The Public Record
Tom Coburn is a former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, serving from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Coburn was known for his fiscal conservatism and advocacy for government transparency. He was a practicing physician before entering politics, which influenced his views on healthcare and government spending. Throughout his tenure, he was a vocal critic of wasteful government expenditures and often called for reforms to improve accountability in Congress.
First of all, I am so excited with the chairman and ranking member of the Appropriations Committee. I have to say, since I have been in the Senate, I have found these two individuals more than capable to work with and more than willing to…
I ask that the pending amendment be set aside and amendment No. 66 be called up. The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the amendment. The legislative clerk read as follows: The Senator from Oklahoma [Mr. Coburn], for…
this is a fairly straightforward amendment. It actually follows the guidelines of the recommendations of the Office of Management and Budget. The administration claims that during this sequestration period we will have to furlough…
I am concerned with the immigration bill coming forward and the additional responsibilities that are going to be placed through that bill.
If we are going to get immigration reform through, if you are going to get it through the House, we are going to have to do a whole lot more on what is the definition of a controlled border than what is in this bill.
But, remember, the emotion on immigration has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the rule of law.
We do not have a secure border today, and we know that by the apprehensions.
The political reality is the American people want to know the border is controlled, and when we say 90 percent it is controlled, they are saying, well, that means 10 percent of it is not.
I wanted to make a few comments. We have finished our analysis of this bill. The bill has 587 pages and spends well over $1 trillion. We finished at 9 p.m. last night. We have no objection to moving to the bill through a fair and open…
If, in fact, the American people cannot trust that the border is controlled, you are not going to be able to pass this bill.
first, I want to tell the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee that I actually very much appreciate her work. I actually trust her to do the right thing. But we got this bill last night at 9 o'clock. It is a 500-page bill. It has…
I was sitting in my office listening to Senator Reid, meeting with my staff on the bill we have on the floor, and I wanted to explain to the American people what this bill is. This bill was published last night at 9:00. We got it at about…
Everybody in the Federal Government--everybody--is supposed to submit data so that the American people can see where the money is spent.
We have to get past that one issue, and we have to address the issues in front of us.
I have to tell you, I have been thoroughly impressed with the employees and the people that have given us the briefings that we've had.
Plus, it wastes a ton of money. You know, in the Federal Government, we spend $64 billion a year on IT, and, essentially, 50 percent of it is wasted, because we don't assess risks, and we don't contract appropriately.
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