Tom Coburn topics and responses

Stimulus Spending to Beat Great Recession

CON:

• 02/10/2009: Voted NO on additional $825 billion for economic recovery package
• 03/13/2008: Voted NO on increasing tax rate for people earning over $1 million
• 07/30/2009: Voted NO on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending
• 05/02/2012: Ranked by UFCW, indicating a pro-management voting record
• 07/08/2010: Limit federal spending growth to per-capita inflation rate
• 01/01/2012: Supports the Cut-Cap-and-Balance Pledge
• 02/04/2013: Audit the Federal Reserve & its actions on mortgage loans
• 01/23/2012: Disapprove of increasing the debt limit

Acknowledging and Addressing Climate Change

CON:

• 04/06/2011: Voted YES on barring EPA from regulating greenhouse gases
• 04/01/2009: Voted YES on requiring full Senate debate and vote on cap-and-trade
• 05/15/2007: Voted NO on factoring global warming into federal project planning
• 06/26/2000: Voted NO on starting implementation of Kyoto Protocol
• 04/02/2009: Voted YES on protecting middle-income taxpayers from a national energy tax
• 11/02/2010: Signed the No Climate Tax Pledge by AFP
• 07/08/2010: Cap-and-trade has no impact on global temperatures
• 05/15/2008: Voted NO on addressing CO2 emissions without considering India & China

Getting Money Out of Politics

PRO:

• 02/25/2009: Military spouses don't lose voting residency while abroad
• 03/29/2006: Voted NO on allowing some lobbyist gifts to Congress
• 05/11/2010: Sponsored bill requiring Internet disclosure of earmarks
• 11/15/2010: Earmarks are unconstitutional perversion of Congress' duties

  CON:

• 09/14/1999: Voted NO on banning soft money and issue ads
• 03/28/2006: Voted NO on establishing the Senate Office of Public Integrity
• 05/20/2009: Ban paid voter registration
• 07/04/2009: Earmarks are gateway drug for wasteful government spending

Saving Elephants, Whales, Dolphins and Lions

CON:

• 05/08/2013: Voted NO on protecting ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems

Renewable Energy

CON:

• 12/31/2006: Ranked by the CAF, indicating opposition to energy independence
• 07/08/2010: Explore proven energy reserves & keep energy prices low
• 06/17/2008: Voted NO on tax incentives for energy production and conservation
• 06/16/2005: Voted NO on reducing oil usage by 40% by 2025 (instead of 5%)

Making it Harder to Get a Gun

PRO:

• 06/18/1999: Voted NO on decreasing gun waiting period from 3 days to 1

  CON:

• 09/06/2007: Voted YES on prohibiting foreign & UN aid that restricts US gun ownership
• 04/17/2013: Voted NO on banning high-capacity magazines of over 10 bullets
• 02/03/2009: Apply concealed carry permit to all other states where legal
• 03/27/2007: Ban gun registration & trigger lock law in Washington DC
• 10/28/2004: Both Carson and Coburn have 100% NRA records
• 03/23/2009: Dangerousness, not mental incompetence, limits gun rights
• 04/12/2011: Allow veterans to register unlicensed guns acquired abroad
• 02/08/2008: Allow firearms in National Parks
• 08/11/2010: Ranked by the NRA, indicating a pro-gun rights voting record
• 01/06/2009: National cross-state standard for concealed carry
• 01/19/1999: Individual right to self-defense at home and as self-defense
• 04/02/2009: Voted YES on allowing firearms in checked baggage on Amtrak trains
• 07/29/2005: Voted YES on prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers

Cutting the US Military Budget

PRO:

• 06/14/2006: Sponsored bill for Iraq budget to be part of defense budget
• 07/22/1999: Voted NO on $266 billion Defense Appropriations bill
• 04/20/2005: Voted YES on requiring on-budget funding for Iraq, not emergency funding
• 04/17/2012: Eliminate Hollywood liaison offices for Defense Department
• 04/17/2012: Focus military research on militarily-related diseases
• 04/17/2012: Defense budget lacks common sense & does not lack money
• 04/17/2012: Military wastes money by bad contracting and parochialism

  CON:

• 10/03/2004: Freeze any increase in spending except homeland security
• 07/11/2007: Voted NO on limiting soldiers' deployment to 12 months

Legalizing Marijuana and Industrial Hemp

CON:

• 10/14/1999: Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC
• 03/04/1999: Ban federal funding for needle-exchange programs
• 09/19/2007: Require chemical resellers to certify against meth use

Abortion Rights

CON:

