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Tom Coburn

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Tom Coburn
Tom Coburn.jpg
U.S. Senate, Oklahoma
Incumbent
In office
2005-Present
Term ends
January 3, 2017
Years in position 8
PartyRepublican
PredecessorDon Nickles (R)
Compensation
Base salary$174,000/year
Elections and appointments
Last electionNovember 2, 2010
First electedNovember 2, 2004
Next electionNovember 8, 2016
Campaign $$7,737,836
Term limitsN/A
Prior offices
Representative, United States House of Representatives
1995-2001
Education
Bachelor'sAccounting, Oklahoma State University, 1970
M.D.University of Oklahoma Medical School, 1983
Personal
BirthdayMarch 14, 1948
Place of birthCasper, WY
Net worth$3,702,058
ReligionBaptist
Websites
Office website

Contents

Tom Coburn (b. March 14, 1948) is a Republican member of the U.S. Senate from the state of Oklahoma. Coburn was first elected to the Senate in 2004.

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Coburn is a "far-right Republican".[1]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Coburn's academic, professional and political career:[2]

  • 1970: Graduated from Oklahoma State University
  • 1983: Graduated form Oklahoma State University Medical School
  • 1970-1978: Worked as manufacturing manager, Coburn Opthalmic Division, Coburn Optical Industries
  • 1995-2001: Served as a Republican to Congress
  • 2005-Present: U.S Senator from Oklahoma

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013-2014

Coburn serves on the following Senate committees[3]:

2011-2012

  • Finance
    • Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy
    • Subcommittee on Health Care
    • Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth
  • Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
    • Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
    • Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security
    • Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
  • Judiciary
    • Subcommittee on The Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
    • Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law
    • Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts

[4]

Issues

Senate Judiciary Committee

Senator Coburn was first appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee shortly after he was sworn in on January of 2005.[5]

Senator Coburn also serves on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on the Constitution and Human Rights and the Law as the ranking Republican member on both of those committees. Coburn also serves on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittees on Crime and Drugs and Terrorism and Homeland Security.[6]

Executive branch "czars"

Senator Coburn, along with fellow Senate Judiciary Committee member Russ Feingold, held a public hearing in the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution on October 6, 2009. The meeting examined the legality of executive branch "czars".[7]

Both Senators Coburn and Feingold examined in-depth what were the appointment powers the President had and the legal entitlement to those powers under the Constitution. Also, Senator Coburn examined if the current appointment process of czars violated the advise and consent clause used for executive branch officials.[8]

During the hearing, Senator Coburn mentioned the Obama Administration's promise on open and transparent government during the 2008 presidential campaign. With the appointment of over 40 people to serve as czars, Coburn raised questions about the promise of transparency in the Obama White House.[9] Senator Coburn also criticized Executive Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg for avoiding to appear in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee along with top Obama Administration officials.[8] [7] Witnesses who appeared in front of Senator Coburn defended Feinberg for not attending the hearing, claiming that his work as an executive pay czar falls within the legislative, not executive branch of federal government.[7]

Coburn also claimed that there are no checks and balances towards the power executive branch czars have.[8] The Senator expressed concern that czars are given the right to federal funding for their own staffs without Congressional approval.[8]


Presidential preference

2012

See also: Endorsements by state officials of presidential candidates in the 2012 election

Tom Coburn endorsed Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. [10]

Fiscal Cliff

Voted "Yes" Coburn voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by a 89/8 vote on January 1, 2013.[11]

Drones filibuster

See also: Rand Paul filibuster of John Brennan's CIA Nomination in March 2013

On March 6, 2013, Senator Rand Paul (R) led a 13-hour filibuster of President Obama's CIA Director nominee, John Brennan. Paul started the filibuster in order to highlight his concerns about the administration's drone policies. In particular, Paul said he was concerned about whether a drone could be used to kill an American citizen within the United States border, without any due process involved. Paul and other civil liberties activists have been critical that President Obama did not offer a clear response to the question. A total of 14 senators joined Paul in the filibuster -- 13 Republicans and one Democrat.[12][13][14]

According to the website Breitbart, Coburn was one of 30 Republican senators who did not support the filibuster.[15][16]

The day after the filibuster, Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Paul, responding to the filibuster. Holder wrote, "Does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an American not engaged in combat on U.S. soil? The answer to that is no."[17]

Elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, Tom Coburn won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jim Rogers (D), Stephen P. Wallace (I), and Ronald F. Dwyer (I) in the general election.[18]

U.S. Senate, Oklahoma General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark.jpgTom Coburn incumbent 70.6% 718,482
     Democratic Jim Rogers 26.1% 265,814
     Independent Stephen P. Wallace 2.5% 25,048
     Independent Ronald F. Dwyer 0.8% 7,807
Total Votes 1,017,151

Full history


Campaign donors

Comprehensive donor information for Coburn is available dating back to 2004. Based on available campaign finance records, Coburn raised a total of $7,737,836 during that time period. This information was last updated on April 22, 2013.[23]

Tom Coburn's Campaign Contribution History
Year Office Result Contributions
2010 US Senate (Oklahoma) Won $2,644,376
2004 US Senate (Oklahoma) Won $5,093,460
Grand Total Raised $7,737,836

2010

Breakdown of the source of Coburn's campaign funds before the 2010 election.

