(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement after Standard & Poor’s downgraded the United States' AAA credit rating.

"This announcement is probably long overdue. For decades, political careerism has trumped statesmanship in Washington. Both parties have done what is safe, not what is right. The dysfunction in Washington is the belief that we can live beyond our means forever. We can't. The moment to make the hard decisions we have long avoided has arrived. There is no where left to kick the can."

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