Coburn: The 10 Most Outrageous Government Boondoggles I Ever Saw
The 10 Most Outrageous Government Boondoggles I Ever Saw
By U.S. Senator Tom Coburn
When I first came to Washington nearly 20 years ago, I didn’t set out to become known as a budget hawk—and I didn’t plan to earn nicknames like “Dr. No”—simply by adopting a skeptical approach toward spending taxpayer money. I was merely taking seriously the basic responsibility of a member of Congress: the unglamorous duty of oversight.
Over the years, my staff—which I believe is the best and the most prolific on Capitol Hill—has helped me uncover and root out thousands of examples of waste and mismanagement. Some of what we’ve found has been downright outrageous. Certainly, some of the most memorable examples, gathered here, are good for a laugh. But as my own time in the Senate draws to a close, I hope they also serve as trenchant reminders of what my colleagues ought to be fighting to stop.
1. The Bridge to Nowhere
A notorious 2005 earmark authorized $452 million to build two bridges in Alaska—including one that became known as the so-called Bridge to Nowhere, which would have connected the city of Ketchikan to Gravina Island, home to only a few dozen people.
Our Solution: Shift $452 million to instead repair a bridge spanning Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana that had been damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
Why it mattered: Even though we lost vote 82 to 15, the debate was a galvanizing moment for what would become the Tea Party. In fact, nearly a decade later the Bridge to Nowhere is still cited in campaign ads. By singling out a specific project that had been sponsored by a fellow Republican, we openly challenged the party to restore its faith in limited government.