WASHINGTON — There’s a $91.6 million difference between Oklahoma Republican Sens. Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn.
Inhofe voted down a $410 billion federal omnibus spending bill Thursday and fervently blasted “Democrats’ billion-dollar spending spree” in a statement released soon after the Senate passed it.
But Inhofe — who said Thursday he has “refused to go along with big government spending or big government solutions” — sponsored or co-sponsored 74 earmarks worth more than $91.6 million.
Coburn — one of Capitol Hill’s most outspoken opponents of earmarking — asked for zero.
Standing by his spending
In an e-mail to The Daily, Inhofe chided the government, which he said, “didn’t do enough to restrain spending” over the last few years, which has led to an increased federal deficit. He also has bemoaned the omnibus bill, which contains more than 9,000 congressional earmarks worth about $7.7 billion, according to a list compiled by the earmarks watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense.
But Inhofe stands by his own earmarks, including $274,000 for an OSU study on animal waste management and $475,000 for the beautification of Hudiburg Drive in Midwest City.
“Unfortunately, Democrats voted to keep the earmarks in the bill, and President Obama went along,” he said via e-mail. “Therefore, as long as Democrats continue to keep the current process intact, you can bet I will be working to get every dollar I can for Oklahoma.”
Inhofe and other members of Congress requested their earmarks for this budget last year, before Obama took office.
Coburn, who has never requested an earmark in his eight years in Congress, also voted down the omnibus spending bill. He has repeatedly scoffed at other lawmakers’ earmarks.
“The greatest pleasure in the world is spending other people’s money,” Coburn said. “We’re not elected to bring home the bacon; we’re elected to do the right thing for the country.”
Coburn said he does not need earmarks to help the people of Oklahoma, but called the number of earmarks Inhofe requested “a real pittance compared to what everyone else has.”
“You never see a superfluous earmark from Sen. Inhofe,” he said. “You won’t see him do an earmark for a private company or help any of his friends.”
Inhofe did not request any earmarks for private companies, but he has several earmarks dedicated to OU.
This year’s requests include $143,000 to OU for equipment and research “for applications derived from prosthetic and assistive mobility technologies for injured war fighters.” He and Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole also requested $713,625 for OU biofuel refining engineering, as well as $350,000 for experimental radar research at the National Weather Center.
Inhofe’s requests for earmarks far outnumbered the rest of the Oklahoma delegation’s, but he was not the only one to request funds. Coburn was the only one to not request earmarks.
Rep. Tom Cole sponsored or co-sponsored 19 earmarks worth nearly $13 million. Reps. John Sullivan, Mary Fallin and Frank Lucas, all Republicans, each requested 10 or more earmarks, and each requested less than $7 million.
Oklahoma’s only Democrat in Congress, Rep. Dan Boren, requested 17 earmarks worth $11.7 million. Boren was the only Oklahoman to vote for the omnibus bill.
Earmarks united Boren with his fellow Oklahoma delegates in the GOP. He co-sponsored earmarks with Lucas, Sullivan and Fallin and co-sponsored 10 with Inhofe.
Earmark evolution
Earmarks are nothing new, and their causes are sometimes justified, according to OU President David Boren, who served in the Senate from 1979 to 1994.
“Earmarks can definitely get out of hand and can increase spending on projects that are not fully justified,” he said via e-mail. “At the same time, the unelected federal bureaucracy should not alone be making these decisions.”
He said individual members of Congress sometimes must be involved in protecting the interest of their state when there is bureaucratic bias against them.
The Obama administration has chided earmarks before, and announced steps this week to reign in earmark spending in the future. However, Obama signed the omnibus bill – earmarks and all.
“I am signing an imperfect omnibus bill because it’s necessary for the ongoing functions of government, and we have a lot more work to do,” Obama said Wednesday morning. “We can’t have Congress bogged down at this critical juncture in our economic recovery.”
As far as Coburn is concerned, the faster the work is done, the better.
“Congress is addicted to spending,” he said. “We need a 12-step program. Oklahoma cannot be healthy if the rest of the country is sick.”
View District 1 Representative John Sullivan's earmarks.
View District 2 Representative Dan Boren's earmarks.
View District 3 Representative Frank Lucas' earmarks.
View District 4 Representative Tom Cole's earmarks.
View District 5 Representative Mary Fallin's earmarks.
View U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe's earmarks.
U.S. Senator Tom Coburn has no earmarks.
Congressional Glossary
An OMNIBUS BILL packages together several measures into one or combines diverse subjects into a single bill. Examples are combined appropriations bills — like the current one — reconciliation bills, private relief and claims bills.
EARMARKED funds are those dedicated for a specific program or purpose. Revenues are earmarked by law. Expenditures are earmarked by appropriations bills or reports from legislators.
Source: C-SPAN Con
The Oklahoma Daily is pleased to provide you the opportunity to share your thoughts about this article. We encourage lively debate on the issues of the day, but we ask you refrain from using profanity or other offensive speech, engaging in personal attacks or name-calling, posting advertising, or straying from the topic at hand. To comment, you must be a registered user of OUDaily.com. Thanks for taking the time to offer your thoughts.
You must be logged in to leave a comment. Log in | Register
TAG 3 years, 2 months ago
Obama doesn't want earmarks, Inhofe doesn't want earmarks, Republicans don't want them, democrats don't want them. Yet they all do it. So they should all just shut up and stop blaming each other. Doing what is right for the country is on the last of their agenda's. We need young people in office. Only one more year and I will be able to start. This is going to be an interesting topic here tomorrow as people debate about who to blame. Everyone is to blame, and that is the fact.
mythman 3 years, 2 months ago
It seems most of Inhofe's earmarks can be easily justified; overall, they will improve our infrastructure and the quality of life of Oklahomans. I'm very glad that Inhofe understands the importance of spending money to do so. Now if only we could get rid of the part where he's a hypocrite.
oldone 2 years, 2 months ago
How can "they got some so I'm gonna get some, too" thinking ever get us to fiscal responsibility in Washington? As much as I disagree with Mr. Coburn on just about everything, I appreciate his ability to stick to his guns and raise the notion that the only way to stop this nonsense of earmarks is to STOP it!
I am never surprised by Mr. Inhofe's silliness. How in the world does this man keep getting re-elected????
HollyS 1 year, 6 months ago
While this is an OLD article, the subject has arisen again as republicans seek to gain approval within their party to stop senate earmarks until the economy improves. Americans ask, "Please stop the spending." Inhofe has answered, "Earmarks are an important part of the process."
Senator Inhofe, please stop the spending. The voters are watching closer than ever before, and while Oklahomans "appreciate" your actions of the past, times are changing. Business as usual MUST change. Obama promised the change and failed. The voters now demand the change with or without him; with or without YOU. It is not the NATION'S responsibility to fund OU, OSU, Midwest City, or any other Oklahoma institution. Leave those responsibilities to Oklahomans. We are a proud state, and when asked, we will provide for our own.