On the recordMay 18, 2020
Mr. President, I thank Senator Ernst for that beautiful testimony to Senator Tom Coburn. While I was running for Senate, I was often asked who my heroes were in the U.S. Senate. The first name that always came to mind was Dr. Tom Coburn. As a legislator, Dr. Coburn was a force of nature. As a conservative stalwart who stood by his principles--no matter the pressure--and with whomever would stand with him, regardless of party, Dr. Coburn's entire career was a profile in courage. He believed so strongly that America's best wisdom wasn't held on Wall Street or Pennsylvania Avenue but on Main Street, among the small business owners, doctors, families, and workers who really keep our country going. Dr. Coburn blasted a path for conservative outsiders to take on Washington orthodoxy on everything from national debt to term limits, to our broken healthcare system, and his career was an inspiration for me to leave my business and run for the Senate. His bedside manner was often brusque, but on the tough issues, like any good doctor, Tom Coburn told people what they needed to hear, not what they wanted to hear. To Dr. Tom Coburn, our towering national debt was not just a thorn in America's side; it was a supreme moral failing. As one of the few true fiscal hawks in recent decades, Senator Coburn wore the nickname ``Dr.…
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