OK Sen. Coburn Will Demand Cuts to Pay for Tornado Relief
Well, at least Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn is consistent — consistently heartless, even when it comes to his own constituents.
Never any hesitation about funding wars, bombs, and destruction — but people rendered homeless by natural disasters? Suddenly the right is very concerned about how it will be paid for.
And where do you think these “cuts” of Coburn’s will come from? If you guessed social programs like Medicaid, give yourself a gold star.
The tornado damage near Oklahoma City is still being assessed and the death toll is expected to rise, but already Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., says he will insist that any federal disaster aid be paid for with cuts elsewhere.
CQ Roll Call reporter Jennifer Scholtes wrote for cq.com Monday evening that Coburn said he would “absolutely” demand offsets for any federal aid that Congress provides.
Coburn added, Scholtes wrote, that it is too early to guess at a damage toll but that he knows for certain he will fight to make sure disaster funding that the federal government contributes is paid for. It’s a position he has taken repeatedly during his career when Congress debates emergency funding for disaster aid.
Scholtes points out that Coburn was one of 36 Republican senators who voted against disaster funding for Superstorm Sandy in January.