Updated March 31: With certain unemployment benefits set to expire on Wednesday, some Democrats seem to believe a winning strategy is to allow those benefits to expire and gain a political advantage by blaming the impasse on a single senator – Dr. Coburn.
In a press release today Dr. Coburn suggests a few stubborn facts may disrupt their plan.
CLAIM: Senator Coburn is single-handedly blocking the unemployment
extension.
FACT: Instead of holding a cloture vote on Saturday to advance
the bill, Senator Reid chose to attend an event with the NRA. Dr. Coburn
isn’t responsible for the majority’s decision not to come to work.
(Note congressional record below.)
FACT: Dr. Coburn and every Senate Republican voted to stay in session and work through this issue. Forty-nine Senate Democrats voted to go on vacation while four voted to stay.
FACT: Senate Democrats voted AGAINST extending unemployment benefits twice last week.
FACT: House Democrats rejected an agreement reached in the Senate that would have extended these benefits with an offset for one week.
CLAIM: Congress never agrees to offset “emergency spending”
FACT: Senate leaders agreed to offset a one-week extension of these benefits last week. This impasse is between House and Senate leaders, not Dr. Coburn and the rest of Congress.
FACT: In 1995, emergency spending associated with the Oklahoma City bombing was offset.
FACT: Our debt and deficit are as much of an emergency as unemployment. A job is the best unemployment benefit. An economy with as much debt as ours can’t create jobs as quickly as we need them. As Dr. Coburn said last week, Congress could easily come up with an offset to pay for this extension.
CONTINUING EXTENSION ACT OF 2010–MOTION TO PROCEED
(Senate – March 25, 2010) [Page: S2099]
CLOTURE MOTION
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 323, H.R. 4851, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am soon going to call up an adjournment resolution. But there has always been a misunderstanding as to what an adjournment resolution is. The mere fact we are going to adopt an adjournment resolution tonight does not mean we are going to run to the airports tonight. We have, under this adjournment resolution, the ability to work past tonight, and we are going to do that. We are going to be in a period of morning business tomorrow from 9:30 to 12:30. We are going to be talking about the unemployment compensation extension. That time is going to be equally divided. There is going to be some time spent tonight after this adjournment resolution is adopted, until about 9 or 9:30, talking about unemployment compensation.
So I want everyone to understand, the fact that this adjournment resolution is adopted does not mean we are all leaving here tonight. In fact, we have until Wednesday under the adjournment resolution.
Town Hall Meetings Added:
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D.will be holding a series of town hall
meetings in Oklahoma this week. Dr. Coburn will take questions
and address important issues for Oklahoma and the nation at each event.
“I
encourage everyone to attend and participate in these town halls.
These settings give me an important opportunity to hear directly from the
Oklahomans I am representing, and they provide a chance for Oklahomans
to hear my views on current legislation in Congress,” said Dr. Coburn.
Cherokee Town Hall
Monday, March 29, 2010
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Alfalfa County Farm Bureau
113 S. Grand
Cherokee, OK 73728
Oklahoma City Town Hall
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Metro Technology Center
Springlake Campus Auditorium
1900 Springlake Dr.
(NW of 36th and Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Oklahoma City, OK
Additional Town Halls Added March 31, 2010:
Pryor Town Hall
Thursday, April 1
12:00 pm
Mid America Industrial Park Expo
Center
526 Airport Road, Pryor, OK 74361
Miami Town Hall
Thursday, April 1
3:00 pm
Miami Civic Center
129 5th
Avenue Northwest
Miami, OK 74354-4601
Guthrie Town Hall
Monday, April 5th
3:00PM – 4:00PM
City Council Chamber
101 North Second Street
Guthrie, OK