News
It's the legislative equivalent of rush hour on Capitol Hill and Senator Tom Coburn, an Oklahoma Republican, is threatening to throw himself into traffic.
The freshman lawmaker has waged a war on spending by blocking more than 90 bills this year. Now, as his colleagues rush to finish the congressional session before Christmas, Coburn is threatening to use his power to say ``no'' to try to slow a frenzy of lawmaking, including such items as a measure to ease the subprime lending crisis.
The spurt of last-minute activity often makes the final weeks of a legislative session among the most productive. The time crunch, however, also can give a single lawmaker an opportunity to run out the clock on legislation by using procedural maneuvers. Coburn, 59, said he may do just that as lawmakers try to rush bills, sometimes without reading them, because there is a lot of pressure to pass them and go home.
``The last thing we ought to be doing at the end of the session is passing a bill without vetting it, without debating it, without talking about the problems,'' Coburn said. ``I am happy to be here for Christmas.''
Coburn has warned his colleagues he will try to block any late-breaking bills that increase spending, telling them to see him about working out a compromise. Coburn also refuses to rule out blocking a $500 billion catch-all spending bill Democrats still want to push through the chamber.
Unofficial Role
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chamber's No. 2 Democrat, said Coburn is trying to carve out an unofficial leadership post.
``He believes he should have the authority to approve everything that comes to the floor,'' said Durbin, 63. ``If each and every senator took that responsibility on themselves nothing would get done.''
Coburn's threats have the potential to make him an unlikely power broker, though he says that isn't his plan.
``I'm not trying to be in the driver's seat,'' he said. ``Everybody wants to go home, so they give up their principles to go home. We don't give up our principles.''
Unlike the House, where the majority party can steamroll the opposition, Senate rules enable any single member to gum up the works. Lawmakers need consent from all 100 senators to do such mundane tasks as putting a bill to a vote. Those objections can be overcome through either peer pressure or a time-consuming process that requires 60 votes -- a bipartisan majority in the closely divided Senate.
`Leverage'
Individual senators who are ``willing to be the skunk at the garden party'' have ``a lot of leverage,'' said Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
It's not the first time Coburn has been the skunk. He previously served in the House, where he sometimes infuriated his colleagues by being what he has called ``too bull-headed.'' For example: In 1999, Coburn proposed more than 100 amendments to one of his party's appropriations bills, dragging proceedings to a crawl, because he believed the measure spent too much money.
Coburn was one of the few Republicans elected to the House in 1994 who kept his term-limit pledge. A physician, he returned to his Oklahoma practice in 2001.
Coburn won his Senate seat in the 2004 election and, with it, far more power to pursue his raison d'etre: cutting federal spending, even though he doesn't serve on any of the major budget committees. During his first two years, he sponsored more amendments than any other senator, including scores of usually unsuccessful attempts to eliminate his colleagues' pet projects known as earmarks.
`Holds'
Coburn has also made wide use of ``holds,'' a procedure that allows a single lawmaker to block a bill for any reason.
He is using the tactic to hold up a bill that would help subprime-mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing with federally insured loans. While the bill passed the Senate Banking Committee by a 20-to-1 vote and has support from the Bush administration, Coburn said he wants an opportunity to amend it in part because he says it would leave taxpayers on the hook for bad loans.
Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat sponsoring a subway-funding bill blocked by Coburn, said his ``one-person crusade'' thwarts majority rule by stalling bills that in many cases would otherwise easily win passage.
In the final weeks of the session, lawmakers try to save time by passing many bills without voting -- which requires unanimous consent from the entire body. Coburn has warned his colleagues he will automatically block any legislation that increases spending.
In a letter to his colleagues, he advised them ``to contact me as soon as possible so I have sufficient time to read and review your bills'' so ``we can work out any differences.''
Then there's the catch-all spending bill Democrats want to pass before the end of the year. While Coburn wouldn't say what he would do if it comes up for a vote, he warned that ``if it's full of junk'' he would try to block the measure and ``may never let go.''
