Dr. Coburn Applauds Taxpayer Groups for Exposing Scope, Cost of Earmark Requests

Statement

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today regarding a new study by Taxpayers Against Earmarks, Taxpayers for Common Sense and WashingtonWatch.com that shows members of Congress have requested 39,293 earmarks for fiscal year 2011 costing more than $130 billion.

"This study shows how deep-seated Congress' addiction to earmarking and spending continues to be. Proposing and processing more than 39,000 earmarks not only leads to massive spending but consumes an enormous amount of time and resources among members of Congress, staff and local officials. Taxpayers should be outraged Congress is spending an inordinate amount time on earmarking when we all need to be focused on cutting spending and getting our deficit under control," Dr. Coburn said.

"I'll continue to present my colleagues with opportunities to end in this practice in the coming year. Meanwhile, I'll continue to push Congress to pass the Earmark Transparency Act (S. 3335) I introduced with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Congress should provide this information to taxpayers in a transparent, searchable format. I commend these organizations for doing the work Congress has so far refused to do," Dr. Coburn said.

Source