jreeves
Senior Member
- Feb 12, 2008
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Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said Congresss deficit spending has become a moral issue surpassing abortion because it saddles future generations with massive debt before theyre born.
The greatest moral issue of our time isnt abortion, its robbing our next generation of opportunity, Coburn told reporters at a breakfast meeting Thursday at the National Press Club. Youre going to save a child from being aborted so they can be born into a debtors prison?
The conservative Republican also criticized his own party, saying voters bounced the GOP from office for their hypocrisy. Its not a bad thing power changed last year, said Coburn, who also criticized President Bush for not doing enough to curb spending.
He hasnt been the ideal president when it comes to limited federal spending, Coburn said.
Coburn, a physician who served in the House before he was elected in 2004, has rankled the collegiality of the Senate by putting roughly 80 holds on bills for new heritage areas. He even placed a hold on a bill designed to close a loophole that allowed Cho Seung-Hui to buy the gun he used in his deadly shooting spree at Virginia Tech this year.
Quizzed about his holds, Coburn reached into his pocket and brought out a card he carries with a printout displaying each of the bills on which he has a hold and its author.
The Virginia Tech shooting is an example, he said, of how lawmakers hunger for earmarks has real-world consequences. He said the federal governments background-check system is authorized for $200 million, but Congress has appropriated only $10 million.
Did we buy earmarks instead of doing what we were supposed to do? he said.
TheHill.com - Coburn: Deficit spending is bigger moral issue than abortion
I wish he was a candidate for the Presidency this year.
The greatest moral issue of our time isnt abortion, its robbing our next generation of opportunity, Coburn told reporters at a breakfast meeting Thursday at the National Press Club. Youre going to save a child from being aborted so they can be born into a debtors prison?
The conservative Republican also criticized his own party, saying voters bounced the GOP from office for their hypocrisy. Its not a bad thing power changed last year, said Coburn, who also criticized President Bush for not doing enough to curb spending.
He hasnt been the ideal president when it comes to limited federal spending, Coburn said.
Coburn, a physician who served in the House before he was elected in 2004, has rankled the collegiality of the Senate by putting roughly 80 holds on bills for new heritage areas. He even placed a hold on a bill designed to close a loophole that allowed Cho Seung-Hui to buy the gun he used in his deadly shooting spree at Virginia Tech this year.
Quizzed about his holds, Coburn reached into his pocket and brought out a card he carries with a printout displaying each of the bills on which he has a hold and its author.
The Virginia Tech shooting is an example, he said, of how lawmakers hunger for earmarks has real-world consequences. He said the federal governments background-check system is authorized for $200 million, but Congress has appropriated only $10 million.
Did we buy earmarks instead of doing what we were supposed to do? he said.
TheHill.com - Coburn: Deficit spending is bigger moral issue than abortion
I wish he was a candidate for the Presidency this year.
