Rand Paul: Unemployment benefits program is a 'disservice' to black workers

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Sunday said that he opposed extending a program to for emergency unemployment benefits because it did a "disservice" to African-American workers.

During an interview on Fox News Sunday to hype Paul's "Economic Freedom Zone" plan for lower taxes in Detroit, host Chris Wallace noted that President Barack Obama had called out the Republican Party for refusing to renew the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program while the black unemployment rate was still over 12 percent.

"I do support unemployment benefits for the 26 weeks that they're paid for," Paul insisted. "If you extend it beyond that, you do a disservice to these workers."

The Kentucky Republican argued that companies were more likely to hire workers who had been on unemployment for less than 26 weeks.

"When you allow people to be on unemployment insurance for 99 weeks, you're causing them to become part of this perpetual unemployed group in our economy," Paul remarked. "And while it seems good, it actually does a disservice to the people you're trying to help."

"You know, I don't doubt the president's motives, but black unemployment in America is double white unemployment. And it hasn't budged under this president. A lot of African-Americans voted for him, but I don't think it's worked, I don't think his policies work."

Watch this video from Fox News' Fox News Sunday, broadcast Dec. 8, 2013.