Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following letter be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: U.S. Senate, Senator Tom Coburn, MD, Washington, DC, July 27, 2010. Hon. Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. Dear Senator McConnell: I am requesting that I be consulted before the Senate enters into any unanimous consent agreements or time limitations regarding S. 714, National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010. I support the goals of this legislation and believe that our criminal justice systems should be effectively and efficiently managed. However, I believe that we can and must do so in a fiscally responsible manner that upholds the Constitution. My concerns are included in, but not limited to, those outlined in this letter. First, this bill costs the American people $14 million. While an amendment proposed by the bill's sponsor does have offset language, it is insufficient. It does not specifically rescind a certain program or dollar amount from the Justice Department's budget. Rather, it directs the Attorney General to propose an offset in the amount of $14 million. This will neither guarantee a truly wasteful or fraudulent DOJ program will be eliminated, nor even guarantee an offset will be enacted into law, as the bill does not require Congress to act on the Attorney General's proposed offset.…”