The freshman lawmaker has waged a war on spending by blocking more than 90 bills this year. Now, as his colleagues rush to finish the congressional session before Christmas, Coburn is threatening to use his power to say ``no'' to try to slow a frenzy of lawmaking, including such items as a measure to ease the subprime lending crisis.
The spurt of last-minute activity often makes the final weeks of a legislative session among the most productive. The time crunch, however, also can give a single lawmaker an opportunity to run out the clock on legislation by using procedural maneuvers. Coburn, 59, said he may do just that as lawmakers try to rush bills, sometimes without reading them, because there is a lot of pressure to pass them and go home.
``The last thing we ought to be doing at the end of the session is passing a bill without vetting it, without debating it, without talking about the problems,'' Coburn said. ``I am happy to be here for Christmas.''
Coburn has warned his colleagues he will try to block any late-breaking bills that increase spending, telling them to see him about working out a compromise. Coburn also refuses to rule out blocking a $500 billion catch-all spending bill Democrats still want to push through the chamber.
Unofficial Role
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the chamber's No. 2 Democrat, said Coburn is trying to carve out an unofficial leadership post.
``He believes he should have the authority to approve everything that comes to the floor,'' said Durbin, 63. ``If each and every senator took that responsibility on themselves nothing would get done.''
Coburn's threats have the potential to make him an unlikely power broker, though he says that isn't his plan.
``I'm not trying to be in the driver's seat,'' he said. ``Everybody wants to go home, so they give up their principles to go home. We don't give up our principles.''
Unlike the House, where the majority party can steamroll the opposition, Senate rules enable any single member to gum up the works. Lawmakers need consent from all 100 senators to do such mundane tasks as putting a bill to a vote. Those objections can be overcome through either peer pressure or a time-consuming process that requires 60 votes -- a bipartisan majority in the closely divided Senate.
`Leverage'
Individual senators who are ``willing to be the skunk at the garden party'' have ``a lot of leverage,'' said Norm Ornstein, a congressional scholar at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington.
It's not the first time Coburn has been the skunk. He previously served in the House, where he sometimes infuriated his colleagues by being what he has called ``too bull-headed.'' For example: In 1999, Coburn proposed more than 100 amendments to one of his party's appropriations bills, dragging proceedings to a crawl, because he believed the measure spent too much money.
Coburn was one of the few Republicans elected to the House in 1994 who kept his term-limit pledge. A physician, he returned to his Oklahoma practice in 2001.
Coburn won his Senate seat in the 2004 election and, with it, far more power to pursue his raison d'etre: cutting federal spending, even though he doesn't serve on any of the major budget committees. During his first two years, he sponsored more amendments than any other senator, including scores of usually unsuccessful attempts to eliminate his colleagues' pet projects known as earmarks.
`Holds'
Coburn has also made wide use of ``holds,'' a procedure that allows a single lawmaker to block a bill for any reason.
He is using the tactic to hold up a bill that would help subprime-mortgage borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing with federally insured loans. While the bill passed the Senate Banking Committee by a 20-to-1 vote and has support from the Bush administration, Coburn said he wants an opportunity to amend it in part because he says it would leave taxpayers on the hook for bad loans.
Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat sponsoring a subway-funding bill blocked by Coburn, said his ``one-person crusade'' thwarts majority rule by stalling bills that in many cases would otherwise easily win passage.
In the final weeks of the session, lawmakers try to save time by passing many bills without voting -- which requires unanimous consent from the entire body. Coburn has warned his colleagues he will automatically block any legislation that increases spending.
In a letter to his colleagues, he advised them ``to contact me as soon as possible so I have sufficient time to read and review your bills'' so ``we can work out any differences.''
Then there's the catch-all spending bill Democrats want to pass before the end of the year. While Coburn wouldn't say what he would do if it comes up for a vote, he warned that ``if it's full of junk'' he would try to block the measure and ``may never let go.''
