Coburn ‘disappointed’ with budget deal

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) said he can’t support the budget deal reached on Tuesday night.

“I’m real disappointed in the deal,” Coburn said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday.

Budget Committee Chairmen Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) struck a deal that would call for $1 trillion in federal spending for fiscal 2014. It would also replace $63 billion in automatic spending cuts, the sequester, over a two-year period.

“I’m sure it’s the best Paul could get, but it’s not anything I can support,” Coburn said. 

{mosads}Coburn is considered one of the most conservative members of Congress, and one of the most vocal on fiscal issues. He said the deal doesn’t properly address government waste, duplication and fraud.

“We’re going to raise spending back up because the political powers that be want to spend more money rather than be responsible with what we know needs to be done up here.”

He said he’d rather maintain the current sequester levels, and charge Congress with eliminating duplication. 

Democrats originally pushed for jobless aid to be included in the deal, but gave up on that front. The debt limit is also not addressed in the agreement.

The budget would avert another government shutdown for at least another two years. The House is expected to vote on the deal Thursday.