Q&A with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.)

Fresh from a victory over the Democratic majority, Republican Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma this week portrayed himself as a protector of the legislative process. Coburn, a first-term senator, is known for his habit of placing holds on bills, thereby slowing the traditional process and forcing the chamber to take roll call votes that show where senators stand. Coburn defends his habit by saying the Senate passes too much legislation with too little scrutiny.

On Monday, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) tried to scuttle Coburn’s strategy by bundling 35 bills on hold into one — but Republicans stood by Coburn and defeated a vote to advance the package.

{mosads}Coburn this week also publicly tangled with the Senate Ethics Committee, which has threatened to censure the obstetrician for delivering babies free of charge at an Oklahoma hospital that recently became private.

Q: Why did you take the stance you took on the omnibus bill?

I don’t deny that I read the bills and want to debate bills that I don’t think are right. I don’t apologize for that.

I think it’s what I was sent up here to do … But to not allow debate and amendments on a bill with 35 new government programs and $8 or $9 billion in new spending, that doesn’t work … If you cut off amendments and you cut off debate, what that says is “Your input doesn’t count.” If you’re married and you were that way with your wife, you wouldn’t be married long.

Q: But aren’t you bogging down a process that’s already slow?

Eight hundred and fifty-five bills were passed here by [voice vote]. I hardly think that’s bogging it down.

We’re usually not here on Mondays, we’re usually not here on Fridays, and when we are here, usually half of the time is spent on quorum calls. There’s a whole lot of time that could be utilized to debate all of these issues. So that’s a false claim.

Q: The Senate Ethics Committee has threatened you with censure over your obstetrics practice. What’s your response?

Right now I feel I’m in absolute compliance with the ethics laws, and I’m carrying myself that way. And anybody on the Ethics Committee that’s commenting on it, first of all is breaking the ethics rules of the Ethics Committee. Number two, I didn’t raise this with any reporter. A reporter raised it with me. So it’s interesting how it became a story all of a sudden … I will say this: For me to spend my own personal time and my own personal money to totally take care of a poor woman for free who needed somebody to deliver their baby, and then to squabble about where I do that, is asinine.

Q: Do you think there’s any hope for any resolution on gas prices before the end of the week?

You’ve already seen it. One of the reasons the price of oil has gone down is that the people in the world who are buying and trading oil think we’re about to do something. The president took the ban off, Congress is debating it, and the Senate, by having the debate, even as limited as it’s been, is a significant cause for the price of oil to go down … We’re having an effect.

Q: What is your reaction to the news about Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska)?

It’s way too soon to have any comments on it. … I’m sorry he’s going through it. It’s a tough time for him and his family.