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Oct 09 2012

WASTEBOOK 2012

COMING: Tuesday October 16, 2012

Washington is set to spend at least $3.6 trillion this year while running a $1.3 trillion deficit. The waste is overflowing and it’s time to take out the trash.

This coming Tuesday, October 16, we’ll be releasing our annual Wastebook 2012 edition.

For the past three years, Dr. Coburn has highlighted some of the year’s most wasteful government spending projects. In 2011, we found over billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars were squandered on a $700,000 grant to study cow burps, robot dragons, and more bridges to nowhere – to name a few. In 2010, the Wastebook highlighted more than $200,000 went to research studying why political candidates make vague statements, $5.2 million was awarded to the Sin City to build the “Neon Boneyard Park and Museum," a park dedicated to displaying neon signs.

What did we find for 2012? Follow Dr. Coburn on Twitter and Facebook this week where we’ll preview what we found.

Check out a complete list of Dr. Coburn's oversight reports, here.

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Date Title
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
3/14/13 Dr. Coburn Asks Congress to Protect and Restore Access to the White House, the Flight 93 Memorial, Yellowstone and More by Accepting Administration-Backed Cuts
3/12/13 SENATORS JOHN MCCAIN AND TOM COBURN ON WASTEFUL SPENDING IN THE CONTINUING RESOLUTION