Inhofe on Remaining Bail-Out Money
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, opposed the $700 billion bail-out last year for the financial industry, and he has been trying since December to freeze the $350 billion that still hasn’t been spent.
On Monday, after the Bush administration announced that it would request the remaining $350 billion from Congress, Inhofe went to the Senate floor to criticize the decision.
Coburn: “I Will Delay Everything”
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, said today that he would delay all legislation in the Senate if he’s not given an opportunity to offer amendments.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Coburn said, “I won’t delay anything if I get an opportunity to amend it. But if I don’t get an opportunity to amend it, I will delay everything.”
Coburn’s comment was a direct challenge to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, who has been battling with Coburn for more than a year over advancing bills without amendments or official votes.
The Senate is currently in the midst of “considering” a package of about 160 public lands bills that Reid assembled as the first real order of business for the new Congress.
In order to advance the bills through one of the procedural hurdles forced by Coburn’s objections, Reid made senators come in on Sunday to vote.
That hurdle was cleared, but more are in line before senators can vote for the bill itself later this week.
Coburn said he could filibuster the bill, which would require him to stay on the Senate floor for hours and perhaps days on end.
“Having delivered 4,000 babies, I know how to stay up all night,” the Muskogee physician said.
At this point, though, he doesn’t plan to do that on the public lands bill.
But Coburn sharply criticized Senate Democratic leaders, questioning whether they had the courage to put the national interest above parochial ones
He said President-elect Barack Obama had that courage and called Obama “a very dear friend of mine.”
Fallin Gets New Post
Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, will be the communications chair of the Republican Study Group, a group of about 100 conservative Republican members of the U.S. House.
Fallin said her first task will be pitching the group’s own proposal for stimulating the economy.
“Conservatives and the American people understand that we cannot borrow and spend our way to prosperity,” Fallin said today. “That’s why RSC members are promoting tax cuts and credits that will shore up the American economy by putting money into the hands of working families and encouraging investment.”
Cole Gets Subcommittees
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, who was appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee last week, learned Monday that he’ll be on three subcommittees.
One oversees Interior spending — that’s a biggie for Oklahoma since it includes Indian tribes, but also because it’s a forum for policy fights over oil and gas drilling.
He’ll also be on the one that decides spending for the Labor and Health and Human Services departments. This is typically the most controversial spending bill of the 13 Congress is supposed to write every year since it winds up being where lots of social policy is debated.
Cole’s third subcommittee is Legislative Branch, which is where lawmakers decide how much money they can spend on themselves.
Boren Comments on New Job Numbers
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, released a statement today about the new unemployment figures:
“Today’s report of 524,000 jobs lost last month is another clear example that Congress must take decisive and comprehensive action to stimulate our nation’s economy. Since this recession began in early 2007, the economy has shed 3.6 million jobs. The tragedy is that those numbers represent millions of families who are struggling every day to make ends meet. The severity of this recession is made even clearer by today’s overall unemployment rate of 7.2% which is the highest in 15 years. I hope the new Congress and Administration will work in a bipartisan fashion to pass a large-scale, but focused economic stimulus package, to get America’s economy moving and the unemployed back to work. I pledge to make certain that the constituents of the Second Congressional District have a strong voice in the discussions over the best course of action for our nation’s economy.”
Coburn Gets Some Backing
Sen. Tom Coburn’s fight against a package of public lands bills wasn’t as lonely on Friday, as he got some encouraging words from GOP Sen. Jeff Sessions, of Alabama.
In the midst of a battle that may force the Senate into a rare Sunday sessions, Sessions went to the Senate floor today to praise Coburn for sticking to his principles and objecting to spending that he considers wasteful.
Sessions said a lot of politicians promise their constituents that they’re going to fight against wasteful spending.
“The only difference is: He does it,” Sessions said, referring to Coburn, R-Muskogee.
Coburn objected last year to a number of bills that would expand heritage trails or national parks. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has packaged about 150 bills up and is trying to push them through in a single piece of legislation. Coburn is objecting.
The stand-off will force a number of procedural votes before senators can actually vote on the entire package. One of those procedural votes is scheduled for Sunday.
Reid Targeting Coburn
The Hill newspaper reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, may be targeting Sen. Tom Coburn’s seat on the Judiciary Committee.
Coburn, R-Muskogee, and Democratic leaders in the Senate have been battling for years over bills that Coburn blocks.
Cole Lands Plum Spot
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, was officially named to the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. It’s one of the top committee assignments on Capitol Hill since the members decide how to spend hundreds of billions of dollars.
Oklahoma hasn’t had a member on the committee for the last two years — since former Congressman Ernest Istook left the House. That was unusual since Oklahoma has had at least one member on it for decades.
Cole will have to give up his seat on the House Armed Services Committee, an important one for his district, which includes Tinker Air Force Base and Fort Sill. But he’ll have input into defense spending now. And Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, serves on Armed Services; Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, may get on the panel for the new Congress.
Boren Backs CIA Pick
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, today praised Leon Panetta, the controversial choice to head the CIA under the incoming Obama administration.
Boren, whose father once headed the Senate Intelligence Committee, doesn’t have a vote on Panetta since the Senate will decide whether to confirm the former congressman and White House chief of staff. But Boren urged the Senate to give Panetta the job.
Here is Boren’s statement:
“The nomination of Leon Panetta to lead our nation’s Central Intelligence Agency is a quality choice by President-elect Obama. Panetta has established himself throughout his career as a very capable administrator and public servant who has the best interests of the American people close at heart.
“As an Army veteran, a former nine-term U.S. Congressman, a former White House Chief of Staff, and most recently as a member of the Iraq Study Group, Panetta’s credentials of crisis management and conflict resolution will make him a unique asset to our nation’s intelligence services.
“I urge the swift confirmation of Mr. Panetta so that he may continue the all important task of protecting this great nation from the tyranny of evil and the terrorists who seek to destroy liberty here at home and abroad.”
Cole Bets Chocolates on OU
All kinds of wagers are likely taking place on Thursday’s national championship game between the Sooners and the Gators — mostly involving cash and points.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, whose district includes OU, is betting chocolate.
Cole is putting up some Bedre chocolates made by the Chickasaw Nation, which is based in Cole’s district and counts Cole as a member, in his bet against Rep. Adam Putnam, a Florida Republican and graduate of the University of Florida.
Putnam will pay up in oranges if the Sooners prevail.
“The last time OU played a team in Florida for the national championship, it worked out pretty well for us,” Cole said, referencing the 2001 Orange Bowl victory over Florida State.
“The Sooners are going to have another fresh-picked win and I’m going to have a basket of oranges to enjoy because of it.”
Putnam countered, “I’m looking forward to tasting those delicious chocolates as I savor the Gators’ victory over the Sooners. It should be the perfect way to start 2009.”
