Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) on Sunday explained his decision to vote against the Senate bill that would have extended longterm unemployment benefits — he was one of six Republicans who voted to debate the legislation.
“Unfortunately, Democrats did not work with us, wouldn’t negotiate with us on how to pay for it,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “We also have record numbers of people long-term unemployed. And the Democratic answer to that is, ‘Let’s add more to the 26 weeks of unemployment insurance to emergency benefits, and let’s do nothing to reform the program. Let’s do nothing to give people the skills they need to access the jobs that are out there.'”
