Dan Coats: “I want to thank my colleague from Oklahoma for his recent statement. I also understand he is willing to help relieve me…”

“I want to thank my colleague from Oklahoma for his recent statement. I also understand he is willing to help relieve me a little bit, as I am the next Presiding Officer. I appreciate that. I will relieve him of that responsibility as soon as I finish my remarks. Wasteful Spending As many know, I have, since February, been coming to the Senate floor--now 18 different times--to highlight waste, fraud, and abuse within the Federal Government. The Senator from Oklahoma was talking about his committee, which he runs in such an efficient and effective way--I am particularly taken with the overregulation under this administration. It resonates with me. It is killing our farmers. It is killing our small businesses. We are all for safe, sound, cost-effective regulations that address safety and health. No one is trying to undo those, but we have an agency that is running amuck with ideological determinations on the basis of what ``they think is best'' for the country, regardless of what numbers come up, what impact they have--what negative impacts. No one has better led this effort than the Senator from Oklahoma, Mr. Inhofe. I thank him for that. But today I have come to talk about waste, abuse, and fraud. I have been down here 18 times since February, once a week. I could be down here every day. I could be down here every hour.…”