The Tulsa World is reporting today that Senator Coburn has conceded that he cannot hold up a $463.5 billion spending bill that will fund much of the government thru the end of the fiscal year. Majority Leader Reid said yesterday to reporters:

"There are people who would love for this government to close down. Some legislators hate the federal government. But we are not going to let that happen. We have to work together on a bipartisan basis not to let that happen."

Below is from a statement Senator Coburn released Wednesday regarding his now abandoned procedural move:

“Everyone in America understands that the federal budget contains vast amounts of waste, fraud and duplication. By blocking attempts to eliminate wasteful programs and possibly redirect those savings to more urgent priorities, such as veterans’ health care or HIV prevention, the majority leader is essentially declaring that the government is operating at peak efficiency and can’t be streamlined any further,” Dr. Coburn said.

The continuing resolution (CR) measure, H.J. Res. 20, coming before the Senate protects 95 percent of earmarks in violation of the “earmark moratorium” announced by Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) and Representative David Obey (D-MI). Specifically, the CR protects funding for 95 percent of all earmarks, which are hidden in conference report language. Earmarks protected in the CR include:

*$350,000 for the “World Food Prize” for outstanding work in food assistance;

*$1.5 million for construction of an entrance to the U.S. National Arboretum;
More than $1 million for alternative salmon products, including $450,000 for development of baby food containing salmon;

*$591,000 for the Montana Sheep Institute;

*$295,000 for wool research;

*$232,000 for the National Wild Turkey Federation;

*$100,000 to establish a farm-raised catfish grading system; and

*$2,970,000 to “maintain a partnership between USDA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.”

In addition to these programs, the CR cuts $3 billion to continuing the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process and cuts $1.2 billion in funding from the Crime Victims Fund (CVF) to finance more government spending.

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Posted at 8:07 AM |