Changes

== Coburn's Earmark Fight ==

== Coburn's Earmark Fight ==

In an article entitled, "Week of July 18, 2007," columnist Robert D. Novak discussed the continuing anti-earmakr fight by several member of the Upper and Lower Houses of Congress, Tom Cobunr among them.   

In an article entitled, "Week of July 18, 2007," columnist Robert D. Novak discussed the continuing anti-earmark fight by several member of the Upper and Lower Houses of Congress, Tom Cobunr among them.   

"Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) will continue in the Senate the anti-earmark fight that Representatives Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) have been fighting in the House. Two Senate amendments to the Defense bill will target an earmark by one of Flake's favorite targets, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), and a Nebraska defense company. Two other amendments will require a competition to determine the best rifle for U.S. soldiers and require competitive contract processes for winning earmarked Defense money. Coburn leads the charge in stripping individual earmarks, while DeMint pushes for new transparency rules."<ref>http://www.www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21588</ref>

"Senators Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) and Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) will continue in the Senate the anti-earmark fight that Representatives Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Jeb Hensarling (R-Tex.) have been fighting in the House. Two Senate amendments to the Defense bill will target an earmark by one of Flake's favorite targets, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), and a Nebraska defense company. Two other amendments will require a competition to determine the best rifle for U.S. soldiers and require competitive contract processes for winning earmarked Defense money. Coburn leads the charge in stripping individual earmarks, while DeMint pushes for new transparency rules."<ref>http://www.www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21588</ref>

On his website, Coburn also provides an explanation of why he is fighting against earmarks in addition to a scorecard of what he has done during the 109th and 110th Congresses.   

On his website, Coburn also provides an explanation of why he is fighting against earmarks in addition to a scorecard of what he has done during the 109th and 110th Congresses.   

"I ran for the Senate, in part, to reduce wasteful Washington, D.C. spending, reprioritize spending to ensure essential needs are not compromised by parochial political interests and to reform the way our government spends money.  Our national debt now surpasses $8.7 trillion, important programs like Social Security and Medicare are in danger of bankruptcy, our nation is fighting a global War on Terror and we still are paying for costs associated with the most expensive natural disaster in our nation’s history.

"I ran for the Senate, in part, to reduce wasteful Washington, D.C. spending, re-prioritize spending to ensure essential needs are not compromised by parochial political interests and to reform the way our government spends money.  Our national debt now surpasses $8.7 trillion, important programs like Social Security and Medicare are in danger of bankruptcy, our nation is fighting a global War on Terror and we still are paying for costs associated with the most expensive natural disaster in our nation’s history.

Every family in America must make decisions that require prioritizing and financial restraint to meet their financial situation and expect the government to do the same.  But politicians in Washington have for too long avoided making tough decisions and have prioritized their next election over the next generation.  Clearly this in not the time for business as usual in Washington and the borrow and spend mentality must come to an end if we are to ensure that the next generation of Americans inherit the same standard of living and that our seniors can enjoy financial security during their retirement years.

Every family in America must make decisions that require prioritizing and financial restraint to meet their financial situation and expect the government to do the same.  But politicians in Washington have for too long avoided making tough decisions and have prioritized their next election over the next generation.  Clearly this in not the time for business as usual in Washington and the borrow and spend mentality must come to an end if we are to ensure that the next generation of Americans inherit the same standard of living and that our seniors can enjoy financial security during their retirement years.