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Coburn: My cure for the sequester

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    Sen. Tom Coburn calls out Department of Defense and others for wasteful spending

  • Duration 5:46
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Senate -- -- -- see -- -- good to -- you -- -- President Obama says that this spending cuts the automatic spending -- is -- be budget paid for every American.

Well I think first of all the given where we are in the situation we're in every -- gonna have to experienced -- that's true.

And now whether this will or -- and it all depends on how it's administered and whether or not we give the president flexibility to make it.

As painless as possible.

Is there I know you have discussed and nine times waste in the government every night choice examples -- Open well.

Look there's so many to choose from.

Polygamy -- how do you like this one you and I got this -- -- -- is that and we had that the government produces a 46 minute video called.

Guerrilla safe -- -- drill sergeants showing off their own recipes.

Well.

I'm sure somebody thought that was a good idea.

You know.

People don't do stupid things intentionally.

And they just not unaware.

One common stance and number -- the situation we find yourself.

Mean we've been run -- trillion dollar deficits for four years.

You would think people who are making the contract for some of these grant programs that the Defense Department -- Homeland Security.

Or agricultural department or many the other departments.

Would use a little bit of common sense on what is appropriate -- -- But we haven't found that I mean there each year we put out there.

You know the -- book.

And we continue to find things are just unbelievable whether -- in the scientific arena or in the Defense Department or.

In just general government where we do things I mean it took last week before they finally said we're not gonna.

Continue to add employees in the federal government we -- to send the letters say well here's what your advertising for.

You know.

Advisor and Department of Agriculture -- 160000 dollars the year do you think we really need to continue do that if we're actually hurting.

Are there ways to make the pain lists and answers absolutely yes.

Well how come nothing happens is you know I had this conversation -- -- he wrote a book about it.

I've -- another US senators and everyone says it's just terrible the motto -- it's just horrible and duplicate programs and they.

But not have a good stuff in the same conversation over and over.

Well it's because well I think I think two reasons one is we have career politicians that terrorists didn't get reelected rather than the best interest of the country they don't mean to be that way the that's the deep -- position.

And which implies they're not gonna do anything that will put him at risk from a parochial -- -- from constituent bases.

So all these programs even though there wasteful have people that are making money off or employed about or they benefit somebody.

So the typical -- politician is.

Is -- wary to say the least.

To offend somebody by taking away something that's absolutely stupid.

Wasteful and not a priority for the federal government.

-- -- -- A -- if that's if if it's just to satisfy constituents is bad for the country well just tell you that's part of the problem with.

Whether government today I mean it that in the total.

Totally ignoring of the enumerated powers of the constitution which is here that define things and federal -- -- it.

Everything under the tenth amendment everything else is reserved the people in the states.

And yet it's totally ignored -- you know we we we offer amendments when we can't it's very hard under the present leadership of the senate.

But they rarely pass.

I'm at it's it's -- -- -- to I don't need to to take care of the constituents and don't mean that the -- -- knows it's unbelievable ways we recently did a story we're five billion dollars inappropriate.

Unemployment benefits repaid over your people in jails were getting -- -- -- benefits while they're in jail.

-- -- nobody in no one in Washington here seems.

Seems to have you know up a mission or our desire -- personal conviction.

That would -- better financed our.

Well I think I did.

I I you do -- I C -- you're leaving.

Well it's four years so I can create a lot of trouble between them but you know it is it's not just the five -- and you mentioned it.

The -- -- the child tax credit where there's at least thirteen million dollars a year.

-- appropriately pay them for people that either don't have children aren't legal citizens -- You know there's thirteen -- the -- you get rid trillion dollar deficit -- is a billion dollars of the cup.

We spend a billion dollars a year and advertising promoting the federal government.

I don't stop tomorrow.

Gotta be no advertising contracts and every advertising centric we have ought to be canceled other than -- cancel.

You know things that promote health and benefits that are done through.

Free mechanisms.

And I mean that's -- way you do it and that here's here's the real problem.

The average American's income male -- -- comes about -- was 1980.

That's what we -- persists after five years or seven years of this terrible.

Recession and and yet the federal government acts like we have been there at all.

Because you were 89% bigger than what we were in 2000 want.

So we continue to grow and every of American family out there.

Is making tough choices even the ones making pretty good encounters are now -- to start making some tough choice and this just the beginning if we don't change things and -- So the question is this is that the problem is is who's here.

-- and what would we have career politicians they mean well they're great people that compassionate hearts but they lacked courage.

So I thank you sir you're welcome.

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