Chimp Attack: The Coburn Connection?
Wayne Pacelle, the head of the Humane Society of the United States, says several factors contributed to the chimpanzee attack of a woman in Connecticut on Monday, including Sen. Tom Coburn’s blocking of a bill last year to ban the interstate transport of monkeys and chimpanzees for the pet trade. The bill passed the House overwhelmingly, but it was among the dozens of bills that Coburn placed a “hold” on.
“Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) and a few other anti-animal lawmakers made fun of this attempt to stop the abuse of primates in the pet trade and to protect people and communities, but fortunately, their efforts fell short in the House. But in the Senate, despite repeated efforts by bill co-authors Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and David Vitter (R-La.) to get the legislation over the finish line and sent to President Bush for his signature, Sen.Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) blocked consideration of the bill,” Pacelle wrote today.
“But for Coburn, a medical doctor, we’d now have a federal law banning the interstate transport of dangerous primates as pets.”
John Hart, a spokesman for Coburn, R-Muskogee, said, “People who keep 200-pound chimpanzees as pets have issues that cannot be resolved by any act of Congress. That said, it is false to allege that Dr. Coburn “blocked consideration” of this bill. Dr. Coburn wanted the bill to be paid for and debated on the floor. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), who sets the Senate schedule, did not believe this bill was important enough to be debated on the floor.
“The Humane Society should direct its concerns at the human victim of this horrific attack and spend less time trying to score cheap political points. Also, as terrible as the tragedy is, it’s important to keep it in perspective. Chimpanzee attacks against humans are extremely rare. Dog bites, for instance, send 386,000 Americans to the emergency room every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. If the Humane Society wants to grandstand about animal bites they might want to broaden their scope.”
TARP Funds in OK
According to the latest U.S. Treasury Department information, only one Oklahoma bank has taken money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (otherwise known as TARP, or the financial industry bail-out plan passed by Congress last fall).
Southwest Bancorp, Inc., the publicly-traded parent of Stillwater National Bank, took $70 million in December, according to Treasury.
The company reported last month that its fourth-quarter earnings fell to $3 million, compared to $4.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The company’s CEO blamed the performance on the current economic conditions.
Coburn Criticized
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, hasn’t officially announced that he will run for a second term next year, but the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is already gearing up to fight him.
After the vote on the stimulus package yesterday, the committee released a statement saying:
“President Obama and the American people asked Congress to work together to pass an economic stimulus, many in the Congress headed their call unfortunately Senator Coburn was not one of them.”
Coburn opposed the stimulus package from the get-go, and in the strongest possible terms. He backed an alternative offered by Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, that would drastically cut the size of the package and made it more weighted to tax cuts.
Inhofe Finds Silver Lining in Stimulus
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, gave a speech on the Senate floor today criticizing the $800 billion stimulus bill — which is expected to come up for a critical procedural vote later today — but said it could “wind up being a positive thing for Republicans.”
Noting that no Republicans in the House voted for the bill and that only two or three Republicans in the Senate are expected to vote for it, Inhofe said voters would hold Democrats responsible for the bill.
He predicted that the political climate next year would be similar to that in 1994 when, two years into former President Bill Clinton’s first term, Republicans took over the House and Senate. That was the year Inhofe was first elected to the Senate.
Sam Bradford on U.S. House Agenda
The U.S. House is expected to take up a resolution today authored by Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Oklahoma City, to honor the Sooners’ Sam Bradford for winning the Heisman Trophy.
