Senate Defeats Coburn Budget-Cutting Amendments
The Senate tonight defeated an effort by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, to cut the federal budget rather than raising the debit limit to borrow more money.
Here’s Coburn’s reaction:
“Our $12.4 trillion debt has put our future at risk. If we don’t start cutting spending now we won’t have an economy to revive. Unfortunately, these votes show that Congress is more interested in talk than action. If members of Congress don’t have the courage to make hard budget choices we don’t need a new commission, we need a new Congress,” Dr.…
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Boren Says Obama Should Reverse Stance on Gitmo, Trials
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, penned this column today:
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION MUST REVERSE STANCE ON TERRORIST TRIALS; GITMO
If the violence and tragedy of the 9/11 attacks was a wake-up call about the reality of global terrorism, the foiled attempt on Flight 253 in Detroit on Christmas Day was a sobering reminder that we continue to face that threat today.
Nearly one year ago this month, President Obama declared his intent to suspend military commissions for suspected terrorists, to assess the feasibility of trying detainees in the U.S.…
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Coburn, Inhofe Oppose Budget-Balancing Commission
Sens. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, voted today against establishing a bipartisan commission to make recommendations on balancing the budget. The proposal failed.…
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Inhofe Against Bernake, Coburn Yet to Announce
The Senate may vote later this week on whether to give Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernake another term. U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, plans to vote against him. Jared Young, Inhofe’s press secretary, said the senator sees Bernake as one of the architects of the 2008 bail-out of Wall Street. Inhofe voted against that bail-out and considers it one of the worst mistakes Congress has ever made.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, voted for the bail-out but has not announced how he will vote on Bernake.…
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Fallin Weighs in on Massachusetts Senate Race
U.S. Rep. Mary Fallin, a Republican running for Oklahoma governor, seemed to like what she saw last night in Massachusetts, where Republican Scott Brown won a U.S. Senate seat held by the late Sen. Edward Kennedy.
“Scott Brown’s historic win tonight is yet another sign that voters across America are tired of the kind of policies that put big government first and the interests of the people last. In his short time as president, Barack Obama and other liberals have dramatically increased the national deficit, pursued an unpopular government-takeover of the health care industry and proposed a series of initiatives that ignore the real concerns of working Americans.…
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White House Still Expecting Democratic Win in Mass.
White House senior adviser David Axelrod told reporters this morning that he still expects Democrat Martha Coakley to pull out a victory today against Republican Scott Brown in the race to fill the open U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts.
“There’s an enormous effort underway in Massachusetts today,” Axelrod said. “We expect Martha Coakely to win and so I’m not going to entertain questions predicated” on Coakley losing.
Brown has had all the momentum recently and appears poised to win the seat that was held by the late Sen.…
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Property tax splitting GOP House?
Dank, R-Oklahoma City, said today House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa, should “step up on this vital issue or step down and let someone else lead the House” in enacting it.
“I was frankly astonished by the speaker’s recent statements in opposition to these simple and fair reforms,” said Dank, who has authored measures that would cap annual property tax increases at 3 percent and freeze those taxes for seniors over 65.…
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Talk of lowering property taxes continues
The discussion over whether to cap property taxes continues. Senate Republicans are pushing for it, while the Speaker of the House says it’s not the right time. Check out the Tulsa World’s story and interview with House Speaker Chris Benge, R-Tulsa.
Debate and discussion are always encouraged in the U.S. political system, it’s just curious to me that Senate Republicans are in favor of this measure while the leader of the House has on multiple occasions said he’s not in favor of it.…
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Former Istook Aide Can't Pay His Attorney
John Albaugh, the one-time top aide to former U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook, can’t pay the legal bills stemming from his 2008 guilty plea to a federal conspiracy charge.
According to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Washington last week, Albaugh’s attorney sought to withdraw from the case because Albaugh owes the firm “a large amount of money” and is not able to pay it.
So far, Albaugh has paid the firm of McCarthy, Sweeney and Harkaway “less than 5 percent of the money owed,” according to the firm.…
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Former Gov. Walters Meets With Clinton on Haiti
Former Oklahoma Gov. David Walters was in New York City on Wednesday to meet with former President Bill Clinton and others, including US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, about Haiti.
The meeting had already been planned to discuss ways to help development in the island country. Clinton is a UN envoy to Haiti; Walters is president of a power company based in Oklahoma City.
Because of the devastating earthquake, the meeting topic turned to ways to help.
Walters said aid of all types needed good “focal points” to ensure efficient delivery.…
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