Reid objects to short-term extension of expiring provisions

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Monday objected to a short-term extension of expiring provisions offered by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) because the proposal's cost was offset by rescinding some of the provisions in the stimulus bill. 

"It's a good program," Reid said of the stimulus bill. "It creates jobs." 

McConnell's proposal would have provided a 30-day extension to unemployment insurance, the so-called Medicare "doc fix," COBRA health insurance, flood insurance, the small-business loan guarantee and the 2009 federal poverty guidelines. 

"This is a paid-for 30-day extension of the extenders bill," McConnell said, adding, "This proposal would actually reduce the debt by $2.5 billion."

Reid also said that McConnell's proposal did not provide a meaningful extension to the provisions. 

"A 30-day extension doesn't solve the problems we have," he said, adding, "We have to have a legitimate program to extend these benefits into the future. Thirty days doesn't do it. It just kicks the ball down the road."