Coburn's competitively bid amendment 596 – Would require all contracts, grants and cooperative agreements awarded under this act be competitively bid.

The Emmett Till amendment 608 would provide $10 million to enact the Emmett Till bill and re-ignite the efforts to bring long overdue justice. The funding provided by this amendment to enact the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Act would result from the elimination of the Weed and Seed program at the Department of Justice.

Senator Coburn filed two amendments to the Fiscal Year 2009 omnibus spending bill that would strike $26 million worth of earmarks for questionable projects or for clients of a lobbying firm under FBI investigation. At this time, Democrats have blocked the offering of these amendments, but a deal may be worked out allowing for their consideration. Additional information on the amendments will follow.

Coburn amendment #623 would save more than $10,000,000 by prohibiting funding from being earmarked to clients of a lobbying firm under federal investigation for making campaign donations in exchange for political favors for the group's clients. 

Coburn amendment #610 would save $16,435,000 by striking the following earmarks:

• $1,900,000 earmark for the Pleasure Beach Water Taxi Service in Connecticut;

• $3,800,000 earmark to preserve the remnants of Old Tiger Stadium Conservancy in Michigan;

• $238,000 earmark for the Polynesian Voyaging Society of Honolulu, Hawaii, which organizes sea voyages in ancient-style sailing canoes;

• $380,000 earmark for restoration and preservation of Maine’s historic lighthouses for the American Lighthouse Foundation in Rockland, Maine;

• $300,000 earmark to commemorate the 150th anniversary of John Brown’s raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park in West Virginia;

• $1,791,000 earmark for swine odor and manure management research in Ames, Iowa;

• $200,000 earmark for tattoo removal in Mission Hills, California;

• $1,500,000 earmark for the California National Historic Trail, Interpretive Center and Nevada Ampitheater

• $5,471,000 earmark for the Harkin grant program for Iowa

• $380,000 earmark for construction of recreation and fairgrounds in Kotzebue, Alaska;

• $475,000 earmark for improvements to Orange County Great Park in California.