Here is the text of the resolution:
Recognizing and commending University of Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford for winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy and for his academic and athletic accomplishments. (Introduced in House)
HRES 60 IH
January 14, 2009
Ms. FALLIN (for herself, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. COLE, Mr. LUCAS, and Mr. BOREN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor
Whereas Sam Bradford was born on November 8, 1987, to Kent and Martha Bradford;
Whereas Sam Bradford’s mother and father have instilled in him an unparalleled work ethic, outstanding leadership qualities, and a desire to excel;
Whereas Sam Bradford is an active citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma;
Whereas Sam Bradford is a dedicated student at the University of Oklahoma, majoring in Finance and maintaining a 3.95 grade point average;
Whereas Sam Bradford is a member of the University of Oklahoma’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes;
Whereas Sam Bradford is the quarterback for the University of Oklahoma’s football team (Oklahoma) and has played an integral role in such team’s 2008 National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) national championship bid;
Whereas Sam Bradford completed 48 touchdown passes in the regular season, setting a University of Oklahoma record for touchdowns in a single season, and also leading the nation in touchdown passes in the 2008 season;
Whereas in 2008 Sam Bradford surpassed the NCAA record for most touchdowns by a quarterback through his freshmen and sophomore years;
Whereas in 2008 Sam Bradford led the nation in passing efficiency with a percentage of 186.28;
Whereas on October 18, 2008, Sam Bradford passed for 468 yards against the University of Kansas, setting a University of Oklahoma record for most passing yards in a single game;
Whereas in 2008 Sam Bradford guided Oklahoma to a 12-1 record and played an essential role in Oklahoma’s victory over the University of Missouri in the 2008 Big 12 Championship game on December 6, 2008; and
Whereas on December 13, 2008, Sam Bradford became the 5th Oklahoma football player to win the Heisman Trophy, college football’s most coveted and prestigious award: Now, therefore, be it
- Resolved, That the House of Representatives–
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- (1) commends Sam Bradford for his academic and athletic accomplishments;
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- (2) congratulates Sam Bradford for winning the 2008 Heisman Trophy; and
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- (3) directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to transmit a copy of this resolution to University of Oklahoma President Boren and Head Football Coach Bob Stoops for appropriate display.
Coburn: This Bill Stinks!
Sen. Tom Coburn just gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor about the $900 billion stimulus package. He called it a skunk, and he called it stinky.
He said he planned to offer an amendment that would require competitive bidding for all of the spending in the bill.
“If we’re going to pass this stinky bill _ if we’re going to waste a trillion dollars , we’ll waste it efficiently,” Coburn said.
Inhofe Wants More Defense Money
Update: This amendment was defeated Wednesday night by a vote of 59-38.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, offered an amendment to the economic stimulus bill today that would add $5.3 billion for planes, boats, ammunition, weapons and equipment at the Department of Defense.
His amendment would cut $5.3 billion in spending from other parts of the bill.
Inhofe said:
Investing in our nation’s defense provides thousands of sustainable American jobs and provides for our nation’s security. Major defense procurement programs are all manufactured in the US with our aerospace industry alone employing more than 655,000 workers spread across over most of the US.
Final Vote on SCHIP
Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee, was the only Oklahoman to vote for expanding the state health care program for children today. The bill is now going to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature.
Families USA, a non-profit group that pushed for the bill’s passage, has estimated that the program may reduce the number of uninsured children in Oklahoma by half.
Inhofe, Coburn Oppose SCHIP Bill
Both of Oklahoma’s senators voted against a bill last night to expand the state children’s health insurance program. The bill passed by a vote of 66-32 and should go to the president’s desk soon.
Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, a physician, tried to change the bill so Congress would help people buy private insurance policies rather than expanding the Medicaid-based program. Coburn said Medicaid recipients often receive second-class medical care.
“When senators visit with their constituents, they should ask them whether they would want their children in SCHIP or a top tier plan senators provide to their own kids,” Coburn said today.
“Senators should also ask whether parents should have the right to make choices about health care for their kids or whether those choices should be made for them by career politicians and government bureaucrats.
“Sadly, this debate showed once again that Congress, unlike President Barack Obama, is not interested in change but in recycling the same failed Soviet-style health care policies of the past.”
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, said, “I could not lend my support to this legislation because it did not focus its efforts on the low-income children who have no other resource for health insurance and pushes middle income families with access to private insurance into government sponsored health care.”
Rice Tries to Rally Support for SCHIP
State Sen. Andrew Rice, the Oklahoma City Democrat who ran unsuccessfully last year against U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, is helping gather “citizen co-sponsors” of a bill in the U.S. Senate to expand health care coverage for children.
The bill to expand the state childrens’ health insurance program could come up for a final vote today.
Rice’s letter, sent to the e-mail list he used for his campaign, provides a link to a web page sponsored by U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, an Arkansas Democrat who is a major supporter of the bill.
“We can’t leave this vote to chance,” Rice’s letter states. “For too long, partisan bickering has blocked of efforts by Senator Lincoln and others to expand this successful program. It’s up to us to show her colleagues in the Senate that the American people are ready for change.”
Inhofe, R-Tulsa, and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Muskogee, are expected to vote against the legislation which, according to one group, would cut in half the number of uninsured children in Oklahoma.
