Bunning blocks aid extension

Unemployment benefits will temporarily expire tomorrow after a Senate Republican yesterday blocked a one-month extension because it would add to the federal budget deficit.

Sen. Jim Bunning (R., Ky.) objected to consideration of the measure, demanding that lawmakers offset its $10 billion cost to prevent it from adding to the government's $1.6 trillion deficit.

"Everybody in this chamber wants to extend unemployment benefits," Bunning said. "If we can't find $10 billion somewhere for a bill that everybody in this body supports, we will never pay for anything."

Democrats, who spent hours Thursday night trying to force the bill through and tried unsuccessfully again yesterday, said Bunning was needlessly hurting some of the nation's most vulnerable citizens.

"It is unthinkable, unforgivable that we would cut off unemployment insurance payments to these people," said Sen. Richard J. Durbin, the chamber's No. 2 Democrat.

Bunning objected under a Senate rule that allows any single lawmaker to prevent a bill from coming to a vote. Lawmakers can eventually overcome those objections with 60 votes, though the process takes several days. Democrats predicted the bill would be overwhelmingly approved next week.

The legislation, approved Thursday by the House, would provide a one-month extension for unemployment benefits, including COBRA subsidies to help the jobless buy health insurance.

It would also temporarily prevent a scheduled 21 percent cut in Medicare reimbursements to doctors and extend the copyright used by satellite-television providers through March 28.