Coburn won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Coburn's campaign committee raised a total of $2,644,376 and spent $3,067,121.[24]

Analysis

Lifetime voting record

See also: Lifetime voting records of United States Senators and Representatives

According to the website GovTrack, Coburn missed 111 of 2,580 roll call votes from January 2005 to April 2013. This amounts to 4.3%, which is worse than the median of 1.7% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.[25]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Coburn paid his congressional staff a total of $2,629,706 in 2011. He ranks 12th on the list of the highest paid Republican Senatorial Staff Salaries and he ranks 44thoverall of the highest paid Senatorial Staff Salaries in 2011. Overall, Oklahoma ranks 35th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.[26]

Net worth

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Coburn's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $1,892,116 to $5,512,000. That averages to $3,702,058, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2011 of $6,358,668. His average net worth increased by 16.01% from 2010.[27]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Coburn's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $1,039,236 and $5,343,000. That averages to $3,191,118, which is lower than the average net worth of Republican Senators in 2010 of $7,054,258.[28]

Personal finances

See also: Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives

According to research from Open Secrets, Coburn's average net worth as of 2010 is $3,191,118. His net increased by 38.17% from 2004-2010.

According to an analysis by the Washington Post, Coburn reported buying $25,000 in bonds in a genetic-technology company close to the time that he released a hold on legislation supported by the firm.[29]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Coburn ranked 12th in the conservative rankings among members of the U.S. Senate.[30]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. Coburn ranked 1st in the conservative rankings among U.S. Senators.[31]

Political positions

Percentage voting with party

The website Open Congress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Coburn votes with the Republican Party 87.8% of the time. This ranks 36th among the 47 Senate Republicans in 2011.[32]

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a google news search for the term Tom + Coburn + Oklahoma + Senate

All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.

Tom Coburn News Feed


Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found


Personal

Coburn and his wife, Carolyn, have three children.

External links

References

  1. ↑ Gov Track "Tom Coburn," Accessed March 3, 2012
  2. ↑ Biographical Director of the United States Congress "Tom Coburn," Accessed October 24, 2011
  3. ↑ Congressional Quarterly "Senate Committee List" Accessed January 22, 2013
  4. ↑ Tom Coburn Vote Smart profile
  5. ↑ "Senate Judiciary" List of previous members
  6. ↑ "Senate Judiciary Committee" List of Subcommittees
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "New York Times" Senators Take On Czar Wars, October 7, 2009
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "FOX News" Czar Wars, October 8, 2009
  9. ↑ "Associated Press" Senators question the use of administration "czars", October 6, 2009
  10. ↑ The Hill, "Sen. Coburn endorses Romney for president," March 5, 2012
  11. ↑ U.S. Senate "Roll Call Vote on the Fiscal Cliff" Accessed January 4, 2013.
  12. ↑ CNN "Rand Paul says he's heard from White House after filibuster," March 7, 2013
  13. ↑ USA Today "Rand Paul filibuster ranks among Senate's longest," March 7, 2013
  14. ↑ ABC News "Rand Paul Wins Applause From GOP and Liberals," March 7, 2013
  15. ↑ Breitbart "AWOL: Meet The GOP Senators Who Refused to Stand With Rand," March 7, 2013
  16. ↑ Politico "Rand Paul filibuster blasted by Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham," March 7, 2013
  17. ↑ Washington Post "Eric Holder responds to Rand Paul with ‘no’," March 7, 2013
  18. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
  19. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004"
  20. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 3, 1998"
  21. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 1996"
  22. ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 8, 1994"
  23. ↑ Open Secrets "Career Fundraising for Tom Coburn," Accessed April 22, 2013
  24. ↑ Open Secrets "Tom Coburn 2010 Election Cycle," Accessed October 29, 2011
  25. ↑ GovTrack, "Tom Coburn," Accessed April 17, 2013
  26. ↑ LegiStorm "Tom Coburn"
  27. ↑ OpenSecrets.org "Tom Coburn (R-Okla), 2011," accessed February 22, 2013
  28. ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Coburn, (R-Oklahoma), 2010"
  29. ↑ Washington Post, "Members of Congress trade in companies while making laws that affect those same firms," June 23, 2012
  30. ↑ National Journal, "2012 Congressional Vote Ratings," March 7, 2013
  31. ↑ National Journal, "Searchable Vote Ratings Tables: House," February 23, 2012
  32. ↑ Open Congress "Voting With Party," Accessed October 29, 2011
Political offices
Preceded by
Don Nickles 		U.S. Senate - Oklahoma
2005-Present 		Succeeded by
-
v • d • e
Oklahoma's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Jim Inhofe (R) • Tom Coburn (R)
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