^Dr. Coburn has offered several amendments to the Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bills, many of them would eliminate funding for earmarks and redirect spending to higher priority programs.

On the Senate floor, Dr. Coburn said, "So here we have a bill, the Labor/HHS bill. It has over $400 million in earmarks, some good, some priority, some are high priority, probably should be there, but many are not high priority. When are we going to do what the American family has to do every year? What they have to do is they say, here's how much money we have coming in, here's what we have needs for and here's what we have available. What they do is they make choices based on priorities. And this debate is about making choices."^

Coburn Amendment 3320 – Eliminates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Hollywood liaison and Ombudsman programs and prohibits the agency from purchasing additional rotating pastel lights, zero-gravity chairs, and dry-heat saunas.  Click here to read more information about this amendment.  Click here to read the letter of support from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste.

Coburn Amendment 3321 – Provides additional funding for children’s health care by eliminating a $1 million earmark for a museum dedicated to the 1969 Woodstock concert.  Click here to read more information about this amendment.

Coburn Amendment 3322 – Increases funding for education of children with disabilities by $1,050,000 with funding provided by striking three unnecessary earmarks.  Click here to read more information about this amendment.  Click here to read about the Oklahoma Education Association's support of this amendment.

Coburn Amendment 3323 – Requires a “report card” on the effectiveness of Department of Education programs and spending.  Click here to read more information about this amendment.

Click here to read the letter of support from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste for Coburn Amendments 3321, 3322 and 3323.

Coburn Amendment 3358 – Requires Congress to prioritize children’s health care instead of special interest pork projects.  This amendment gives Congress an opportunity to choose between competing priorities—children’s health care or special interest pork projects.  Click here to read more information about the Children's Health Care First Act.