Coburn Cuts Could Have Prevented IRS Spending Scandal
Oklahoma’s Sen. Tom Coburn says IRS conference spending is the result of government being ‘way too big’
By Chris Casteel
WASHINGTON — Long before the lavish conferences attended by federal agencies became scandals, Sen. Tom Coburn tried to persuade his Senate colleagues to cut spending for the gatherings, arguing the costs had exploded at a time when technology should have reduced the need for so much travel.
Over the past several years, Coburn, R-Muskogee, has offered numerous amendments to cap the costs of agency conferences. He tried when Republicans controlled the White House and the Senate. And he tried with Democrats in control.
Though he sometimes got an amendment accepted, the amendment never survived the legislative process, leaving agencies to plan the kind of conferences that lawmakers are now condemning.
“In the end, they just didn’t want to control spending,” Coburn said in an interview Tuesday about his efforts.