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'Coburn Omnibus' May Get Second Try

By Kyle Trygstad

Real Clear Politics

September 17, 2008

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is considering new maneuvers to free up dozens of pieces of legislation before Congress leaves Washington in two weeks. The legislation, bogged down by Senate rules that require a certain number of votes to move to final consideration, is being held up by Republicans, some of whom have cosponsored parts of the package.

In an effort to advance the otherwise uncontroversial legislation past that legislative bottleneck, Reid hopes to make a second attempt at passing the so-called "Coburn Omnibus," named for Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn, who has so far stood in the way.

"We would hope that Republicans, some of whom have cosponsored pieces of legislation in this package, would want to leave here and tell their constituents they did everything to pass non-controversial legislation," said Rodell Mollineau, a spokesman for Reid's office.

Democrats had been unwilling to spend valuable and limited floor time debating and voting on each of the minor pieces of legislation individually. In July, Coburn successfully prevented Democrats from cutting off debate on the series of measures. He did so with virtually the entire Republican caucus at his back, voting with him in an effort to force Democrats to consider new energy legislation.

Now, whether the omnibus will reach the floor could depend on whether Democrats are able to pass their own energy package. "We'd like to [bring up the Coburn omnibus], but there are some other things we need to do first," Mollineau said, citing a second economic stimulus package backed by Barack Obama and the Defense Department authorization on the floor this week, as well as the energy package currently making its way through the House.

Coburn defends his roadblock, arguing that the new programs created would duplicate old projects that are still receiving funding. "Even though you want to do something good," Coburn told RealClearPolitics in a recent interview, "if you're not willing to get rid of the waste and get rid of the duplication, are you really doing something good?"

"If you're going to create a new program, then you have an obligation to make sure the programs that are addressing the same issue are working, have metrics on them, or if they're not working, get rid of them," Coburn said. "We didn't see that in any of this. It's just: create another program, throw money at it and not the metrics to measure whether or not you're successful and don't look what's already there. Just do it because you're responding to somebody over here who's making noise."

Coburn has made a name for himself since returning to Capitol Hill in 2004, frustrating lawmakers on both sides of the aisle by demanding fiscal offsets for new spending and putting holds on dozens of bills. The omnibus could allow both Democratic and Republican senators the route they need to bypass Coburn.

The new pressure to get the measure passed comes from a group of senators and outsiders agitating for one measure that addresses exploitation of children. Television host Oprah Winfrey has asked her audience to write letters to their senators urging passage of the act, sponsored by Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden.

But, says Coburn, spending in that bill and others has no offset. "It's not a partisan issue," Coburn said. "It is a career politician issue. We're disconnected from the American public. And there needs to be some grownups that say: Timeout."

-- Reid Wilson contributed reporting