Right Now
Dr. Coburn joined 23 other Republican senators in sending a letter to the White House calling on President Obama to show “strong leadership” in confronting the financial crisis with entitlement programs. Original copy of the signed letter here.
March 16, 2011
The PresidentThe White HouseWashington, DC 20500Mr. President,
The fiscal challenges facing our country today call for courageous leadership. Government spending is growing at an alarming rate, and the federal budget deficit has reached record levels. Congress will soon face a vote to increase the debt ceiling yet again, the fourth time in your Presidency and the 11th time in the last decade. Future generations will drown in a debt forced onto them by the inactions of Congresses and Administrations far before their time. The time to remedy these failures is now.
While Congress is currently engaged in an important discussion on annual discretionary spending levels, the more significant long-term problem facing our country is the continued growth of mandatory spending programs. Federal expenditures on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are expected to double over the coming decade and represent an unsustainable portion of total government spending.
In order to ensure the long-term viability of these programs, it is imperative that you lead a bipartisan effort to address these challenges. In 1983, President Reagan and Speaker Tip O’Neill recognized the pressing need for reform, showed political courage and worked together to craft a plan that has safeguarded Social Security for the past thirty years. A similar show of leadership from you and from congressional leaders of both parties is necessary to address the long-term fiscal challenges facing our country.
Last year’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform marked an important first step in identifying a potential path forward. Strong leadership is needed now to advance possible solutions to ensure that our entitlement programs can serve both current and future generations. Without action to begin addressing the deficit, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for us to support a further increase in the debt ceiling. House Speaker John Boehner this month offered to partner with you in a nonpartisan effort. We join in the Speaker’s offer, and urge you to lead this Congress and the nation in the critical effort to strengthen our country’s long-term fiscal security.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.)
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.)
U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.)
U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.)
U.S. Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)
U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
U.S. Senator Dr. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas)
U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
U.S. Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.)
U.S. Senator Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.)
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas)
U.S. Senator Mike Johanns (R-Neb.)
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)
U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah)
U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.)
U.S. Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.)
U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Ohio)
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
U.S. Senator James Risch (R-Idaho)
U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.)
U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.)
# # #
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 9/13/12 | Dr. Coburn's Amendments to the Veterans Job Corps Act of 2012 |
| 9/13/12 | Social Security Disability Programs: Improving the Quality of Benefit Award Decisions |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 6/19/12 | Farm Bill Amendments Update |
| 6/12/12 | Dr. Coburn's Amendments to the S. 3240, Farm Bill |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 7/27/11 | 9,000,000,000,000 Ways to Balance the Budget |
| 7/22/11 | Dr. Coburn on C-SPAN's Washington Journal This Morning |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 4/13/11 | New Report Reveals Overbilling of Treasury Department by Law Firms, Misuse of TARP Funds |
| 4/4/11 | Dr. Coburn's amendments to cut spending by $20 billion |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 11/17/10 | Today, Dr. Coburn filed two amendments to the Food Safety bill |
| 11/10/10 | Earmark Myths and Realities |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 10/26/10 | What Others Are Saying About "Grim Diagnosis" |
| 10/7/10 | Dr. Coburn Not Holding Aid to Haiti |
| 10/4/10 | HHS ADMINISTRATIVE FAILURE |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2/22/10 | Guns in Parks Fact Sheet |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 11/18/09 | Coburn's efforts to improve the Caregiver and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act |
| 11/5/09 | Facts about the Veterans Caregiver Bill |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 8/6/09 | Clunkers for Charity |
| 8/4/09 | Coburn Amendments to the Agriculture Appropriations Bill |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 6/16/09 | Dr. Coburn Releases Stimulus Oversight Report |
| 6/2/09 | Coburn Amendments to the Family Smoking and Prevention Act |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 5/12/09 | Coburn Gun Amendments 1067 and 1068 |
| 5/5/09 | Coburn Offers Amendment to Dispose of Unneeded Federal Buildings |
| 5/1/09 | OMB Responds to Coburn's Letter on Transparency |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 4/22/09 | Coburn Amendments to The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 1/29/09 | Senate Rejects Opportunity to Provide Health Care to Needy Children at No Additional Cost |
| 1/7/09 | Senate Leaders to Kick Off New Congress with an Earmark-Laden Omnibus Lands Bill |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 10/16/08 | Highlights of Senator Reid's Omnibus Lands Grab and Energy Restrictions Act Scheduled for Debate Next Month |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 9/27/08 | Coburn Comments on the Fiscal Year 2009 Continuing Resolution |
| 9/26/08 | Reid Neglects Economy to Pursue Pet Projects |
| 9/17/08 | Reid's Monkey Business Continues |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 8/21/08 | Coburn Applauds HHS Action on Physician Conscience Rights |
| 8/1/08 | Democrats Hold Civil Rights and Child Pornography Legislation as a Political Hostage |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 6/20/08 | AMERICAN OIL REMAINS UNTOUCHED |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 3/14/08 | Dr. Coburn's Efforts Fix GINA |
| 3/11/08 | Coburn's Speech on the 2009 Budget |
| 3/3/08 | Dr. Coburn Amendment to Ensure Scientists Conduct Research, Not Politicians |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2/14/08 | Dr. Coburn's amendments to fix the broken Indian Health Care system |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 1/29/08 | Dr. Coburn's Federal Land Bill Amendments |
| 1/24/08 | Coburn's official visit to Taiwan |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 8/28/07 | Congress celebrates the Year of the Golden Pig |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 2/14/07 | Debating the continuing resolution |
| 2/7/07 | What's next for the War in Iraq? |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 1/30/07 | Do we need to increase the federal mininum wage? |
| 1/12/07 | Real reform for the Senate ethics bill |
| 1/4/07 | The Coburn Principles |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 12/14/06 | 109th Congress Convenes |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 11/16/06 | Coburn amendments to the Agriculture Appropriations bill |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 9/26/06 | Ryan White CARE Act Reauthorization |
| 9/26/06 | President Bush Signs Coburn/Obama Transparency Act |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 8/23/06 | Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act |
| 8/2/06 | Coburn amendments to the Department of Defense Appropriations bill |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 5/2/06 | Stop the Senate from approving non-emergency projects in the emergency supplemental |
| Date | Title |
|---|---|
| 12/14/05 | Dr. Coburn letter to HHS on Ryan White CARE Act formulas and ADAP funding |