Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), who was responsible for blocking the Senate’s extension of unemployment benefits, today blamed the Democrats for failing to extend them.
A few weeks ago, Coburn blocked unanimous consent on extending the benefits, arguing that Democrats needed to find a way to pay for the benefits before extending them.
Coburn said today:
I’m disappointed Congress chose to go on vacation instead of extending unemployment benefits for some Americans. Congress had several opportunities to extend these benefits in a fiscally-responsible manner before our Easter break but rejected all of them. It’s time for Congress to do what’s right for both the unemployed and future generations and do the hard work of paying for important priorities.
This is the second time Coburn has followed in Sen. Jim Bunning’s (R-KY) footsteps, first by blocking the extension of benefits, and then by blaming it on the Democrats.
