Press Room

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today after the Senate rejected his amendment by a vote of 40 to 58 to pay for the AGOA bill by reducing spending on duplicative and wasteful programs.

               

“This country is full of people outside of Washington who are used to making hard choices.  They are doing that in these tough economic times every day.  Sadly, the Senate lacks the intestinal fortitude to do the same.  This should have been an easy vote and an easy way to save $200 million.  Instead, we borrowed $200 million, which is a deferred tax increase on every American.  I’m especially disappointed so many who have supported eliminating duplication in the past switched their votes and supported more borrowing and deferred tax increases.  Votes like the one today speak volumes about why we have a $16 trillion debt and an approval rating of nine percent,” Dr. Coburn said.

 

Full background on the Coburn amendment is here.

 

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Date Title
5/23/13 SENATE VOTES TO REDUCE CROP INSURANCE SUBSIDES, SAVE TAXPAYER DOLLARS
5/23/13 Senators Coburn and Pryor Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Require Federal Employees to Pay Federal Taxes
5/16/13 Senators Coburn, Burr React to GAO Report on Hospital Payment Modification
5/15/13 IN LETTER TO PRESIDENT, SENATE REPUBLICANS DEMAND COMPLETE COOPERATION INTO IRS INVESTIGATION
5/15/13 Senators Coburn, Burr Introduce Bill to Prevent Unrealistic Medicaid FMAP
5/15/13 GAO Report Identifies Cost-Saving Strategies for Contracting for Services
5/14/13 Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Coburn Highlight GAO Report on Data Center Consolidation Progress
5/7/13 Social Security Report Calls for Increased Attention to the Death Master File
5/6/13 GAO Report Outlines Improper Federal Employees’ Compensation Payments
5/1/13 GAO Report Describes Medicaid Improper Payments
Date Title
4/30/13 Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Coburn Continue Oversight of Boston Bombings
4/24/13 Senators Coburn and Udall Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Duplication and Overlap of Federal Programs
4/23/13 Burr, Coburn, Thune Introduce Public Employee Pension Transparency Act
4/18/13 Dr. Coburn Criticizes the FAA’s Decision to Furlough Air Traffic Controllers Instead of Making Smart Cuts
4/17/13 Coburn and Upton Issue Statement on FDA Opioid Drug Application Ruling
4/16/13 New GAO Report Calls for Improved Reporting of the Effectiveness of Training Programs for Federal Acquisition Personnel
4/16/13 GOP Senators Release White Paper on Health IT, Cite Concerns
4/10/13 Dr. Coburn’s Statement on Manchin-Toomey Proposal
4/10/13 Coburn Statement on USPS Board of Governors Decision to Back Away From Modified Delivery
4/9/13 Senators Introduce the Comprehensive Student Loan Protection Act
4/9/13 Chairman Carper, Ranking Member Coburn Highlight Report Detailing Potentially Duplicative Government Programs and Wasteful Spending
Date Title
3/28/13 HHS REPORT SHOWS TENS OF MILLIONS LOST TO MEDICARE OVERPAYMENTS
3/22/13 Dr. Coburn to Host Town Hall Meetings in Oklahoma
3/21/13 Coburn and Issa to USPS: Use Your Authority to Proceed with Modified Six-Day Delivery Plans
3/20/13 Senate Votes to Protect Wine Trains over White House Tours; Limits Political Science Grants