One Coburn Amendment, Another Coburn Amendment

Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn, with his first Coburn amendment and then his second Coburn amendment, offers evidence that Republicans indeed are having a voice in an economic stimulus package.

Some Republicans, even with the Coburn amendments and other Democratic gestures, complain that they are being shut out of the action and pushed to the side. These Republicans say President Barack Obama's references to bipartisanship for the economic stimulus package are all talk and no action, and so on and so forth.

Well, any good civics student will tell you that if you are in government and want action, make a motion. Don't just whine and gripe; make a motion. That's what Tom Coburn did, twice.

Tom Coburn had heartburn, rightfully so, when he noted that the economic stimulus package contained a $246 million tax break for Hollywood filmmakers. He offered a Coburn amendment to strike this spending for Hollywood and he prevailed, 52-to-45, convincing at least a dozen Democrats to cross over. With the United States population at slightly more than 300 million, this Coburn amendment saved us about 80 cents for every man, woman and child. More importantly, it served as a good example of taking action.

The second Coburn amendment was to mandate competitive bidding for all economic stimulus package projects, and this one passed 97-0. This indeed was wise action. It's only too bad that similar competitive bidding rules were not in place in the Iraq War, for example, when companies such as Halliburton received huge no-bid contracts.

So, both the first Coburn amendment and the second Coburn amendment show that Republicans indeed are part of the process and indeed can make a difference. Various other items also have been pulled from the economic stimulus package.

Some Republicans argue that because Democrats don't want more corporate and upper-level tax cuts, this means that Democrats are