Sen. Jim Bunning Holds Up Unemployment Benefits Extension
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010Unemployment benefits for 400,000 Americans are set to run out in the next week, and a bill that could extend them is being held up by a lone Senator.
Sen. Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky and former Major League Baseball pitcher, has objected to extending jobless benefits, which are attached to a larger spending bill that was past unanimously by the House last week.
The New York Times reports that 4,300 of Bunning's own constituents will exhaust their unemployment benefits in the next week, and that number will surely continue to rise over the coming weeks and months.
In New York, about 54,300 jobless workers are set to see their benefits run out next week, the most of any state, according to the Labor Department. Florida and Georgia follow, with approximately 49,600 and 41,000 workers losing benefits after March 13, respectively.
Bunning, who is not seeking reelection this year, has received praise from fellow Senate Republicans for taking his controversial stance.
The $10 billion bill up before the Senate would use stimulus money to extend unemployment insurance for jobless workers, and resume work for 2,000 Department of Transportation workers on highway construction projects.
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