An Open Letter to the United States Senate:
Support Taxpayers and Oppose the “Coburn Omnibus!”
National Tax Payers Union
July 22, 2008
Dear Senator:
On behalf of the 362,000 members of the National Taxpayers Union (NTU), I urge you to oppose the so-called “Coburn Omnibus.” This bill is so named because it intends to suppress the objections of Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to 36 separate pieces of legislation. Unfortunately for taxpayers, the legislation includes at least 34 new programs and more than $11 billion in new spending. All lawmakers who believe in fiscal responsibility should defeat this plan and support the principles of full and open deliberation.
Although NTU does not necessarily object to passage every piece of legislation contained within the Coburn Omnibus, it is stuffed with wasteful pork-barrel provisions whose enactment should be shelved until a debate about their costs and necessity can take place. For example, it includes a massive $1.5 billion earmark for the Washington, DC Metro system. It also contains $12 million for the construction of a botanical greenhouse in Suitland, MD. The “PROTECT Our Children Act” is also included, despite some credible claims that this $1.1 billion program is duplicative.
It also includes several pieces of legislation that could be characterized as low-priority at best. In a time of economic difficulty and high energy costs, the Coburn Omnibus addresses the vitally important issue of the sale of nonhuman primates with the text of the “Captive Primates Safety Act,” costing American taxpayers $17 million. And because commemoration of the War of 1812 is such a burning concern right now, the Omnibus includes the text of the “Star Spangled Banner and War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission Act,” with a price tag of $4 million.
This Omnibus also raises serious questions about how the Senate will proceed in the future. Will it be the habit of this body to avoid debate on measures that have significant effects on taxpayers? Will objections based on over-expansion of government or costs involved be ignored when some find them inconvenient? The Senate has been called the “world’s greatest deliberative body,” but that will cease to be true if objections are simply overruled in this manner.
I urge you to reject the Coburn Omnibus, thereby ensuring that the provisions of the package receive the honest debate that taxpayers deserve. Any roll call votes on this legislation will be significantly weighted in our annual Rating of Congress.
Sincerely,
Duane Parde
President
108 North Alfred Street ? Alexandria, Virginia 22314 ? Phone: (703) 683-5700 ? Fax: (703) 683-5722 ? Web: www.ntu.org
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$9,702,910,346,740.00
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$31,684.33 Per Citizen |
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