• 03/13/2008: Voted YES on prohibiting minors crossing state lines for abortion
• 05/05/2011: Prohibit federal funding for abortion
• 06/11/2008: Apply 14th amendment protections to pre-born fetuses
• 12/31/2006: Ranked by the NRLC, indicating a pro-life stance
• 04/05/2000: Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions
• 06/30/1999: Voted YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion
• 07/25/2006: Voted YES on notifying parents of minors who get out-of-state abortions
• 03/14/2008: Voted YES on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP
• 04/11/2007: Voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines
• 08/11/2010: Supports prohibiting human embryonic stem cell research
• 01/22/2008: Prohibit transporting minors across state lines for abortion
• 03/17/2005: Voted NO on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives
• 04/17/2012: Contraception in health plans breaches religious liberty
• 03/05/2009: Voted YES on restricting UN funding for population control policies
• 02/04/2009: Declare preborn as persons under 14th amendment
• 10/18/2007: Voted YES on barring HHS grants to organizations that perform abortions
• 01/24/2013: No family planning assistance that includes abortion
• 08/11/2010: Opposes both federal abortion funding & judicial activism

Gay Rights and Gay Marriage

CON:

• 06/07/2006: Voted YES on constitutional ban of same-sex marriage
• 12/31/2006: Ranked by the HRC, indicating an anti-gay-rights stance
• 07/29/1999: Voted YES on banning gay adoptions in DC

Repealing ObamaCare

PRO:

• 01/29/2009: Voted NO on expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program
• 06/11/2009: Voted NO on regulating tobacco as a drug
• 07/30/2009: Reforms should slow the long-term growth of health costs
• 11/03/2005: Voted NO on increasing Medicaid rebate for producing generics
• 04/18/2007: Voted NO on requiring negotiated Rx prices for Medicare part D
• 10/06/1999: Voted YES on establishing tax-exempt Medical Savings Accounts
• 11/01/2007: Voted NO on adding 2 to 4 million children to SCHIP eligibility
• 03/13/2008: Voted YES on means-testing to determine Medicare Part D premium
• 07/15/2008: Voted NO on overriding veto on expansion of Medicare
• 07/08/2010: Defund, repeal, & replace federal care with free market
• 07/04/2010: Repeal any federal health care takeover
• 05/25/2011: Voted YES on the Ryan Budget: Medicare choice, tax & spending cuts
• 03/17/2005: Voted NO on negotiating bulk purchases for Medicare prescription drug
• 02/02/2006: Voted NO on expanding enrollment period for Medicare Part D
• 10/29/2009: Establishment of Office of Health Care Fraud Prevention
• 02/08/1999: Expand medical savings accounts for employers & individuals
• 04/17/2012: Some patients will die sooner under ObamaCare's coercion
• 02/14/2008: Voted YES on allowing tribal Indians to opt out of federal healthcare

  CON:

• 06/28/2000: Voted NO on subsidizing private insurance for Medicare Rx drug coverage

Addressing and Fighting Income Inequality

PRO:

• 02/02/2006: Voted NO on retaining reduced taxes on capital gains & dividends

  CON:

• 01/06/2009: Replace income tax & employment tax with FairTax
• 08/03/2006: Voted YES on supporting permanence of estate tax cuts
• 08/11/2010: Supports flat-rate federal tax; opposes increased tax rates
• 07/12/2000: Voted YES on eliminating the "marriage penalty"
• 12/31/2006: Ranked by the CTJ, indicating opposition to progressive taxation
• 08/11/2010: Opposes both marriage penalty & federal tax increases
• 11/18/2005: Voted YES on extending the tax cuts on capital gains and dividends
• 03/11/2009: Keep reduction of capital gains tax
• 04/17/2012: Top US corporations pay effective tax rate of only 3.3%
• 03/13/2008: Voted YES on allowing AMT reduction without budget offset
• 03/09/2000: Voted YES on $46 billion in tax cuts for small business
• 11/06/2007: Member of the Congressional Flat Tax Caucus
• 08/12/2010: Taxpayer Protection Pledge: no new taxes
• 02/13/2008: Voted YES on raising the Death Tax exemption to $5M from $1M
• 07/08/2010: Adopt a single-rate tax system
• 01/01/2012: Supports the Taxpayer Protection Pledge
• 02/02/2006: Voted NO on $47B for military by repealing capital gains tax cut
• 03/23/2007: Voted YES on repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax
• 03/21/2007: Voted YES on raising estate tax exemption to $5 million
• 07/08/2010: Repeal tax hikes in capital gains and death tax
• 04/17/2012: Real tax reform lowers rates and broadens the base
• 06/08/2006: Voted YES on permanently repealing the `death tax`

Building the Keystone XL Pipeline

PRO:

• 11/03/2005: Voted NO on disallowing an oil leasing program in Alaska's ANWR
• 06/26/2008: Open the Outer Continental Shelf for oil & gas leasing
• 03/16/2005: Voted NO on banning drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• 06/26/2013: Let states lease energy rights on federal lands