There are two sides to every story concerning President Obama, Senate majority leader Reid and outgoing House Speaker Pelosi along with our own senators, Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, and Congressmember Gary Ackerman.
They again attacked Congressional Republicans for holding up funding for extending unemployment benefits.
Virtually all Republican members of Congress support extending unemployment benefits about to expire for over 2 million Americans still out of work.
All they have asked is for President Obama and Congressional Democrats to honor their previous commitments to support “pay-as-you-go” legislation for any new funding programs.
With a trillion dollar plus debt increase this year and total long-term debt exceeding $13 trillion dollars, we can’t borrow forever without dire economic consequences to our economy and nation.
Within a multi trillion dollar federal budget, surely one can find other programs to cut so we can fund another new $12 billion in unemployment benefits extension.
Difficult economic times require real leaders making tough decisions.
That is why voters in 2008 sent President Obama and a Democratic majority to Washington.
If President Obama and Congressional Democrats can’t find the money, perhaps this is why citizens voted for so many new Republican members of Congress in November 2010 who can.
Constituents of Schumer, Gillibrand and Ackerman are waiting for them to tell us how they propose to pick up the tab.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
