Topeka ? The Kansas Department of Labor is slowly recovering from a massive backlog of unemployment claims that a state official blames on the U.S. Senate.

Labor Secretary Jim Garner says a Senate filibuster during the summer caused a backlog of more than 15,000 benefit applications in Kansas.

When the filibuster ended in July after seven weeks, the labor department had to reprogram its computer system to reflect new federal guidelines. It also led to difficulty for people trying to get through to the state call center to ask about their benefits.

Garner says the department is slowly working its way out of the backlog. But he tells the Topeka Capital-Journal that he wishes senators understood that filibusters have real consequences.