress Gets Breathing Room Before Medicare Payment Cuts
By James A. White
It’s not a pretty process, but a deal seems to be shaping up to stave of the start of a 21% cut in Medicare fees paid to doctors.
The cuts were due to kick in today because Congress failed to pass a temporary extension as a result of objections by Sen. Jim Bunning to a bill that also contained job measures and other health-care provisions. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the federal agency that runs Medicare, has put a hold for 10 business days on physician Medicare claims, in effect giving Congress two more weeks to work things out before the payment cuts affect reimbursements to doctors.
To make legislation happen, Republicans now are pledging to get a temporary fix through. The House approved its version of the bill last week but Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky, balked at adding to the deficit. The Senate now may have to use a longer process to avoid Bunning’s objections. Here’s more from the Associated Press.
All this adds a bit more drama to what has been a routine stalling action by Congress since 2003. The Medicare cuts started off as deficit reduction measure, but after many delays, the bite on docs grew too large for Congress to actually allow them to go into effect. On the other hand, if Congress eliminates the planned reductions permanently, as urged by the AMA and other doctors’ groups, it would add billions in Medicare costs to the defcit.
The AMA warned the situation could become a “meltdown” in medical services for seniors.
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Tuesday passed a $10 billion measure to maintain unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless and provide stopgap funding for highway programs after a holdout Republican dropped stalling tactics that had generated a Washington firestorm.
Kentucky Republican Jim Bunning had been holding up action for days but conceded after pressure intensified with Monday's cutoff of road funding and extended unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless.
Bunning wanted to force Democrats to find ways to finance the bill so that it wouldn't add to the deficit, but his move sparked a political tempest that subjected Republicans to withering media coverage and cost the party politically. Bunning's support among Republicans was dwindling, while Democrats used to being on the defensive over health care and the deficit seemed to relish the battle.
The bill passed by a 78-19 vote. It passed the House last week and President Barack Obama is likely sign the bill into law quickly so that 2,000 furloughed Transportation Department workers can go back to work on Wednesday.
Doctors faced the prospect of a 21 percent cut in Medicare payments, and federal flood insurance programs had lapsed with Monday's expiration of an earlier stopgap bill that passed late last year.
Tuesday's action will provide a monthlong extension of the expired programs to give Congress time to pass a yearlong -- and far more costly -- fix that's also pending.
posted
After initially applauding Bunning’s obstruction, Cornyn now runs away. This week, there has been a significant public backlash against Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY), the obstructionist who has been blocking the temporary extension of unemployment benefits. The Republican Party is also coming under fire for largely staying away from criticizing Bunning (with the exception of Sens. Susan Colllins and James Inhofe). Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was doing damage control today, insisting that Bunning was just “one senator. This does not represent the position of the caucus.” On Friday, however, Cornyn was singing a very different tune, and actually took to the Senate floor to laud Bunning:
I admire the courage of the junior senator from Kentucky, Senator Bunning. It’s not fun to be accused of having no compassion for the people who are out of work, the people for who these benefits should be forthcoming, and I believe will be forthcoming. But somebody has to stand up, finally, and say enough is enough, no more inter-generational theft from our children and grandchildren by not meeting our responsibilities today. And that’s what I interpret him to have done.
Looks like Cornyn isn’t too interested in standing up for Bunning’s “courage” now that it’s not politically popular. Comments
-------------------- Wise men learn more from fools than fools from the wise. Posts: 3827 | From: beautiful California | Registered: Sep 2008
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quote:Originally posted by T e x: So did he actually filibuster, or merely threaten to?
technically what he did is not fillibuster. Fillibusters involve extending debate. However, what he did is in principle the same as a fillibuster. One person objecting to the vote kept the vote from happening in a timely matter. Same as one person taking the floor during debate and keeping the floor as long as possible to prolong the the vote hopefully until the vote deadline comes.
both are are simply procedural rules set by the Senate and NOT by the constitution. the only constitutional requirement for a Senate supermajority (2/3, not 60 votes) is to ratify treaties negotiated and signed by the president, which bypass the House entirely.
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
ya, that's what I was trying figure out by reading. I posted something last week about the "stealth filibuster." Obviously, though, he did not do this anonymously...
quote:Originally posted by T e x: ya, that's what I was trying figure out by reading. I posted something last week about the "stealth filibuster." Obviously, though, he did not do this anonymously...
Anyway, thanks.
the stealth fillibusters were set up to avoid the "pain" and inconvenience of having to do a real fillibuster. it's BS cuz a fillibuster should be done on principles that people can understand and agree with or disagree with, like this one was, i respect what he did, but don't really agree he is correct.
if the Dems do use reconsiliation to pass the health care bill, they are in fact following procedural rules set by the House and Senate and not violating any constitutional provisions.
i don't like some aspects of the health care bill, but i think they should do reconciliation and let the voters decide whether they want to rehire them next time
newly elected people can revisit the health care bill in the future.
up and down votes are the American way- this fillibuster crap is usually just extortion to get earmarks added IMO
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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Cantor derides Obama's concessions to GOP on healthcare as 'political cover' By Michael O'Brien - 03/02/10 03:24 PM ET
Cantor, the second-ranking Republican in the House, derided a letter from Obama to congressional leaders outlining areas where the president said he's willing to incorporate GOP ideas into his healthcare proposal.
"Should the president, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid make the partisan decision to use reconciliation for transformational legislation of this size, scope, and cost, they do so against the will of the people.
we will find out if the GOP is really "in touch" with the majority or simply hearing what they want to hear.
alot of what they hear is generated by FOX News and WSJ. Both are owned by Newscorp. They cosntantly refer to each other and claim to represent the majority. I'm not so sure they are correct.
-------------------- Don't envy the happiness of those who live in a fool's paradise. Posts: 36378 | From: USA | Registered: Sep 2003
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